Council Debrief: Demystifying the Assessment Process

One of the biggest topics at the past couple of Council meetings has been the passing of the town’s annual financial plan and property taxes for 2022. This week we hear from representatives of the Assessment Board, who outline the process of property value assessments and how Neepawa compares to the rest of the province.

There are a couple of key dates they mention in their presentation. The first is July the 6th, when they will be in attendance at the town office from 10 am to 2 pm to be available for questions and information. The second is November 21st, which is the deadline to file an appeal related to your property tax assessment.

In Council reports this week, Councillor Nadeau comes bearing a call to action from the Rossburn Trail Association AGM. The portion of the trail in our district requires some upkeep and he is hoping to spearhead a joint youth-senior project to tackle it in the near future. He also indicates that after years of discussion and input the association will be outlining the rules and expectations of each partner in a memorandum of understanding that will be coming to Council in the near future

Manager of Operations Denis Saquet is back this week with an update on the various projects that his department is handling. First and foremost of these is the connection to the new water reservoir on May 20th. Residents are reminded that the entire town will be under a boil water advisory following that connection for a few days, until the water can be tested and cleared.

Summer staff were temporarily deployed to Minnedosa to help with the sandbagging efforts, which hopefully will be winding down over the long weekend. He also notes that Maple Leaf, which does our street paving, will be revising their work schedule due to weather delays.

We close this first half of the Council meeting with a public hearing for a zoning amendment, in preparation for constructing an 11-unit residential building.

Also covered were the completion of the Handivan review, available lots at the East View property, receipt of the annual audited statements from the Beautiful Plains County Courthouse, and the town’s March financial statement.