News Releases

NEW
BROADWAY AVE NB LANES CLOSED BETWEEN 12TH ST E & SASKATCHEWAN CRES
(Water main repair)
Use Clarence Ave. Broadway Ave SB turning lane to 12th St E EB closed.
Start: January 6, 9:00 a.m. End: January 6, 6:00 p.m.

All restrictions will be lifted as indicated, weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Slow down, pay attention and respect work zones. Watch for pedestrians and work crews, and for everyone’s safety, please obey all detours, signs and barriers.

Know before you go! Plan your route around road work by checking our Road Restrictions and Construction Projects interactive map. Find traffic detour information on our saskatoon.ca homepage or subscribe to our Traffic Detour Service Alerts. You can also follow us on Twitter @YXEServiceAlert and with #betterroadsYXE and like Saskatoon City News on Facebook.

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Starting today, January 2, any required 2015 Assessment Notices will be mailed to property and business owners located in Saskatoon. The total value of the 2015 Property Assessment Roll is approximately $40 billion.

The Assessment Notice is not a tax bill. It lets owners know the assessed value of their property, which is then used to determine how much property tax must be paid.

Since 2013, property owners have been paying property tax each year based on the value of their property as of January, 2011. Province-wide revaluations take place in Saskatchewan once every four years. The next province-wide reassessment will take place in 2017.

An average single residential property in Saskatoon now has an assessment value of $325,000. “Our goal is to create and conduct property assessments that place fair, accurate, and equitable values on properties,” City Assessor Les Smith says. “Increases or decreases to the amount of property tax a resident owes due to the 2013 revaluation are phased-in over the four year assessment cycle – 2015 marks the third year of the phase-in process,” adds Smith.

The Customer Assessment Appeal Period runs January 2 until February 6, 2015.

As this is a non-revaluation year, property owners have 30 days to appeal their assessment. Customer Assessment Appeals can be made from January 2 until February 6, 2015 by completing the appeal form included with your assessment which can be mailed or delivered with the required fee to:

The Secretary, Board of Revision
c/o City Clerk's Office, City Hall
222 - 3rd Avenue North
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7K 0J5

If any information about a residential property or business premise needs to be changed or updated, or if customers wish to discuss their assessment further, they are encouraged to contact Assessment and Taxation at 306-975-3227 or visit the Assessment and Taxation Division in person at 4-325 Third Ave N, located one block north of City Hall.
The City of Saskatoon collects property taxes on behalf of the City, the Provincial Government for the Public and Separate School Boards, and the Saskatoon Public Library. Each taxing authority establishes its annual budget, and after taking into consideration other sources of revenue, determines the total revenue required through taxation.

Property Tax Notices will be delivered in May 2015, once education rates are determined as part of the provincial budget.

The City uses a valuation approach that ensures property values are a reflection of the fair market value on a given date.  Factors like location (neighbourhood) of the property, traffic patterns around the property, views, and the property structure are all used to determine an assessment value. Adjustments are also made for other factors including size, age, style, garage, etc.

Property owners can also find useful market and assessment information about their own property by using the Property Assessment & Tax Tool located under Online Services on the homepage of saskatoon.ca, or by clicking on ’A’ for Assessment for more detailed tax information.

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook.

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Environment Canada is forecasting -28 C and colder over the weekend and the City would like to caution drivers of the affect these cold temperatures can have on driving conditions.

Roadway crews are out now and will continue to keep high speed roads clear throughout the snowfall, sanding and salting as required.  Extreme cold can create icy conditions on sidewalks and roads, especially on bridges and overpasses.  In addition:

- The very cold road conditions combined with ice crystals in the air settle and cause roadways to be more slippery than usual winter driving conditions.  Condensation, which drifts from vehicle exhaust when stopped or in rush hour traffic near intersections, may also contribute to more frost on the road.

- During very cold weather, on Circle Drive sand is applied more frequently as it does not stick to the roadway as well as it would under warmer temperatures.
- We are continuing the pilot project for the use of the magnesium chloride additive to sand as a de-icer and applying it to Circle Drive and the priority 1 streets as salt is ineffective for melting ice below -16 C.
- We take extra precautionary measures in extreme weather conditions: All bridge decks are checked and sanded every two hours.  Bridge decks are usually sanded just before rush hour because it’s very difficult to sand during peak times.

City Crews will be doing their best to keep roads sanded and salted, so please watch for equipment on the road.  The large machines used are equipped with flashing amber lights, move slowly in teams of two or more and can be found on the road at any time of day or night.  Drivers should stay a minimum of 15 metres back from the equipment and approach slowly if passing is necessary.   

When safe to do so, drivers can report icy locations to Public Works Customer Service at 306-975-2476.

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook.

 

Saskatoon Transit and SGI have partnered to bring Saskatoon residents free bus and Access Transit service on New Year’s Eve. Enjoy yourself this New Year’s Eve, and don’t worry about driving because the ride’s on us!

The free bus service will run on Wednesday, December 31, from 8:00 p.m. to 2:45 a.m. (may vary slightly by route) on a weekday evening schedule.  To ensure everyone has a safe ride home, customers will be able to flag down their bus at any point along the route, not just at specified stops.  Please remember to be safe while flagging a bus, stand on the curb and raise your hand to get the operators attention.

For people heading to the New Year's festivities at Prairieland Park, Saskatoon Transit will be providing shuttle service from the Downtown Bus Terminal. We will be picking-up party goers in front of the south entrance of 2nd Avenue Lofts on 23rd Street. Please note departure times from this location only will be every 30 minutes starting at 8:00 p.m.

Route 14 - Will not be running to the North Industrial area after 7:00 p.m.

For more information about Ding in the New Year schedules call 306-975-3100 and speak to a Customer Service Representative (phones are available until 11:30 p.m.) Access Transit customers can call 306-975-3555 (normal booking procedures apply).

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook.

 

Earlier this month, City Council approved an overall energy charge increase of three per cent. For the average residential customer, this will mean a monthly increase of $3.
This rate increase is effective January 1, 2015.
A few tips to reduce your electricity use:

1. Ensure your home is well insulated and properly sealed.
2. Ensure indoor humidity levels are between 30 and 50 per cent.
3. Install an automatic timer on your lights.

For more information, visit saskatoon.ca and look under ‘S’ for Saskatoon Light & Power.

For Immediate Release: Monday, December 29, 2014

City residents can drop off live Christmas trees for recycling at the following locations now until January 31, 2015:

• Primrose Drive Recycling Depot (adjacent to Lawson Civic Centre)
• Lowe Road Recycling Depot (Attridge Drive & Lowe Road)
• Wildwood Golf Course parking lot (8th Street East)
• George Ward Pool parking lot (1915 5th Street East)
• Doukhobor Cultural Society of Saskatoon parking lot (525 Ave I South at 17th Street)
• Meadowgreen Recycling Depot (Witney Avenue & 22nd Street)

Please remove all decorations, ornaments and plastic bags before you drop off your tree to be recycled. Trees should be dropped off unwrapped and unbound. Artificial trees, garbage, recyclables or other yard wastes will not be accepted.

The City reminds residents not to put discarded Christmas trees in either the black garbage carts or the blue recycle carts. The City will not pick up Christmas trees from back lanes or street fronts.

For more information about recycling and waste handling, visit SaskatoonRecycles.ca. 

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook.

The Multi-Unit Recycling Program run by Cosmo Industries, which was recently adopted by City Council, will continue to move ahead.  There were statements in the news and on social media that the Cosmo program was stopped indefinitely.

“Unfortunately, this information was inaccurate and has led to confusion in the community,” says Brenda Wallace, Director of Environmental and Corporate Initiatives. “To be clear, Cosmo Industries will continue to collect recyclables from apartment and condo blue bins.”

The provincial government announced last week that it was “adjusting” the province-wide Multi-Materials Recycling Program (MMRP), which may have funding implications for the City.

“The implications of the recent postponement of the MMRP are not yet known,” Wallace says.  “The Administration will bring options to City Council once a financial impact is confirmed.”

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook.

Two neighbourhoods in Saskatoon will have their blue recycling carts collected on a different day of the week in 2015 – City Park and Exhibition. Changing the recycling routes for these two neighbourhoods will decrease the amount of fuel used by the Loraas Recycle collection trucks and reduce GHG emissions. The garbage collection day remains the same for all neighbourhoods in 2015.

City Park households will have their blue carts collected on Thursday (rather than Wednesday) starting January 8, 2015. The last blue cart collection in 2014 for City Park will be on Wednesday, December 31.

Exhibition households will have their blue carts collected on Thursday (rather than Tuesday) starting January 8, 2015. The last blue cart collection in 2014 for Exhibition will be on Tuesday, December 23.

The change to recycling cart collection day for these two neighbourhoods is reflected in the 2015 Waste and Recycling Calendar, which will arrive in mailboxes around December 24. It is also included on the online version of the 2015 collection calendar at www.SaskatoonRecycles.ca, where residents can also sign up for to receive handy collections reminders by phone or email.

Residents in all other neighbourhoods can expect 2015 cart collections to occur on the same days of the week as in 2014.

Loraas Recycle provides the blue cart recycling service and is available to answer your questions. Just call (306) 242-2300 or email customercare@loraas.ca

By recycling paper and packaging, and putting waste in the right place, together we can divert recyclables away from our Landfill and grow a greener Saskatoon.

The City of Saskatoon would like to extend a sincere thank you and best wishes to Marlys Bilanski, who is retiring this week after 35 years of service.

“To say that Marlys has left an indelible mark on the City would be an understatement.  Hers is a record of solid financial management and prudent fiscal policy,” says City Manager, Murray Totland.  “One of the reasons that Saskatoon has a AAA credit rating is because of the financial stewardship that Marlys has provided the corporation during her more than three decades of work.”

Marlys began her career with the City in 1979 and has worked in a variety of accounting positions, including Budget Manager and City Comptroller.  In 2005, Marlys became the General Manager of Corporate Services, later to become the General Manager of Asset & Financial Management and the City’s Chief Financial Officer.

In this role, Marlys has worked tirelessly behind the scenes ensuring the dollars were in place so all of the City’s biggest projects could move from an idea to a reality.

“Our Corporation’s strong financial health has been established through the hard work and keen insights of Marlys and her team.  Her wealth of knowledge has been a tremendous asset to the Corporation, and her professionalism, work ethic, and friendship will be missed,” says Totland.

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook.

       

The City of Saskatoon today introduced an expanded 2015 Waste and Recycling Calendar that features all three black, blue and the optional green cart schedules in one easy-to-follow format.

Every household will receive in the mail the new calendar outlining the garbage, recycling and yard waste cart collection days specific to their home address. It also provides useful information on how to use and place carts for pick-up, how to subscribe to the optional green cart program ($55 in 2015), as well as other waste recycling and disposal options around the city.

 “This year’s calendar makes it easy for everyone to participate in the City’s residential cart programs, including those who subscribe to our green cart service for yard waste,” said Brenda Wallace, Director of Environmental & Corporate Initiatives for the City of Saskatoon. “The collection schedule for each cart program is now integrated into a single, 12-month calendar which will help citizens avoid the frustration of missed collection days.”

 A searchable, online version of the calendar is also available to help residents to avoid missed collections. Through SaskatoonRecycles.ca, citizens can search their cart schedules by their home address and also sign up for free collection day reminders by email or phone.

In 2015, garbage and recycling will be collected on the same day of the week as in 2014, except in the City Park and Exhibition neighbourhoods where the recycling collection day is changing to Thursdays starting January 8.

“We want to help everyone put waste in the right place and make the most of the City’s black, blue and the optional green cart programs,” said Wallace. “The more people who participate, the more we can reduce the amount and type of waste that goes into our Landfill, saving both money and our environment.”

The 2015 Waste and Recycling Calendar will arrive in your mailbox around December 24.