Education property taxes being hiked 8.3% in Regina

This week, residents in Regina opened their mail to find their property tax notices for 2017.

Households will on average be paying more this year thanks to rises in municipal property taxes, as well as education and library taxes.

The municipal hike has been in the news recently, and now the change to the education portion has been unveiled, too.

Some residents have taken to Reddit and other social media to air their frustration about having to pay more this year.

Here's a breakdown of how your taxes are increasing:

- Provincial education taxes—8.30 per cent

- Library taxes—2.90 per cent

- City of Regina municipal taxes—6.50 per cent

For example, a household in Lakeview with a tax assessment of $223,200 will pay around $920 in school taxes, $1,515 in city property taxes and a library tax of $146.

The changes are different from neighbourhood to neighhourhood, because 2017 is a reassessment year and house values have fluctuated. As a result some people will actually see their property taxes go down.

Education property taxes are collected by the city, but the money is given to public and Catholic school boards.

Residents upset by the more than 8.3 per cent hike in this portion of their taxes should take the matter up with the province, since it sets the rate and not the boards, according to the chairperson of Regina Public Schools.

"That is now out of the hands of school boards," Katherine Gagne said Friday.

"It is what it is."

The board is currently dealing with a $9.5 million shortfall as a result of the provincial budget released in March.

All school divisions have to submit their 2017-18 budgets to the provincial government by June 30. That's also the day residents have to pay their property taxes without facing penalties.

Gagne said the board's spending plan will focus on keeping teachers in front of students, while making changes to transportation zones to kindergarten classes.