Proposed budget doesn’t recognize what businesses are facing: JPCC
Local business owners aired their grievances on the proposed budget to Jasper Municipal Council recently.
Representatives from the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce were among a dozen or so people in attendance for council’s December 5 meeting ahead of annual budget discussions.
Later in the meeting, those discussions were cut short when one councillor protested an extension of the meeting.
Chamber challenges
Four hours before that awkward ending, recently-minted president of the JPCC, Troy Mills, read parts of a statement which outlined the Chamber’s concerns about the municipality’s proposed 2024 budget. Mills claimed the proposed increases to the local tax requisition would be downloaded onto main street business operators.
“There is growing evidence showing that the fiscal policies of the MOJ are actually contributing to a growing number of vulnerable individuals and families in Jasper,” Mills said.
Mayor Richard Ireland asked if Mills was referring to the 2024 proposed budget or other municipal policies.
“A little bit of both, I suppose,” came the reply.
Landlords’ lament
The Chamber’s statement noted that an informal poll of local businesses indicates Jasper landlords have “no choice” but to raise rents to counter enormous utility and tax increases.
“The impact on these businesses and the community members that operate them could be devastating,” Mills said.
Mills added the JPCC would like more involvement when it comes to discussing municipal budgeting, and suggested the financial obligations that come with Jasper’s $5 million federal grant for zero-emissions public transit infrastructure would overcommit the municipality to unproven technology.
“They may be inadequate and unreliable in colder climates,” Mills said about electric-powered busses.
No voice on council
Owner of the Astoria Hotel, Papa George’s Restaurant and the D’ed Dog Pub, George Andrew, also made a statement to council. Andrew said a 13 per cent tax increase on his commercial property tax would be “crushing.”
“I’m struggling to recover from COVID,” he said.
As Andrew sees it, the reason council isn’t sensitive to the business community’s financial challenges is because no one on council owns a tourism-based business.
“You do not feel the pain,” he said. “I know it’s expensive to run a community, but the ability to run a business is in trouble.”
Playing with percentages
As part of their budget deliberations, council was considering a $1.5 million increase to the local tax requisition. Within the proposed 15 percent increase, approximately 13 percent reflects the cost of continuing current service levels and items approved in 2023, and the final 1.4 percent of the increase—on which councillors were scheduled to debate—reflects increased support to community organizations and new positions for 2024.
Jasper’s Chief Administrative Officer, Bill Given, presented dollar figure indicators of potential impacts on residential and commercial properties. For example, on a residential property worth $500,000, the tax increase would equate to paying approximately $16 more per month or $195/year, while on a commercial property worth the same, it would be $81/month or $972 per year.
“These should be used as indicative of scale,” Given said, noting that within Jasper’s property tax bylaw there are in fact five different mill rates.
Paid Parking price hike
Councillors heard from local restauranteur and former municipal councillor, Mike Day, who asked why Jasper’s visitor paid parking program was only instituted from May to October.
“Why not do it all year?” he asked.
Last meeting, councillor Ralph Melnyk had asked administration to prepare a document which showed how the municipality could bring in an extra $150,000 on top of the estimated $1 million in revenues for paid parking in 2023. After Director of Finance Natasha Malenchak said it would equate to about a $0.50/hour hike on parking rates, Deputy Mayor Wendy Hall moved to raise paid parking rates to fetch $1.35 million in 2024.
“I don’t think going from $3.50/hour to $4.50/hour is huge,” Hall said. The motion was carried with Melnyk and Damota opposed.
Debate cut short
Using an appendices prepared by administrators, councillors had passed a series of motions which would reduce expenses and increase revenues—for a net gain of approximately $400,000.
They had begun to chip away at community groups’ external requests for funding (the UpLift! Mural Festival had their $25,000 request reduced to $10K) when a motion to extend the meeting past four hours was put forward by councillor Ralph Melnyk. The normally-arbitrary procedure was challenged when councillor Rico Damota raised his hand in opposition to an extension. Council’s procedural bylaw requires unanimity on motions to extend meetings. As a result of his nay vote, the meeting automatically adjourned.
“I wasn’t sure whether you were playing a game,” Ireland told Damota.
Later, Damota indicated he wanted more time to consider residents’ feedback on the budget.
“I feel that a longer filter process is necessary,” Damota said.
According to the Municipal Governance Act, the remaining agenda items must be dealt with at their next meeting (currently scheduled for December 19) or a special meeting can be called—either by the mayor or a majority of councillors.
UPDATE (Thursday, Dec 7):
Jasper municipal council has called a Special Council Meeting to address remaining agenda items from Council’s regular meeting on December 5.
The meeting will take place on Tuesday, December 12 at 11 a.m.
Remaining items to address include approving the 2024-2026 Operating Budget and the 2024-2028 Capital Budget; Notices of Motion; Councillor Reports; and Upcoming Events.
Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com
