(file photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Tax arrears lien list

Town reminds residents to pay any taxes in arrears

Jan 30, 2023 | 4:52 PM

The Town of Battleford plans to start the lien process for properties with outstanding taxes if they are not settled.

Council authorized CAO Ash Alam to begin the process for the list of lands in tax arrears at its recent meeting.

According to the Tax Enforcement Act, when the whole or a portion of the taxes on any land remains unpaid after the end of December for the year taxes are due, the land can be dealt with under the Act. The treasurer is responsible for presenting council with a list of all lands in the municipality with the amount of the arrears outstanding.

Alam said that according to the tax arrears list, the tax lien total amount as of Jan. 23 is $284,778.

On the positive side, he said, the lien amount is “barely minimum for a town our size.”

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Coun. Judy Pruden encouraged people to settle the amount they have owing.

“This is just to remind the people that in order for us to maintain this beautiful town and provide the services that we are all used to, everybody needs to do their part and pay their taxes,” she said. “Hopefully, they will come in and look after that as soon as possible.”

Coun. David George echoed Pruden’s remarks.

“We know times are getting a little tough. But we have to do our best to maintain our community, and the only way of doing that is by having our tax dollars taking care of business,” he said. “So, please get your money in.”

Mayor Ames Leslie also mentioned people can use the town’s Tax Instalment Payment Plan (TIPPs) to make their property tax payments a little easier to manage, by making monthly withdrawals to get back on track.

“If you work with the finance team, they can set it up, so you are paying this year’s and what’s outstanding in small bites,” he said. “Or, you can just come in and pay small amounts. The lien process can get put on hold if you are making payments towards your outstanding [sum].”

However, Leslie said if people “completely ghost the community of the town, the lien process will go forward,” which will make it unfortunate for the person.

“So, come in, or call in and make arrangements with the finance team to get this all squared up, and we’ll move forward,” he said. “Keep that in mind.”

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow