City of Prince Rupert chief financial officer Corinne Bomben updated city council last week on the exemption status of church parking lots for the proposed 100 per cent tax exemption for 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
After Coun. Joy Thorkelson requested clarification of how much the church parking lots’ tax rate exemptions would in the upcoming years during the Oct. 5 council meeting, Bomben brought the exact figures on Oct. 26.
“The tax exemption of all properties were given 100 per cent exemption. The total tax exemption of all properties listed as places of worship (being the land excess to the building footprint) and other properties (being the land/or buildings of the remaining applicants) if at 100 per cent is estimated at $332,000. At the current tiered exemptions, it would be approximately $316,000. This is a difference of $16,000 per year,” said Bomben.
“Of this value, the amount exempt for church parking lots is $1,694 per year. Over the next four years, which is what the bylaw has been through three readings of, it’s $6,776 estimated [total over those four years] exempted.”
After the discussions, mayor and council passed the 2016-2019 tax exemption bylaw, granting 100 per cent tax exemption rates for the bylaw’s included lands.