Notice of Preparation of the Assessment Roll
Notice of Preparation of the Assessment Roll
Notice is hereby given that the Assessment Roll for the Town of Balgonie for the year 2022 has been prepared and is open to inspection in the office of the Assessor during normal business hours from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 :00 to 5:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday – March 11 to April 11 , 2022.
A Bylaw pursuant to Section 214 of The Municipalities Act has been passed and—the Assessment Notices have been sent as required.
Any person who wishes to appeal against his or her assessment is required to file his or her Notice of Appeal accompanied by a $75.00 fee for each assessment being appealed, which will be returned if the appeal is successful with:
The Secretary of the Board of Revision
Jeannie Devers, Box 253
Pilot Butte, Sask. SOG 3Z0
by the 11th day of April, 2022.
Dated this 11th day of March, 2022.
Karen Craigie, Assessor.
ASSESSMENT 2022
WHAT IS PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENT?
Tax assessment, or assessment, is the job of determining the value, and sometimes determining the use, of property, usually to calculate a property tax. This is usually done by an office called the assessor or tax assessor. The Town of Balgonie hires S.A.M.A. (Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency) to perform our assessments each year. If you have made changes to your property i.e. a new home, a new deck, basement development, etc., your property will be reassessed.
NOTICE OF ASSESSMENT
The Detailed Property Profile sheet, which you can request from the Town office (306) 771-2284, breaks down how your property was assessed. Please look at the Profile sheet and ensure there are no errors in the information.
PREPARING THE NOTICE OF APPEAL FORM
If you see an error in your Property Report, the Notice of Appeal form must be fully completed. You must provide specific grounds supporting the appeal. You are required to provide as many details as possible and all facts and evidence that an error has been made in the:
- valuation of the property;
- classification of the property;
- preparation of the relevant assessment roll or assessment notice; and/or
- content of the relevant assessment roll or assessment notice.
The grounds for the appeal must be detailed. Phrases such as “assessment too high” or assessment too low” are NOT sufficient.
It is your responsibility to make a case to the Board of Revision. It may be as simple as proving that the “1930” shed is no longer standing, or proving that the dimensions or measurements are wrong, that a classification is not correct, or as complex as proving that the value of a property is not fairly assessed compared to another property that is similar in nature. The Town’s tax roll will be open for viewing for 30 days from the date of which is on your Notice of Assessment.
REGULAR ASSESSMENT APPEALS OR SIMPLIFIED ASSESSMENT APPEALS?
When making regular or simplified assessment appeals, the Notice of Appeal form must be fully completed. Regular appeal — the appellant must provide specific written grounds supporting the appeal when submitting it to the Secretary before the hearing. Simplified appeal – the appellant is not required to submit detailed written grounds to the secretary before the hearing but must have detailed information ready to present to the Appeal Board.
CAN I BASE MY APPEAL ON THE FACT THAT I FEEL MY TAXES ARE TOO HIGH?
NO! Legislation outlines the valid grounds for an appeal. Only your property assessment can be appealed, not the property taxes or the mill rates.
UNDERSTANDING ASSESSMENT-THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS AND ITS RELATION TO TAXES
S.A.M.A.’s role in determining assessed values for properties is just the first part of a process established by Provincial Legislation. The second part is the application of Provincial Government established tax policy, such as property classes, percentage of value, and statutory exemptions. The third and final part of the process involves a Provincial education mill rate, and the Town’s mill rate, which is determined annually by the Town of Balgonie based on the Town’s budget needs for the current year. The Town then multiplies the taxable assessment by these mill rates to determine your property tax bill. Therefore, property tax assessment is not the same as property taxes.
In addition to determining mill rates, the Town of Balgonie has the authority to apply a series of tax tools, such as mill rate factors by local property class, minimum tax, and base tax. These tax tools further affect the specific tax bill received by a taxpayer.
WHO CAN I CONTACT TO EXPLAIN MY ASSESSMENT?
You should start with your Administrator of your Municipality (Phone 306-771-2284). You can also call S.A.M A. (Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency) (Phone 306-924-8000).
IF YOU WOULD LIKE A COPY OF THE PAMPHLET, VISIT THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE:
https://www.saskatchewan.ca/residents/taxes-and-investments/property-taxeslappeal-your-property-assessment
Bylaw No. 430/2022
A Bylaw to Amend Bylaw No. 374/2014 Known as the Zoning Bylaw
There will be a Public Hearing held on February 14, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. in the 50+ Club, to hear residents’ comments, questions, or concerns, regarding the following Bylaw #430/2022. If residents are unable to attend in person, please send your written submissions to the Town Office before the above date.
Town Office address: D-129 Railway St. E., Balgonie, SK.
Email: [email protected]
Fax: (306) 771-2899
Dave Campbell Retirement Celebrations
Cheers to 41 Years!
A Come and Go Tea and a Retirement Party for Fire Chief Dave Campbell will be held on Saturday, March 26. Please see the attached posters for more details.
New Fire Chief
The Town of Balgonie is excited to announce that Doug Lapchuk will be stepping up from Deputy Fire Chief to Fire Chief effective January 1, 2022!
Doug found his passion for firefighting at a young age. His Dad, Donald, was one of the founders of the White City Fire Department and this is where Doug took on his very first volunteer role at the age of 16. In 1995, Doug joined the Balgonie Volunteer Fire Department and hasn’t looked back since.
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” as they say. Doug’s wife, 3 sons, and 1 daughter-in-law are all volunteers themselves.
Doug is a Level 2 Fire Service Instructor and is President of the SVFFA. Anyone who knows him, knows he is very passionate and considers all volunteer firefighters in the Province of Saskatchewan as his firefighting family.
Thank you for your dedication and commitment to keeping our community safe. We look forward to having you as our new Fire Chief!
Living in Balgonie
Prairie Storm Schedule
BALGONIE FIRE CHIEF RETIRES AFTER 41 YEARS OF DEDICATED SERVICE
As of December 31, 2021, Chief Dave Campbell has announced his retirement after 41 years with the Balgonie Volunteer Fire Department and First Responders. In 1980, Dave was 29 years old when he started with the Volunteer Fire Department. There was a 1957 International truck, a 1937 Chevy and 10-12 members.
“We were trying to do a job with not great resources, and trying to do it right, and getting trained and protecting ourselves.”
In 1990, Firefighter Dave became Chief Campbell. At that time, callouts where approx. 12-15 per year. Today, the Balgonie Volunteer Fire Department (BVFD) responds to approximately 80-100 calls a year ranging from fires, car accidents and medical emergencies. In his time as Chief, Campbell has seen many changes. He was responsible for bringing in the Medical First Responder (MFR) program to Balgonie in 1993, allowing Firefighters to become certified to respond to medical emergencies. At that time, EMS response times to our community were approximately 15-30 minutes depending on the time of day and the time of year. Now the Volunteer crew could assist the Town and R.M. residents with fire calls, car accidents, heart attacks, diabetic emergencies, falls, almost anything. The BVFD First Responders were also one of the first MFR crews in southern Saskatchewan to have an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) machine which was bought from Calgary after the Olympic Games. Dave believes that the Fire Department is one big family and, as such, has remained a blended Department of Firefighters and Medical First Responders with approximately three quarters of the Volunteers being dually trained.
BVFD, under Chief Campbell’s tenure, has had a large percentage of female members with there currently being six female Firefighters/First Responders, or about 25%. Dave has always said “I don’t care if you’re male or female, in turnout gear everyone looks the same. If you think you want to do this, come try it out.” Dave has always been known as a progressive Chief.
Over the years, BVFD has always been a family under Chief Campbell’s leadership. This is not a fire hall but a fire house. “A house holds a family. We are all members of the Firefighting family and as such we are there for each other. This isn’t like volunteering to help out at hockey or soccer, this can come down to life and death. We have each others’ backs.”
Over the years under Chief Campbell’s watch, the Fire Department has moved into a bigger fire hall, grown from two fire trucks to three, brought in the First Responder program, grew to 30 volunteers, and is a very well rounded Fire Department ready for whatever the next call might be.
Chief Campbell will definitely be missed by his Firefighting family, not only here in Balgonie but by the Fire Services throughout the Province. Thank you for your many years of dedicated service to the Department, Dave!
Good luck in your future endeavours. Enjoy your retirement!
Frosty’s Food Drive
light up the night
Sparkle Tour Event
December 19, 2021
7 pm – 8 pm
Due to Covid-19, we cannot celebrate the same way we have in previous years. The Balgonie Fire Department has invited Santa to be in attendance in front of the Town Office from 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. The fireworks show will start at 7:30 p.m.
We encourage everyone to decorate their yards! There will be judging by the RCMP for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place from December 7th – 14th. Please ensure your lights are on in the evenings! Winners will be announced on the Town’s Facebook page on December 15th.
Are you missing the sparkle tour just as much as we are? Bundle up and go on your own Sparkle Tour through town with your family and friends! Enjoy the Christmas lights and decorations.
