MOOSE JAW — City hall’s Board of Revision contractor received over 60 property assessment appeals this year, while it adjudicated nearly 30 files and ruled in favour of the municipality 74 per cent of the time.
The City of Moose Jaw retained Meota-based Western Municipal Consulting Ltd. (WMC) to handle Board of Revision (BOR) services this year; the city has had a contract with the company since May 2022.
According to a report presented during the Dec. 2 regular city council meeting, WMC advertised the assessment roll on April 2 and closed it on April 25. During that time, the company received 63 appeals, although 36 were withdrawn due to either an agreement to adjust or failure to meet criteria. This left 27 cases that WMC addressed, for which it distributed notices of decisions.
Of those 27 assessment appeals, WMC ruled in favour of the municipality 20 times and in favour of the appellant — mostly commercial — seven times. Of those total assessments, 10 were commercial hearings and 17 were residential hearings, the report continued.
This year, city hall has paid Western Municipal Consulting $68,261.07, which included handling notifications, recordings and reporting requirements.
“When appointed as the city’s Board of Revision, WMC acts as an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal,” the report added. “It is responsible for hearing assessment appeals and determining if any errors have been made in the valuation or classification of property for assessment purposes.”
Council later voted unanimously to receive and file the report.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Dec. 16.
