Province provides service grants

Published: December 02, 2008 Vernon Morning Star:

The City of Vernon and the Village of Lumby are receiving funds in lieu of property taxes from the provincial government. “These communities provide services and maintain infrastructure that benefit our provincial government buildings,” says Okanagan Vernon MLA Tom Christensen. “These payments in lieu of taxes recognize our government’s responsibility to help support these services.” Vernon will get $66,865 and Lumby will receive $3,678. The grants are distributed as a way to compensate municipalities for services that benefitted government properties. In the past, it was the practice that one level of government did not tax the property of another level of government. However, beginning in the 1960s, the province began to recognize its responsibility to compensate municipalities for local services that benefitted these properties, such as roads, sewers and fire protection. The grants are based on the assessed value of provincially owned office buildings and other properties in each municipality.