The Battlefords Chamber of Commerce was before North Battleford council Monday night renewing their calls for changes in the tax assessment for the city’s businesses.
Battlefords Chamber president Jay Bottomley, who is also proprietor of Oil Can Charlie’s and Betty Bubbles car wash in North Battleford, made clear his frustrations and those of the Chamber membership.
“We all have concerns about the current level of assessment in North Battleford,” said Bottomley, who was critical of the “current method of assessment and lack of upward action on our requests for meaningful discussion and review of potential changes in taxation models and policies.”
The main issue for the Chamber had been the “cost” approach to assessment currently in place at City Hall.
The Chamber had met with City officials last year and Mayor Ian Hamilton met the board in November, expressing a commitment to strike a committee on taxation. There had been discussion at the time about potentially changing assessment to an “income” approach, which would be based more on revenues.
“To date, no visible external action has been taken to these requests for meetings,” Bottomley said.
Bottomley said the “income approach” might “help to minimize the current gaps in commercial taxation paid on properties.” He said new development and new construction are being penalized while older and unkempt properties are rewarded in age and depreciation.
Bottomley said while the income approach wasn’t the only option he suggested it could “make for a more level playing field” and fair taxation system.
In the discussion that followed at council, it was noted there had been attempts to investigate moving to the income approach in the past. The stumbling block was the level of participation in previous surveys, Councillor Greg Lightfoot noted. They had received a report from the assessor for the area and the first survey had a nine per cent response and the second was 13 per cent.
More discussions of the whole tax assessment issue are planned; Mayor Ian Hamilton did note there were some meetings scheduled to “begin the process.”
