Some tough but anticipated news for Estevan residents came out of Monday night's City Council meeting, as the members convened in the chambers approved an 8% increase to property tax.

The change will generate $1.1 million in revenue, a significant jump from the $440,000 originally projected in revenue after the initial operating budget called for a 3% increase in property taxes.

READ MORE: Grant-In-Lieu Change Leaves Estevan In Tight Situation

The move is among several different methods that the management is employing to deal with the shortfalls presented by the provincial budget that was announced in March.

"We've been deliberating about this ever since the government off-loaded the grants in lieu, and then through the census we got $250,000 less than we had hoped for, so we basically needed around $1 million and, unfortunately, we had to go with the 8% increase this year. It will keep us where we need to be," explained Mayor Roy Ludwig.

"What more can we say? It's very unpalatable when you have an increase of this magnitude. However, we have had some $240,000 worth of cuts, and we are continuing to look at more. We've done away with a managerial position at the Leisure Center, and we are going to have other people filling in and helping out, doing more than they have before. We will be looking at cutting back in some areas with our employees."

"We will continue to look towards savings moving forwards. This isn't the end. We're going to continue to do this," he expressed.

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Ludwig added that decision was a very tough one to make, but it had to be done.

"Council did the very best they could, as well as the managers."

Some other items discussed during the open period included:

  • A Leasing Agreement with NavCanada regarding the weather observation station and equipment at the Estevan Municipal Airport.
  • Several Public Works tenders for equipment acquisitions.
  • A Southeast College MOU Agreement.
  • Several event permits for upcoming months. 

Representatives from the Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency (SAMA) also gave a presentation regarding how property value is assessed.