The regular meeting of Battleford town council takes place at the Alex Dillabough Centre on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, due to renovation work underway at Town Hall. (Kenneth Cheung/ battlefordsNOW staff)

By Kenneth Cheung

MUNICIPAL TAX

Battleford to send 2025 tax notices; base rate unchanged, new levy added

May 21, 2025 | 12:11 PM

Most Battleford property owners won’t see a major change in their 2025 tax bill — but they will notice a new $100 charge aimed at funding long-term infrastructure improvements.

The new Battleford Capital Replacement Levy will apply to all taxable properties with improvements, joining two existing levies for asphalt and general improvements. In total, residents with improved properties will now pay $400 in extra levies, up from $300 last year.

While the new charge is a modest increase, Mayor Ames Leslie said the rest of the town’s taxation framework will remain stable.

“I just want to acknowledge that the taxation portion of the municipal mill rate, or the base tax did not go up,” Leslie said.

The town’s base taxes remain unchanged at $530 on land, with residential improvements taxed at $640 and commercial or industrial improvements at $1,530. The municipal mill rate also stays flat at 3.75 mills.

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Leslie said the added levy will help the town save for future capital expenses — including a new rink, hospital upgrades, or other major projects — without having to increase base taxes.

“It looks like we’re going to be able to provide the same level of services we have year over year to the residents of the Town of Battleford,” he said, crediting the finance team for finding internal savings that helped avoid a tax hike.

Council approved the changes as part of two taxation bylaws. Bylaw No. 3-2025, which sets the town’s base taxes, mill rate and levies, takes effect immediately. Bylaw No. 2-2025, which outlines tax discounts and penalties, applies retroactively to Jan. 1, 2025.

Under that bylaw, residents who paid their full municipal tax bill — excluding school and local improvement charges — by Jan. 31 received a six per cent discount. A four per cent discount applied to those who paid by the end of February.

The standard payment deadline is Aug. 31, after which a one per cent monthly penalty applies. Any unpaid balance as of Jan. 1 will be considered in arrears and subject to a 10 per cent penalty.

Leslie said tax notices will be mailed out once the town’s assessment appeal period wraps up at the end of May and noted that residents will likely see some savings this year due to a provincial change.

“One thing that a lot of people will be aware of is that the province did lower the education portion of the taxation this year,” Leslie added. “So that is one savings that every resident of the province and the Town of [Battleford] will see.”

According to Government Relations Minister Eric Schmalz, the province reduced the education property tax mill rate for all property classes in the 2025-26 Budget, mentioning that 2025 was a property assessment year.

The decrease includes residential (from 4.54 to 4.27), commercial/industrial (6.86 to 6.37), agricultural (1.42 to 1.07), and resource properties (9.88 to 7.49).

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com