Nearly a year has passed since the Jasper Legion requested an exemption from municipal property taxes and still no resolution has been reached.
Ken Kuzminski, president of the non-profit organization, appeared before council July 7, asking that the request be put back on the radar and resolved, as the legion continues to struggles to stay afloat.
Although the request is seemingly straight forward, it is actually quite complicated. The Municipal Government Act says Royal Canadian Legions are exempt from municipal property taxes, but it also says that exemption is null and void if the organization has a liquor license, which the Jasper Legion does. There is also additional legislation, referring to the building’s primary use, that complicates the matter even further.
When the issue first came before council last September, it was left with the town’s chief administrative officer and director of finance to clear up where the legion stands.
However, the same confusion exists 10 months later.
During council’s July 14 committee-of-the-whole meeting, it was still unclear whether the Jasper Legion is eligible for a tax exemption, so administration suggested the municipality undertake a legal review.
Currently the legion pays commercial taxes on a third of its property, accounting for an annual tax bill of about $6,800. The remaining two-thirds of the building—the portion where École Desrochers used to be—is zoned institutional, exempting it from municipal taxes.
Since the French school moved out of the building in September, the legion has been struggling to make ends meet, as it’s no longer collecting rent and continues to cover the cost of the building’s utilities and upkeep.
The board has looked for a new tenant, but has run into numerous problems because of the building’s zoning, which limits what the space can be used for.
Grande Prairie Regional College (GPRC) has shown interest in using it as a culinary institute, but hasn’t yet confirmed its plans with the legion.
Kuzminski told council that, in the meantime, if the legion doesn’t receive assistance in some way, it will likely close its doors.
“If a decision is not made by the provincial government to fund [the culinary institute] within the next month or so, in September we’ll probably be looking at closing the doors and we would then look at transferring the building over to the provincial command.
“Our reserve funds are depleting—between our electrical and gas bills and just the upkeep of the building and everything, we’re just losing too much money on a regular basis.”
The legion’s request will appear before council at the July 21 meeting, at which time it will consider a number of options presented by administration, including the deferral of the legion’s tax burden until the municipality can determine whether the organization can legally be exempt.
“To me it’s all mud,” said Mayor Richard Ireland, referring to the legislation. “I would like to know legally what the position is.
“There is a provision in the Municipal Government Act that council can defer collection of a tax. If the immediate concern is paying this year’s taxes, we could conceivably defer the collection of this year’s taxes until we sort this issue out.”
“The long term survivability of the legion is our concern,” said Kuzminski, “and we’ll pursue any option that we have that allows that. Right now we’ll look at any option that’s in front of us.”
Nicole Veerman
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