Prince George City Council is submitting one more resolution to the North Central Local Government Association (NCLGA).
At this week’s meeting, City Council approved a resolution to be submitted, involving closure allowances for major industrial and electrical properties.
“It involves how the assessment act allows that if major industrial or electrical concerns apply and get approved, they can have their assessments brought down to ten per cent of the value, and it’s the only class where that can occur,” said Councillor Garth Frizzell, chair of the City’s Standing Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs.
The resolution calls on the Province to have the Assessment Act amended, and associated regulations, to eliminate or substantially revise the closure allowance framework so that property assessment practices do not shift the fiscal impacts of major industrial closures onto small and medium-sized businesses, residents, and local governments, and instead support municipal fiscal stability and community economic recovery.
The full resolution can be found here.
According Frizzell, this resolution comes from the Houston Chamber of Commerce.
The District of Houston is facing a $1.2 million hole in their municipal budget, because of a closure allowance issued for the Canfor Mill, which permanently closed in 2024.
Councillor Cori Ramsay put forward an amendment to include the Union of BC Municipalities in the resolution for further advocacy, which was supported by Council.
“I think UBCM is already doing some work on this, but having this in policy would help I think solidify the direction of that,” she said.
“The issue we’re seeing is there’s not a lot of heavy industry properties inside community boundaries anymore, and so what’s happening is industry is shutting down and they’re not relinquishing those properties to become other businesses, because they can apply for the downgrading through BC Assessment.”
Council unanimously supported the resolution.
City Council approved three other resolutions at a previous meeting, as well as another at this week’s meeting regarding supporting saving a rail line between 100 Mile House and Squamish.
The NCLGA meeting is scheduled for May in Prince George.
–With files from Logan Flint, My Bulkley Lakes Now
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