WHEREAS resource communities are being impacted by extensive financial challenges to both business and local government, which is resulting in an increase in poorly maintained and run down commercial buildings that diminish the positive image and ability for a community to revitalize and improve its financial state; AND WHEREAS the Province has provided modest programs to local governments such as the revitalization tax exemption that are ineffective in fiscally challenged resource communities, that do not have a large enough tax base to assume the reallocation of the tax burden; AND WHEREAS there needs to be a second look at ways for the Province to partner with local governments to create incentives for property owners to work with government to revitalize resource communities: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities request that the Province meet to develop effective revitalization programs for the provinces resource communities, including an investigation into tax restructuring to eliminate disincentives to upgrade buildings and reintroduction of the Downtown Revitalization Program.
MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY SERVICES The Downtown Revitalization Program provided funding for projects at a time when local government had fewer financing tools. In recent years, the Province of British Columbia Province has created a number of tools that can be used by all local governments to undertake downtown revitalization programs, and with the creation of the Municipal Finance Authority and changes to the Community Charter, local governments now have access to short and long-term capital financing at competitive interest rates. Recent changes to the Community Charter now provide local government with access to an even more flexible and adaptable revitalization tax exemption tool. The enhanced revitalization tool enables councils to promote any type of social, economic or environmental revitalization, such as the upgrade of buildings, with fewer restrictions. In addition, the Community Charter authorizes local governments to provide tax exemptions for protected heritage properties. Over the past year, a number of provincial funding programs designed to assist with downtown revitalization have also been developed. The BC Spirit Squares program is designed to assist communities in creating and enhancing public outdoor meeting spaces, and the Towns for Tomorrow program is designed to provide small communities and towns with cost-shared capital funding for capital infrastructure projects.