Fewer property assessment appeals made to review board last year

Moose Jaw’s board of revision received fewer appeals for property re-assessments last year compared to previous years, with only five per cent of appeals heard since errors in assessment were discovered. The board of revision (BOR) is an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal whose function is to hear assessment appeals and determine if an error has been made in the valuation of property. The BOR is the first step in the appeal process. Either party — property owners or the municipality — to an assessment appeal has the right to appeal a decision to the Saskatchewan Municipal Board (SMB).

In some cases, appeals can also be made to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, but only on questions of law and errors in jurisdiction.

Property assessments in Saskatchewan occur every four years, with 2017 the most recent assessment. In 2019, 104 regular appeals were received compared to 133 appeals in 2018 and 216 appeals in 2017, according to a city council report. Ten appeals were withdrawn before reaching the hearing stage. Of the remaining 94 appeals, 29 were resolved under a section of the Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency (SAMA) that deals with agreements to adjust.

The board of revision, therefore, heard 65 appeals last year; 12 were allowed since an error was found, while 53 were dismissed since no error was found.

The supplemental assessment roll also received two appeals last year. One was settled by an agreement to adjust that SAMA offered, while the other was withdrawn. The monetary change to the roll was a reduction of $153,000.

Thirteen BOR decisions were further appealed to the provincial board of revision. Property owners appealed four decisions; SAMA appealed eight decisions; and one was appealed by both parties.

There were losses and gains in certain property classes based on the re-assessments, which will affect the budget, explained finance director Brian Acker. The commercial/industrial property class saw a loss in tax revenue of $200,000; the elevator class saw gains in tax revenue of $45,000; multi-unit residential (condo) saw gains in tax revenue of $35,000; and other classes saw small gains and small losses. Each appeal submitted to the BOR is subject to an appeal fee, the report continued. The municipality received $39,840 in appeal fees last year, with $14,740 of that returned to appellants whose appeals the BOR allowed or for those who signed agreements to adjust. This left a surplus of $25,100, but since there were $17,943.35 in costs to operate the BOR — per diems, postage, independent legal advice — the City of Moose Jaw’s actual surplus was $7,156.65.

Based on the number of appeals that the

BOR received and how many were allowed, the overall result shows the system works, said Coun. Brian Swanson. However, he thought it unusual that property assessment appeals were still coming in three years after the initial assessment and that there were still significant appeal losses happening.

Swanson pointed to one property that had an assessed value of about $21 million but, after an appeal, was re-assessed at about $10 million. He hoped council receives a report about the details of that re-assessment. He also thought the overall decrease in property assessments would have major ramifications on other commercial properties since they would have to pay extra to cover the shortfall. Council later voted unanimously on a motion to receive and file the assessment appeals report.