The council of the City of Prince George is charged with the mandate of providing a variety of services to residents and inhabitants of the area. Some of these services include solid waste, transportation, finance, billing and taxation, water and real estate management within the city. The council can carry out this mandate since it conducts meetings where policies are debated and decided. I got the opportunity to watch how the Council of the City of Prince George conducts its meetings during the creation of ByLaw number 8370 2011. This ByLaw applied to Parcels that are situated within the Revitalization Area where a project is proposed by an owner. The council defined the Revitalization Area as a specific area that was mapped in the downtown part of the City of Prince George.
The ByLaw No. 8370 2011 was created to create a contractual agreement between the City of Prince George and the owners of properties that lie within the Revitalization Area. The ByLaw also provided tax exemption to owners of these properties, which is a fraction of the municipal property taxes that are payable according to the evaluated value of the property or improvements made on it. The ByLaw was passed after a unanimous decision by all the council members who were present in the meeting and were eligible to vote. This occurred on July 25th, 2011 after three readings were done (City of Prince George 2011). The ByLaw was then left for signing by the mayor and corporate officer thereafter.
Several laws and statutes were mentioned or discussed during the Council meeting. It was mentioned that the ByLaw agreement does not interfere with a common law or the powers of the city which are stated in the Interpretation Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 206. The Strata Property Act was also mentioned to explain the procedures to be followed in case an owner stratifies his property but is entitled to tax exemption.
During the council meeting, several visual aids were used to illustrate certain details of the ByLaw. Some of these tools that were used include a detailed map of the downtown area where the Revitalization Area is marked. A copy of the contract that is used to bind the owner and the City of Prince George was also available during the meeting. This contact was the focal point for ByLaw No. 8370 since it spelled out all the required details about the obligations of the two parties involved in the tax exemption program. The contract captured qualifications for property owners who could be granted tax exemption.
The contract explained the factors under which the City Council of Prince George can revoke the agreement and the penalties involved thereafter for the parties that breach the contract. For instance, it was stated that if the owner sells a portion of the property without transferring the tax benefits to the buyer, then this would be a breach liable for termination of the agreement and a fine payable within 30 days.
The possible outcomes of the ByLaw No. 8370 are that property owners in the Revitalization Area will breathe a sigh of relief thanks to the adoption of the tax exemption program that kicked off on 08/08/2011 when the ByLaw was adopted. There will also be better handling of properties within the Revitalization Area so that owners can qualify and maintain their tax exemption status.
Works Cited
City of Prince George. Downtown Revitalization Tax Exemption Bylaw No. 8370. 2011. Web.