It may have been the final meeting for Cochrane council’s current collection of councillors, but that didn’t stop a few fireworks during a discussion on whether the Cochrane Society for Housing Options (CSHO) should be given tax exemption status.
At present, the CSHO pays residential property tax fees – just under $11,000 a year – which are placed in a reserve fund that it can access at a later date. Most recently, the CSHO used $56,000 of its property tax fees to put new siding on its HomeStead building.
Council was somewhat split on whether allowing the CSHO to be tax exempt was the right move, believing other non-profit organizations could come forward seeking the same status if the precedence was set.
Councillor Ivan Brooker put forward a motion to defer a decision until administration was able to collect more information on the matter, something Paige Milner, the town’s senior manager of corporate services, said would be the next step in the process.
Brooker said he supported the CSHO, but that he was not comfortable making a decision on its tax exempt status until he had more information on the implications.
The majority of council – aside from Mayor Truper McBride and councillor Joann Churchill – said they were more comfortable with bestowing a grant to offset the CSHO’s yearly tax payment rather than making them tax exempt.
Churchill said the land the CSHO occupies is leased by the town at a cost of $1 a year, and the taxes being paid comes from the residents of the 25 affordable housing units the CSHO manages.
Brooker’s motion to defer the decision was defeated by a 4-3 vote, and a new motion was brought forward by councillor Ross Watson to ensure a grant for the CSHO would be present in the town’s 2014 budget to offset taxes paid.
Brooker said he did not understand why council was pushing so hard for a decision at this time, and claimed it may simply be due to it being an election year.
Councillor Jeff Toews echoed Brooker’s statement, but was quickly interrupted by McBride, who said councillors could not make accusations about members of council, something Toews said he did not do.
“To move this forward now is irresponsible government,” said Toews.
McBride made the claim that the motion to add a grant to the CSHO in the 2014 budget would mean councillors either supported affordable housing or they did not.
Brooker said he did support the CSHO, but that the decision was a financial one, not whether one supported affordable housing, and the way it was playing out would make anyone who did not support the motion look like ‘the bad guy.’
Watson’s motion passed by a 4-3 vote – Brooker, Toews and Davies voting against.
