Residents in Martensville will be dealing with a 3 per cent increase in property taxes this year which means the average homeowner in Martensville with an assessed value of $335,000 will see an estimated increase to their municipal property taxes of $5.75 per month.

The City of Martensville says some of the factors impacting the increase including the cost of contracted services with the RCMP and the overall rising costs of goods and services.

The RCMP detachment will remain at the current staffing level for 2023. This is the equivalent of 8 full time members. A collective agreement for the RCMP was finalized in 2021 and approximately five years of retro pay are expected to be billed in 2023 from the Federal Government, along with a significant annual increase for 2023. The City will fund the one-time retro pay amounts through reserves.

The $75.00 base tax levy will continue for 2023 to fund a reserve for future wastewater treatment. There are no increases to flat fees or water consumption rates planned for 2023.

The New Building Canada Fund project for Wastewater Treatment and Water Distribution will allow Martensville to upgrade its existing lagoon, build a new pipeline to connect to the City of Saskatoon’s sanitary sewer system, and upgrade existing sewage lift stations.

There will also be upgrades to the water supply reservoir and pumping stations and a new water main will connect to Saskatoon’s drinking water supply system with the project complete in 2025.

There are also plans to seek SGI grant funding to invest in Transportation Rescue Extrication (TREX) tools for the Martensville Fire Department.  In addition, the City of Martensville says companies have been hired to design, plan and build the new Martensville Community Recreation Centre which will be funded in part through reserves, long-term borrowing, fundraising and the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.

Other highlights including rehabilitation work on Martensville’s pathways network, and the Lions Playground will be upgraded in partnership with the Martensville Lions Club.

Mayor Kent Muench says the City still plans to maintain and even increase service levels while keeping property tax increases at or below 3% over the last 4 consecutive budgets.