MOOSE JAW — Coun. Chris Warren says the city should do more to inform residents about how their property assessments work and believes strengthening the agreement with the contractor could enhance those efforts.
During city council’s Aug. 25 regular meeting, Warren introduced a motion directing city administration to create an operational guideline for the finance department that formalized two expectations under the renewed assessment services agreement with the Saskatchewan Management Assessment Agency (SAMA).
Those expectations included:
- That SAMA provide a formal public presentation to council by Nov. 30 of each year, including an overview of assessment changes and trends; a summary of the cap rate model changes, including comparative tables; identifying legislative changes that affect assessments; summarizing appeals and outcomes of appeals; and the legal fees the agency incurred or is forecasted to incur
- That SAMA deliver, at a minimum, one public open house annually to provide residents with access to assessment information and support, and, one educational session annually to enhance council’s understanding of assessment practices and changes
“(SAMA) possesses the expertise and professionalism to provide a standardized and province-wide approach to property assessments, which helps to ensure consistency, reliability and fairness,” Warren said.
“My motion does not change the agreement. On the contrary, it builds upon it,” he continued. “It is intended to strengthen how the city implements the agreement.”
The motion enhances public engagement, improves communications and ensures transparency with how the city delivers assessment services, he said. Property assessments affect every resident and business, while past experiences have led to confusion and frustration. So, more education is required to inform people about how their assessments work and why they change.
Warren pointed out that the new agreement already includes clauses for educational sessions and open houses, but only if the city asks for them. So, his motion ensures that administration makes those requests proactively and consistently, while it helps SAMA showcase its expertise to help build public trust and understanding.
“This motion does not contradict nor challenge the work of administration or SAMA. Instead, it supports their efforts by clarifying expectations and strengthening accountability,” he said, adding that the motion should also help build public confidence in the long term.
Coun. Dawn Luhning — who sits on the SAMA board — said the assessment agency used to meet with council every year to inform it about what was happening with assessments and its partnership with the finance department.
Continuing, Luhning said that ever since becoming a councillor, she has asked the city manager to co-ordinate the meetings for council. This is because she also agrees that education is required to give people a better understanding of how assessments work and how complicated they are.
“It is not an overnight understanding,” she said, noting that people can’t truly comprehend assessments unless they “open up a whole bunch of textbooks” and study every nuance. “But a little bit goes a long way.”
Luhning noted that all elected officials should work hard to understand property assessments since it’s a difficult topic. Meanwhile, she was OK with the motion but was concerned about “hog-tying” SAMA if it failed to follow through on the stipulations in the motion. Yet, she had “every confidence” that the agency would keep its word.
Luhning added that she didn’t see the motion being “onerous” on the organization or its ability to host public open houses.
Council then voted unanimously to approve Warren’s motion.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Sept. 8.
