A recently released report on Saskatchewan city tax levels pegs Melville's as the highest in the province.
The report, commissioned by Estevan Mayor Gary St. Onge, reveals Melville's taxes are highest on both residential and commercial. And those findings trouble Mayor Walter Streelasky who says something needs to be done to address the situation, but reminds people in Melville they get good public services for their dollar.
"Am I happy about our tax situation? The answer is 'no I am not happy'," Streelasky said last Wednesday at City Hall.
According to the statistics compiled in the Estevan report commercial businesses in Estevan pay just over $1,500 while Melville businesses pay over $4,500 based on Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency (SAMA) assessments.
Estevan and Swift Current shared first place for having the lowest tax levels for homes valued at $100,000, which is the benchmark for all comparisons.
Estevan and Swift Current homeowners pay just under $800 while Melville homeowners pay just under $1,800.
The report covers 12 of Saskatchewan's 14 cities, excluding the two newest members of the club, Meadow Lake and Martensville.
A major determinant in Melville's taxation levels is the tax base itself; the more taxpayers upon which a city can draw, the lower the tax rate generally will be, depending of course on the services provided.
"(A larger tax base) would give us much more room to move if we had an enlargement of the community, an increase in the number of residents. We are moving in the right direction with new housing starts."
Streelasky reminds Melville residents they have excellent public services.
"We have cleaning services larger centers would envy. We don't charge tipping fees in the spring or fall to our residents and send out equipment to clean back alleys with no charge."
The mayor also cited excellent winter services. "When it comes to clearing snow from our streets we get everything cleaned up quickly. We don't have streets that never see a plough all winter."
However, Streelasky believes Melville needs to make its tax situation more competitive but believes it will take work and it will be gradual.
"Somewhere like Weyburn or Estevan have been blessed with oil and a desire for companies to locate near the resource. This means in turn they have a strong commercial sector that develops around that," Streelasky says.
Streelasky believes Melville has an edge when it comes to offering a high quality of life.
"We need to remember people consider a wide range of things when they choose to move to a community. Estevan is amongst the leaders when it comes to low tax levels when compared to 11 other cities in the province. Estevan compared its taxes with its provincial counterparts and was among the lowest in the province while Melville was consistently the highest.
This year, despite a six percent increase and the introduction of a new healthy levy in the Estevan area, its taxes were still amongst the lowest, including in important categories such as commercial tax.
"There were a few guys when I was first mayor, who said you have to change the commercial rate, it is too high," St. Onge says.
Commercial businesses in Estevan pay just over $1,500 while Melville businesses pay over $4,500. With residential taxes Estevan and Swift Current shared first place for having the lowest tax levels for homes valued at $100,000, which is the benchmark for all comparisons. Estevan and Swift Current homeowners pay just under $800 while Melville owners pay just under $1,800.
St. Onge says Estevan released the comparison to let residents of city have an idea of where they stand on taxes compared to the rest of the province. He hopes with the release of the report they will shed the belief of being the highest taxed community.
"Maybe they are looking at the whole thing, the fact housing is high (priced) here, rent is high. It is a cost of living in a lot of ways, but its not taxes. A lot of people come in and think our taxes are high well, they're not high." The tax report was compiled originally by the City of Prince Albert to compare its costs to other cities.
"It's been handy for us as most years we compare ourselves to Weyburn and I think Melville is like us in its proximity to Yorkton," St. Onge says.
However, it may be cold comfort for Melville residents. "It's difficult to attract business when we hear these things," says Mike Halyk, manager of economic development with the city.
