Board of Revision hearings to be handled by Nor-Sask Board Services

By Ian MacKay

Residents who want to appeal the assessed values placed on their properties will present their cases this spring to assessors from Nor-Sask Board Services.

Town councillors approved hiring the company to handle the municipality’s Board of Revision after several local citizens resigned from the panel.

Acting chief administrator Amanda Bors said administrators had asked two firms to provide proposals to take over the service.

“We talked about it in the past at meetings of the Urban Municipalities Administrators Association of Saskatchewan and I heard both good and bad about both,” Bors told councillors during their March 2 meeting.

Nor-Sask submitted a slightly lower price than the competing firm, she said.

The company also plans to conduct as much of the work as possible through Zoom, reducing travel costs and the need to rent a facility for hearings.

“They like to do as much through Zoom as they can because it saves on travel and renting a facility,” Bors said.

Mayor Trevor Hay said he appreciated the company’s detailed outline of its staff and their experience.

“I like how they detail all their members,” Hay said. “There’s a breakdown of each one. Talk about lots of good knowledge and accreditation of what they have done.”

Councillors also formally appointed Mike Ligtermoet as secretary of the Board of Revision.

Ligtermoet has served on the board of the Saskatchewan Assessment Appraisers Association and previously worked in the assessment field in Prince Albert.

In a letter to the town, Ligtermoet said Nor-Sask Board Services consists of “five well-educated and experienced assessment professionals who can provide your community with a comprehensive board of revision service.”