News Releases

 
The City of Saskatoon is proposing to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City of Martensville to negotiate an agreement to provide both water and  waste water services.

“This is a key step towards a regional planning approach for land use and servicing,” says Randy Grauer, Community Services Department General Manager.  “It’ll also help the City of Martensville to continue playing an important role in the growth and development of the Saskatoon Region.”

A report to City Council will be on its Agenda, which will be public information later this afternoon.

Martensville will soon reach its lagoon capacity and it approached the City to consider allowing a connection to Saskatoon’s existing Waste Water Treatment Plant.

“Basically, it’s an agreement to agree,” Grauer says and it sets out the regional planning goals of the City and Martensville, as well as creating an outline for a more detailed formal agreement on water and waste water services.

The MOU would be in effect until the City of Martensville reaches 20,000 people at which point it would be renegotiated.

“Saskatoon residents will not be subsidising those in Martensville,” Grauer says.  “We’re proposing the rates will be negotiated on the basis of Martensville customers paying a premium on top of what Saskatoon users pay.  The premium will be based on industry rate models and reviewed every three years.”

The cities would agree to work together on several points including:

• A regional plan including Martensville’s future land use plans.
• Explore tap water delivery opportunities
• A plan to fairly share the costs of developing new and upgrades to existing waste water and water infrastructure
• Cost estimates for sanitary sewer infrastructure including a lift station, a force main, an odour abatement structure, and a gravity pipe.

“The City is aware of odours near the Waste Water Treatment Plant.  Construction of a new odour abatement system is in the works and connecting Martensville would help pay for that project,” Grauer says.

City Council will consider the Administration report at its meeting, Monday, February 10, 2014.

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 is pleased to announce the launch of the Growing Forward! Shaping Saskatoon website at www.growingfwd.ca. 

“Growing Forward! is an exciting initiative that will take us from vision to action - on how we grow to half a million people,” says Alan Wallace, Director of Planning and Development.  “The Growing Forward! website is mobile-friendly and is the first step to providing ample opportunities for people to have their say about their future.”

Change is inevitable and how the City manages that change is important.  Growing Forward!  Shaping Saskatoon is a wide-reaching public planning exercise.  It will help guide civic investments to accommodate Saskatoon’s growth to half a million people within the next 30 to 40 years. 

“The input we get from the website will be incorporated into the City’s Growth Plan to Half a Million,” Wallace says.  “We hope this framework will allow us to make changes in our community in a way that will keep Saskatoon a prosperous and great place to live for all citizens.”

Growing Forward! will build on a strong foundation of past achievements and public input.  It will look at ways to improve how we move around Saskatoon while making sure growth within the City remains sustainable.  This project will address three key elements:

• Shaping Growth;
• Shaping Transit; and
• Shaping Bridges.

A public event will be held on Tuesday, February 25, 2014, at TCU Place to start the discussion about future options for transit, bridges, and how to shape Saskatoon’s growth to half a million people.

For more information on Growing Forward! Shaping Saskatoon, please visit www.growingfwd.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.

"CONTINUING STRONG ECONOMY”: ‘AAA’/STABLE CREDIT RATING AGAIN

For another year, the City of Saskatoon has earned the highest possible rating from international bond rating agency, Standard & Poor’s; S&P today reaffirmed its ‘AAA’/stable credit rating for Saskatoon - one of the hottest Canadian economies.

“Standard and Poor’s assessment again sends the message that the City’s budget process and resource allocation is open, accountable and transparent, and that Saskatoon has an economy that will keep our growth on track,” says His Worship Mayor Donald Atchison.

Every year Standard & Poor’s reviews the City’s finances and delivers the credit rating and supporting rationale in a report based on that study.

“This is exactly what we work toward every day,” says Acting Chief Financial Officer Kerry Tarasoff. “Saskatoon continues to be headed into healthy economic times, and S&P’s rating underlines that position.”

As it did last year, Standard & Poor’s continues to view the financial outlook for Saskatoon as stable. The agency is confident that cash flow and cash investments will increase to offset any rising debt. In other words, Saskatoon’s leading economy is expected to keep growing.

“Saskatoon's economic fundamentals are very strong, in our view” the report says. “We think Saskatoon is managing its growth well, and we expect this will continue.”

The City of Saskatoon demonstrates strong and prudent financial policies and solid management, and these have a positive impact on the credit profile. The City has received the ‘AAA’/stable credit rating every year for more than a decade.

Receiving a ‘AAA’ credit rating essentially means that the City of Saskatoon can borrow money at lower rates, and is viewed by financial institutions as having virtually no-risk with respect to defaulting on credit. The City of Saskatoon’s favorable budget performance, as well as its self-generated revenues, continue to place the City in a strong and stable financial position, supporting the City’s Strategic Goal of Asset and Financial Sustainability.

 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.

Beginning at 8:30 a.m. on January 22, Cumberland Avenue South between Taylor Street and 1st Street will be closed while crews replace a sewer connection.  Drivers are encouraged to use Louise Street.

The roadway is expected to reopen by 6:00 p.m., weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances.  The City thanks everyone for their patience. 

Drivers are reminded to allow extra time when travelling through the orange zone, watch for pedestrians and work crews, and for everyone’s safety, please obey all detours, signs and barriers.

Know before you go! Find up-to-date traffic detour information at www.saskatoon.ca/go/traffic and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

On Wednesday, January 8, any required 2014 Assessment Notices will be mailed to the owner’s property or properties located in Saskatoon. The Assessment Notice lets owners know the assessed value of their property, which is then used to determine how much property tax must be paid. Property Tax Notices will be delivered in May 2014, once education rates are determined as part of the provincial budget. 

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; 2013 was a revaluation year, and 2014 begins the second year in the four year assessment cycle.

“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 due to the 2013 revaluation are phased-in over the four year cycle,” adds Smith. “The annual tax bills will be adjusted each of the four years to include any appropriate phase-in adjustments.”

The City of Saskatoon collects 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.

The City uses a valuation approach that ensures property values are a reflection of the 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.

As this is a non-revaluation year, property owners have 30 days to appeal their assessment. Appeals can be made until February 10, 2014, by mail to: Secretary, Board of Revision, c/o City Clerk's Office, City Hall, 222 - 3rd Avenue North, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7K 0J5.

Property owners, visit saskatoon.ca and click on ’A’ for Assessment, or use the Property Assessment Online Tool which provides market and assessment information.  Property owners can also contact Assessment and Taxation at 306-975-3227 for additional information, or visit the Assessment and Taxation Division in person at 4-325 Third Ave N, located one block north of City Hall.

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.