The new incentive policy is approved by the council during a regular meeting inside the Don Ross Centre Chamber on March 10, 2025. (Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Kenneth Cheung

NEW INCENTIVE

North Battleford approves 5-year tax break incentive to revitalize downtown

Mar 13, 2025 | 4:30 PM

The City of North Battleford has approved what officials are calling a “more aggressive” incentive policy aimed at revitalizing the downtown core and attracting investment.

The program, passed unanimously by council, offers tax incentives to businesses investing at least $50,000 in renovations or new construction. Eligible projects can receive up to 100 per cent of their municipal property taxes back for up to five years.

“Really, what it is—we think it’s a fairly aggressive approach to developing the downtown and encouraging people to either improve their buildings or for people to come in and take over a building and improve that building,” City Manager Randy Patrick told battlefordsNOW.

“Really looking to enhance the businesses that are downtown and enhance the look of the downtown. And I think that’s exactly what those incentives do.”

Eligibility and approval process

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The incentive program includes five streams: building facade improvements, expansions, new construction, residential conversions, and new residential developments.

To qualify, projects must be valued at $50,000 or more and apply only to the building portion of a property, not the land. Businesses must also undergo an approval process before receiving any incentives, which includes presenting their plans to city council and proving the actual costs of their improvements.

“What they have to do is have to come and get approved by council in advance, what they’re planning on doing, they have to prove. We don’t pay anything until we know the actual cost of it,” Patrick said.

The program also includes safeguards to ensure funding does not exceed the value of improvements.

“If you made $50,000 of improvements, and your taxes were such that you got $50,000 back in two years, you wouldn’t get a tax incentive in the third year,” said James Johansen, the city’s director of engineering, planning, asset management and infrastructure.

The downtown core area. (City of North Battleford)

Some concerns were raised about whether the tax breaks would affect city revenues, but Mayor Kelli Hawtin said funding for the program has already been allocated in the 2025 budget.

“We have a $200,000 budget currently for incentives built into the city’s operational budget. So at this point, it’s budgeted for and it doesn’t come from somebody else,” she said.

Business community reaction

The Battlefords Chamber of Commerce has voiced support for the initiative.

“We were happy to see that they were done as a partnership where they’re going to loosen the guidelines,” said Linda Machniak, the chamber’s chief operating officer.

Machniak agrees this incentive is a “more aggressive approach.”

“More aggressive from previous councils and previous administrations, but I have seen more aggressive in other municipalities, but in our situation I would agree that this is probably the boldest package they’ve put forward for some time.”

Machniak told battlefordsNOW that the chamber’s board has input and suggestions to further refine the program, but will present them to the city council before making them public.

The city now plans to launch the program and begin promoting it to the public and potential investors.

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com