Emokhare Paul Anthony
Daily Herald
City council has approved a request for tax relief from Prince Albert and District Chamber of Commerce following their move to a new headquarters at 54 – 11th Street East in March 2024.
Council also unanimously approved a 2024 tax rebate of $4,173.93 for the Chamber.
In a letter included in the meeting agenda package, Chamber CEO, Patty Hughes said they have secured a long-term tenant in Community Futures at the 11th Street East location. The rest of the building will be used for functions like the new ChamberHQ, as a support centre for startups and small businesses that includes short-term rental space.
Hughes wrote that the rental income will help pay building expenses, but further financial support is needed as the move was a “significant investment” for the chamber.
“This (ChamberHQ) is supporting economic development and fostering business growth,” Hughes wrote. “We are hoping that having this space will attract new entrepreneurs to our community, and specifically to the Downtown. We are able to provide that space at a reasonable rate for the short term if we do not have to account for the additional expense of property taxes as part of our operation.”
Council voted unanimously in favour of the tax exemption and abatement, although several members were hesitant to do so. The biggest concerns was over the exemption deadline.
Administration told council that although the Chamber provided the necessary paperwork, the application was not made before the deadline. All applications for tax relief must be filed by Oct. 15 of the year prior, so a request for tax exemption in 2024 must be made by Oct. 15, 2023.
Coun. Daniel Brown said the abatement was a “pretty small amount” but he worried about what kind of precedent the decision would set.
“I do want to proceed with caution to avoid this in the future,” Brown said during the meeting. “I believe there should be onus on the people moving—and the non-profits—to have their timelines met.
“We have timelines for a reason. I don’t like swaying from them. It causes hard feelings when someone comes back a year later and you don’t get it, so I’ll support the motion the way it is, but fair warning, I won’t support the next one.”
Both Mayor Bill Powalinsky and Coun. Dawn Kilmer said they were supporting the exemption and abatement with caution. Powalinsky said the he was willing to do so because the Chamber had not decided to move to a new location by the Oct. 15 deadline.
Powalinsky told council the Chamber didn’t begin discussing a possible move until Nov. 27, and began exploring options for a new building in December as no suitable locations were found among City-owned properties.
“In order to receive an exemption for 2024, the Chamber of Commerce would have had to have applied in October 2023, at which time there wasn’t even a discussion about a new facility,” Powalinsky said. “I know that it’s probably not a typical move. I think it would be under very extenuating … circumstances that we would consider a retroactive approval. My inclination and leaning is towards saying that in this case it was impossible for the Chamber to have made an application.”
Administration originally suggested council deny the request for tax relief because the Chamber didn’t hit the deadline. Coun. Troy Parenteau amended the motion to provide the Chamber with a tax abatement for 2024.
“They have gone through the process of meeting deadlines, but in this case, it’s a problem with timelines,” Parenteau told council. “You moved in after the ability to apply. It’s nobody’s fault. We do need timelines in the city, but sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t.”
Coun. Tony Head told council he would have made a similar amendment if Parenteau didn’t. Head said the request was just bad timing. Since the Chamber is supporting local busiensses, Head added, it made sense to support the Chamber.
–with files from Jason Kerr/Daily Herald
