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City claims port authority still not paying full tax bill

The City of Prince Rupert and the Prince Rupert Port Authority remain in talks about what the PRPA should be paying in taxes.

A report from chief financial officer Corinne Bomben indicates the City of Prince Rupert and the Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA) remain at odds about what the PRPA should be paying in taxes..

"The city has received the Prince Rupert Port Authority's 2014 payment-in-lieu of tax (PILT) payment. The city's share, the amount we notified the port to pay based on applicable mill rates and their assessment based on BC Assessment, was $1.675 million and this amount was approved in the 2014 budget. The amount the port has paid is $1.152 million ... this is $523,000 short of what was budgeted," she told council at the Sept. 2 meeting, noting the shortfall won't affect taxpayers this year.

"Had the port not made another interim payment in relation to prior years while we continue to attempt to resolve our dispute regarding land values, the city would be projecting a deficit after this short payment. Currently we are not projecting a deficit."

For its part, Prince Rupert Port Authority marketing and communications officer Kris Schumacher said the port authority provided a $1.7 million interim payment as the two sides work toward a deal on the PILT.

"The payment was specifically identified as interim due to the ongoing evaluation discussion between the City and PRPA ... the advanced payments were a good faith gesture to ensure that the time required resolving this issue did not cause the City and its taxpayers undue financial stress," he said, noting the interim payments and PILT payment are only a portion of tax revenue generated from port-related activities.

"This amount does not include the property taxes paid by PRPA tenants, and does not include the Port Competitiveness Tax Grant paid by the B.C. Government."