A rare motion from Weyburn City Council on Monday has sparked some questions.  

Council voted on a consent of title motion, a part of the tax enforcement process. This is the transfer of a title to the municipality for tax enforcement purposes, according to City Assessor Abby Gerry. It is the final step of a rather lengthy process that also involves the Provincial Mediation Board.  

“When a homeowner does not pay their yearly property taxes, they are considered to be in arrears and a penalty is added to taxes owed,” Gerry explained to Discover Weyburn. “Further, a tax lien is added if the owner continues to avoid payments. The municipality will provide the owner a six-month notice after a lien is registered that it will apply for title of the property.” 

According to the province’s guidelines on property tax enforcement, when the title of the property has been transferred to the municipality, they must offer the title for sale by tender or auction within a year. The municipality also has the option of retaining the property for municipal purposes. Any personal property is held onto by the municipality for 90 days, and after that, it can be put up for public tender.  

Council unanimously approved the motion to take over the property that was subject to the consent of title during Monday’s meeting. According to the City Assessor, this is the second time in twelve months this has happened.  

“One property went up for tender in August 2022; prior to that, it was over a decade ago,” Gerry explained. While outstanding property taxes happens frequently, getting to the point of consent of title is still exceedingly rare, as the last time it happened before last year was over a decade ago.