The development levy in Weyburn could be changing in the coming weeks, as council weighs its options after a report made by the administration at Monday night’s council meeting.

The levy was based on a report in 2013, which had forecast the growth rate of Weyburn to be six per cent. The actual growth of the city was much smaller, and the report, delivered by city manager Roy Hardy, recommended a more conservative forecast of two per cent growth.

The development levy, and changes to it, was something which was talked about extensively during the municipal election campaign last October, with many members of council wanting to see no levy on the expansion of existing properties. The reason cited is the levy is for the development of the cities infrastructure, and for the servicing of a lot, or development. It was argued since there is already a connection for the services, an additional levy isn’t necessarily a good idea unless the expansion is putting an additional strain on the infrastructure of the city.

The levy is currently at $86,000 per acre in the city, with a $12.21 per square foot levy for expansion to existing development. The report to council recommended reducing the levy to $76,440 per acre and eliminating the $12,21 per square foot portion, among other recommendations.

The recommendation to remove the $12.21 levy wasn’t unanimous, with some thinking it should still be applied if the expansion would add additional strain on the city’s infrastructure. The example given was the conversion of a gas station to a car wash, which would significantly increase the amount of water used.

A motion was made during the meeting for administration to draw up a bylaw, and for the issue to be further debated by the council in the coming weeks.