Kipling Town Council: Willow Heights residents not happy with 41 per cent tax hike

August 20, 2025, 10:18 am
Ryan Kiedrowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A delegation from Willow Heights Estates came to Kipling Town Council during their regular meeting on Aug. 11 after a 41 per cent tax increase this year. The jump in taxes was due to the 2025 Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency property revaluation, which happens every four years. From the information collected by SAMA, updated property values then factor into the municipal budget come tax time as mandated by the province.

Representing Willow Heights Estates were Eric Widdup and Mike Warner, who were concerned with exactly how much the new assessment ballooned for residents.
“I’m sure by now most of you are aware that there was a reassessment and our assessment went up drastically, but you might not be aware of what that actually had done to our tax bill and how it affects us,” Widdup told council. “We know that our taxes are going up by 41 per cent, so I don’t think anybody around this room would be surprised if we should question that, or anybody could question it, but that’s our reality.”

Widdup also shared that other Bridge Road properties have bore the brunt of the spike, citing Crossroads Villa in Whitewood as an example where the property has gone up nearly 100 per cent on the tax bill.

“One thing that we always want to recognize is that the town has really been fair to us and gave us a really good tax break to get the building started,” Widdup said. “We’ve also recognize from knowing the situation in other towns, that Kipling has done a really good job of maintaining a low mill rate. And we also recognize, of course, that you didn’t increase the mill rate or have a base tax.”
According to Widdup, some Bridge Road properties have been engaging Meyers, Norris, & Penny to challenge SAMA on those assessment numbers on a cost-recovery basis.

“I by no means think that we’re here to attack the Town of Kipling for our situation, but we’re hoping to build a little sympathy for our position, that you’d understand it and help us with it,” Widdup said.

The 10-year-old Willow Heights Estates is an 18-unit apartment building which was initially buoyed by 12 investor shares, putting up $100,000 initially to kickstart financing.

“We struggled with occupancy quite strongly for the first 10 years, so we as investors had to inject an additional $7,000 over that period,” Widdup said. “We’re not getting rich on that building, we as investors won’t see a return on our investment.”

He explained that the only way investors would see a return is if the building were to sell, which is highly unlikely. Long-term refinancing has been sought, which has brought some relief to investors prior to the SAMA reassessment.
“Now we’re sitting on a 40-year mortgage, and the building is full right now, so we’re actually breathing quite a bit of relief,” Widdup said. “But we have to treat that very responsibly because we don’t know that we can maintain that.”

After the delegation left, CAO Brenna Ackerman explained to council the process of delivering assessment notices to property owners such as Willow Heights Estates.
“We give them their assessment notice, I send out their assessment notices, as per what SAMA gives me,” she said. “They have the right to challenge it.”

Those notices are typically in the hands of property owners by January to February, depending on when the municipality receives the information from SAMA.
One option is to adjust the town’s mill rate, however, that rate cannot be adjusted to suit individual properties.

“Not everything went up, and that’s why they have to challenge their assessment because I can’t challenge it for them,” Ackerman said. “You can’t pinpoint what changed, it was just random.”

She told council that in conversation with other administrators in the area, it’s been the same story where individual properties have fluctuated rather than an overall shift.

“You’re looking at certain properties that have gone up, one makes sense because they just built the building, but some of them, you don’t know if they’ve done renovations or not,” Ackerman said.

While the town is sympathetic to the situation Willow Heights Estates is in, there’s not much the municipality can do.

“I think this is going to be the story that we haven’t heard the end of,” said Mayor Pat Jackson. “As I said to them, we can’t really do a thing—that’s between them and SAMA—and their lawyers, unfortunately.”

Fly-in BBQ postponed
This summer’s Kipling Airport Fly-in Barbecue has been put on hold.

“The Fly-In Barbecue has been postponed for now,” confirmed Mayor Jackson, citing a very busy summer for organizers.

One option would be to roll the airport event in with next July’s celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of the town’s famous red paperclip.

“The thought is that if we want to make it one solid weekend, we do that on the 11th, which is the Saturday, and then the 12th is the Paperclip,” Mayor Jackson said. “With the lead time we’ve got now, people will realize that they’ve got things that they can do both days, all kinds of activities on both days, and make a full weekend of it.”

Local gym closing
During the Leisure Services Manager’s report, discussion was held around the recent announcement of Bullet Proof Fitness closing its doors. In a post on social media on August 6, the owners of the business officially announced that after eight years, the business was sold.

“This is not a decision we’ve made lightly,” read the message. “What we know for certain is that these past eight years have been more than just running a business—they’ve been about building a community and making an impact that extended further than our small town of Kipling, Saskatchewan.”
The gym closing did spark some conversation with council, perhaps prompting future interest in a similar facility as well.

“Fire me some ideas so we can start to maybe get the conversation going with some people,” Mayor Jackson advised council, adding that there are groups interested in keeping active locally.

New business items
A lone tender to purchase the reverse osmosis system that had been uninstalled in the arena was received. Proceeds from the sale totalling $1,600 are to go into Leisure Services general revenue.

A rental agreement with FYI Eye Care services and products was approved for an annual amount of $2,400.

Council approved the Town of Kipling Water Quality Assurance Plan as presented, directing CAO Ackerman to send copies of the plan to the Environmental Protection Officer at the Water Security Agency for their files, along with a copy of the motion from council.

The town has received funding for 90 per cent of the SGI Provincial Traffic Safety Fund Grant for LED stop signs to be installed. The remainder of the funding will be made upon completion, and council approved the Stop in the Name of Safety LED stop sign motion.

A motion was made to reimburse the 45 and Over Baseball Team for $167.42. The team made the request after having to mop up water before their recent tournament at the Kipling ball diamonds. After some discussion, the motion was made to reimburse the full amount.