TAX relief A privilege, not A right, mayor says

Tax relief is not a right, but a privilege.

That’s the message Mayor Michael Fougere sent after council’s executive committee heard more criticism of a proposed tax-exemption policy for non-profit organizations.

“We have so many asks and not nearly enough resources to do it, so we have to make choices here,” he said.

But representatives from nonprofit groups again thundered that a $1.2 million cap would pit them against each other as inflation eats into a fixed pool of exemptions. Some worried they may lose tax breaks they ’ve previously enjoyed.

“The proposed cap within the policy will erode support for nonprofits over time,” said Anthony Kiendl, executive director and CEO of the Mackenzie Art Gallery.

“If this policy goes through, effectively council is sending a message that it’s abandoning or not prioritizing these charitable organizations,” he added. “This will negatively affect the quality of life in our city.”

Only one city councillor pushed for greater tax relief for non-profits. Coun. Andrew Stevens proposed raising the cap to $2 million per year.

He withdrew the motion after a rush of procedural bickering and information that the move would require a 0.33-per-cent increase to the mill rate.

“I could see where it was heading, and I was told that the cap had already been made part of the budget,” Stevens later told the Leaderpost.

Executive committee then approved the policy as proposed, sending it to a full meeting of council for final passage.

Daycares had previously been at the forefront of the criticism over the policy, with Colleen Schmidt of Cathedral Area Co-operative Daycare telling councillors in August that non-profit child care centres should be included.

That didn’t happen on Tuesday. But Schmidt still left the meeting in a cheerful mood. The committee requested more information on a set of options for bringing tax relief to daycares.

That could include creating a separate tax class for daycares, or a full-fledged incentive policy of the sort that social housing now receives from the city. Schmidt said she would prefer a full exemption, but doesn’t know “if it’s in the cards.” But she still saw ample grounds for confidence that councillors would give careful thought to her arguments.

“I’m actually really pleased,” she said. “I feel that it’s been a good process and I’m happy I had a part in it.”

It could take about 18 months to craft a new policy for daycares, according to administration. But staff will come back with interim options that could support them in the meantime.

Some daycares, including Schmidt’s, saw their property taxes more than double in 2016 after they were moved from the commercial to the residential category. For Schmidt, it was another hit to an already challenged sector.

“The truth is, our daycare sector in Saskatchewan and in this city is not in a great place,” she said on Tuesday. “We have quality issues. We have affordability issues. And of course we have shortage issues.”

That prompted Fougere to question whether the province — rather than the city — should be taking action. He signalled that it seems like a “systemic” issue.

Schmidt agreed that there’s a need for more provincial dollars.

“Our daycare problems, I would say generally, they’re huge, so the solution has to be huge,” she said.

We have so many asks and not nearly enough resources to do it, so we have to make choices here.