News Releases

Your 2014 Property Tax Notice will look different this spring.  The City of Saskatoon has revealed a new look and simpler format that is easier to read.

To arrive at the new format, the City considered previous feedback from citizens and from our front-line customer services staff, incorporated the goals of City Council, and also included elements of best practises from other municipalities. In preparing the new format, the City also considered the use of clear language, important to all property owners, both new and existing.

The 2014 Property Tax Notice Project is now on our shapingsaskatoon.ca website. Look under “Discussions.” You can view a sample of the new format, detailed information on what you will find on the 2014 Property Tax Notice, along with Frequently Asked Questions.

The Shaping Saskatoon discussion on the new Property Tax Notice format also gives a great opportunity for you to tell us about other tax-related information you wish to see on our website. Are you able to find answers to tax questions under “P” for Property Tax?  As we undertake the ongoing development of our new website, your comments will help us give better service.

Shaping Saskatoon is the City’s new online community engagement tool. It is easy to use and a great place to share your comments, and learn more about new projects that interest you. Citizen feedback on the new Property Tax Notice format is important to us, and will be considered for the finalized version this spring.

The City of Saskatoon strives to be the best managed city in Canada through an ongoing commitment to continuous improvement. With a goal of consistently providing high quality service to citizens, the City continues to respond to the needs of the changing community by looking at things differently – and then making them better.

For other detailed information on property taxes, assessment, and how the City distributes taxes, you can also visit our website, saskatoon.ca and click on the Property Assessment & Tax Tool, located under Online Services. Please note: our website will be updated with 2014 values in May after the Mill Rates have been approved and the tax calculations have been finalized.

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.

As the City’s Placemaker Public Art Program prepares for the spring installation of new art throughout Saskatoon’s key commercial districts, residents may notice some changes in these areas over the next few weeks.  

The City’s Visual Arts Placement Jury has approved the removal of the following temporary art installations: 

From Riversdale:

Winged Ascent

Stoic Dignity

Mediator

Maize  

From Downtown:

Pinnacle IX – Song of Ancients

Head

Walk in Beauty

Arabesque

Aphrodite (L’Espalier)

Sacrarium

Play  

From Broadway:

Buskers

Queen

Sentinel 

The Placemaker Program is a robust initiative that gives local, provincial and national artists the opportunity to have their work prominently featured in Saskatoon.  Currently, the City is accepting proposals for the Placemaker Program from independent artists or teams of artists to provide temporary public art to key commercial districts in Saskatoon.  The proposed art may be two or three dimensional work, installations, interventions or digital media such as video projection.  

For an information package and application form, please visit www.saskatoon.ca and search under “P” for Placemaker Program. The deadline for applications is April 8, 2014 at which time the City’s Visual Arts Placement Jury will adjudicate the applications received and select the works to be exhibited, in consultation with the Saskatoon’s Business Improvement Districts and with City Staff.  It is anticipated that the new pieces will be installed this spring. 

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.

APPLICATIONS TO CIVIC BOARDS AND COMMITTEES

There is currently a vacancy on the Board of Revision.  This quasi-judicial Board hears and determines appeals arising from assessment procedures in accordance with Section 197 of The Cities Act.  Appointees to the Board of Revision shall also serve on the Licence Appeal Board which hears appeals regarding the City’s various licensing bylaws.

Interested candidates should submit their applications by the deadline at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 28, 2014. All applications will be kept on file and reviewed throughout the year as openings occur.

Application forms can be obtained from the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall (second floor, 222 – 3^rd Avenue North), or online at www.saskatoon.ca, search under “A” for Appointments to Boards and Committees.

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 is proposing a series of Route Adjustments for 2014, and we would like your feedback before a final proposal is presented to council.

The proposed 2014 Route Adjustments were designed based on comments and ideas previously gathered from you, our customers. Each event will include a brief presentation, followed by a Q&A session and an opportunity for attendees to visit information stations. Transit staff will also be available to answer questions and hear what you have to say about the proposed route adjustments. 

Plans are to incorporate your feedback into the proposed adjustments and present a final report to Council for their approval.

The open house events will be held:

Tuesday, March 11, 2014
6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Mount Royal Collegiate Cafeteria (2220 Rusholme Road)

Wednesday March 12, 2014
6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Alice Turner Library (110 Nelson Road)

Free shuttles will be provided every 15 minutes from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. between the open house locations and the nearest mall terminal.

For more information, visit www.saskatoon.ca and click on “T” for transit or call the Transit Customer Service Centre at 306-975-3100.

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.

Not unlike the rest of the province, Saskatoon continues to respond to reports of water service issues in areas all across the city.  While repair crews are repairing locations quickly, the backlog is slowly growing.  The target for having repairs complete and the water back on from when it is turned off is 48 hours, in some cases this will be longer, even up to four days.  This is a challenging time of year for contract support; however, we continue to engage outside support when possible.

Temporary Water
We empathize with affected residents and businesses who are going days without running water and we are doing as much as possible to try and provide temporary drinking water.  Water trailers will continue to be provided to affected areas, but it can take longer than the normal eight hours to be available.  Bottled water was delivered to almost every home that didn’t have a water trailer on Wednesday.  We will continue to try and offer bottled water if a water trailer is not available, but over the weekend, it may take longer. 

We are pleased to be able to offer free admission for affected residents to use the shower facilities at the City Leisure Centre closest to them.  They will require identification or a recent utility bill showing their address, which will be compared to list of homes affected by a water main break.  

Weather contributes to water main breaks
This weekend, temperatures are expected to rise, which is great for most of us, but could mean water main breaks will continue to occur at this rate or higher.  What is different this year is that the ground frost level has reached as deep as the underground pipes.  Each time the temperature changes, the frost level can move, putting pressure on the pipes causing them to shift.  If there is already a weak spot in the pipe, caused by age, corrosion or previous work, it can break. 

Be prepared
Every home should have an emergency preparedness plan for any time of the year, not just for water outage.  Residents in areas where water main breaks have occurred in the past few years, including neighbourhoods adjacent to current water main breaks, are encouraged to be prepared by having extra drinking water stored as a precaution.  The recommended supply of water to have on hand for a 72-hour period is 3.8 litres (one gallon) per person or pet per day.  Emergency preparedness information is available on the Government of Canada’s public safety website getprepared.gc.ca, including further recommendations for an emergency water supply. 

Frozen water connections
Home owners are also reporting frozen water connections, where there is a blockage on the water connection from the City’s water main to the private home.  If your water does not turn on, it may be an issue with the private portion of your water connection.  If there is an issue on the City portion, we will come out and use specialized equipment to defrost the line from your home.  To help prevent this, we recommend making sure the pipes are well-insulated, including the portion at the outside walls of your home. 

Current water main breaks
All available staff and contractors are focused on isolating the location of the breaks, preparing the sites for excavation (identifying any underground utilities or hazards), and repairing the pipes.  Different expertise is required at each stage of repairing a water main break, so even if no workers are present, each location is scheduled and will be repaired as quickly as possible.   

Water service is currently off at the following locations:
- North of 1540 Avenue G N/1537 Ave F N on 37th St West
- 2130 Pembina Drive
- 929 Macklem Drive
- 1044 East Centre
- 1705 Quebec Avenue
- 11125 Coy Avenue
- 52 Athabasca Crescent
- 2309 McKinnon Street
- 13 Laurentian Drive
- 51/53 Yale Crescent
- 2416 Underwood Avenue 
- 138 Dalhousie Crescent  

Current water main breaks are available on the City’s website.  This list will be updated daily, including over the weekend. 

We want to thank everyone for their cooperation and understanding.  If you are affected by a water outage and have any questions, or to report a water main break, please call the Public Works customer service call centre 24/7 at 306-975-2476.  Find out more about the Precautionary Drinking Water Advisory that is in effect when the water is turned back on. 

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 from the links at saskatoon.ca.