2023 December

As general elections for all municipalities will be held in 2024, now is the time for council to discuss if there is a need to increase or decrease the current number of councillors. Unless the urban municipality is divided into wards, a council, other than a rural municipality (RM), may by bylaw increase or decrease the number of councillors. A bylaw passed to do this must be passed at least 180 days before the general election and public notice is required.

An RM can also change the size of its council by applying to the Ministry of Government Relations to alter its division boundaries. This includes the option of eliminating all division boundaries and electing council members at large with no reference to divisions. RMs wishing to change or eliminate division boundaries are encouraged to initiate the process as early as possible.

For more information on the process to change division boundaries, check out the Division Boundary Changes within a Rural Municipality webpage or call Advisory Services at 306-787-2680.

The Ministry of Government Relations continues to collaborate with the municipal sector to improve the first-level property assessment appeals process.

In 2023, three out of four components of the Board of Revision Renewal Initiative have been implemented, including:

1. mandatory training for board of revision members and secretaries and certification of all boards of revision;
2. creation of the Office of the Registrar; and
3. providing for a centralized board of revision for municipalities unable or unwilling to appoint or establish their own local or district board.

The last component is establishing an Assessment Appeals System Advisory Committee that is under development and close to completion. This committee will be made up of members who represent municipalities, administrators’ associations, assessment providers and other stakeholders.

To evaluate the effectiveness of the training and certification component of the initiative and make continuous improvements to the property assessment appeals system, the ministry is inviting all secretaries and board members of certified local boards of revisions to complete a survey. The survey was sent via email to the secretaries of all the certified boards of revision on December 12, 2023. This survey will close on January 31, 2024.

Feedback and suggestions are valuable to the success of the initiative. Thank you for your participation in the survey and for your ongoing support to help ensure an efficient and effective property assessment appeal system.

Regulatory amendments to adopt the 2020 construction codes, along with Saskatchewan’s amendments to those codes, will take effect on January 1, 2024. The construction codes are the National Building Code of Canada, the National Energy Code for Buildings, and the National Plumbing Code of Canada.

The edition of the construction code in effect when a permit was issued continues to apply to any work under that permit. For example, the 2015 codes will continue to apply to any projects for which a building permit was obtained on or before December 31, 2023. Any work for a permit issued on or after January 1, 2024, will be subject to the 2020 edition of that code.

The regulations, which include Saskatchewan’s amendments to the codes, will be available on the Publications Centre on January 1, 2024. In the interim, view the Order In Council (OIC) regulatory amendment documents below:

• OIC 611/2023 The Building Code (Adoption of Code) Amendment Regulations, 2023.
• OIC 612/2023 The Energy Code (Adoption of Code) Amendment Regulations, 2023.
• OIC 613/2023 The Plumbing Code (Adoption of Code) Amendment Regulations, 2023.

Electronic copies of the construction codes are available free of charge from Codes Canada.

For more information, contact Building and Technical Standards at 306-787-4113 or btstandards@gov.sk.ca.

The deadline for submission of the online Declaration of Eligibility is January 31, 2024.

To help ensure a municipality’s Municipal Revenue Sharing (MRS) grant is not withheld for 2024-25, be sure to submit the municipality’s online Declaration of Eligibility and meet all eligibility requirements. Please refer to the Declaration of Eligibility Guide, Infographic or the Declaration of Eligibility Webinar for additional information on the declaration process and the eligibility requirements.

The unique link and password for the online MRS grant Declaration of Eligibility was emailed to each municipality on November 15, 2023. Municipalities that did not receive the email should contact grcompliance@gov.sk.ca to request the information be re-sent.

A completed declaration requires a resolution from council confirming the eligibility requirements that have been met. The ministry does not require a certified copy of the resolution unless the municipality is selected for audit. Administrators who have not yet submitted the online declaration should ensure the Declaration of Eligibility is on the December or January council meeting agenda for a resolution from council.

The Government of Saskatchewan introduced road maintenance agreements (RMAs) to allow municipalities to cover the incremental cost that occurs above regular maintenance costs due to the increased pressures of heavy or bulk hauls. In 2021, the Ministry of Government Relations amended The Municipalities Regulations to allow for the setting of regional rates based on the Ministry of Highways' Area Transportation Planning Committees (APTC). These rates are to be reviewed every two years and updated based on municipal transportation services expenditures in each APTC region, as well as truck traffic, road damage and payload data from the Ministry of Highways. The first set of rates were implemented for 2022 and 2023.

In accordance with Section 12.1 of The Municipalities Regulations, the Ministry of Government Relations has updated the regional RMA rates for the years 2024 and 2025. Please see the table below for the updated rates. The new rates are effective for 2024 and 2025.

^{Rates are per tonne per kilometre.}

You can access the 2024-2025 Road Maintenance Agreement Regional Rates Map. Visit Road and Streets Construction and Maintenance for more information on RMAs, including a template agreement.

If you have questions, please call 306-787-2653 or email property.tax@gov.sk.ca.

Municipalities can pass a bylaw to charge gravel crushers and extractors a gravel extraction licence fee. Formulas found in Section 8.1 of The Municipalities Regulations set out the maximum fee a municipality may establish. The formula was implemented in 2008 and is used to update the maximum fee every two years.

Effective January 1, 2024, the maximum gravel extraction rates for 2024 and 2025 will be:

$0.194 per cubic metre
$0.148 per cubic yard
$0.104 per tonne
$0.097 per ton

The maximum fee is increased based on the annual percentage changes for the “all-items” consumer price index (CPI) for Saskatchewan for the two years before the first year the new rates are to come into effect. The rate increase for 2024 and 2025 represents a CPI inflation rate of 3.3 per cent in 2021 and 7.1 per cent in 2022.

The rates are also found on the Road and Streets Construction and Maintenance page.

Further Information

If you have questions or comments about these fee rates, please call 306-787-2680 to speak to a municipal advisor.