Wednesday evening, Oct. 21, Sechelt council chambers were packed with Girl Guides of Canada representatives as council considered - and passed - three readings of a permissive tax bylaw which will cut the tax exemption on Girl Guides Camp Olave by half, to $128,500 from $265,463.
At the outset of the meeting, Girl Guides representatives put questions to council. Debbie Fairhurst asked council if it was aware that Camp Olave is owned by approximately 3,000 Girl Guides from Vancouver, Richmond, the Sunshine Coast, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster.
"So there are 3,000 girls in that area and they would have to pay that yearly tax and they would have to sell over 100,000 boxes of Girl Guide cookies to pay that tax on top of what they already pay to help support and maintain those camps," she said.
When council came to the bylaw item on the agenda, councillors Warren Allen and Fred Taylor spoke against - and voted against - the bylaw.
Coun. Keith Thirkell spoke in favour of it.
"We have spent, we have given, over $2 million in taxpayers' cash on behalf of this group over the last 12 years, as is demonstrated by our chief financial officer. Not just forgiven tax, but money spent by the taxpayers of Sechelt on this group," he said.
Chief financial officer Andrea de Bucy explained further: "When we don't collect that amount [of the permissive tax exemption], then that amount of tax is then collected from the remaining taxpayers of Sechelt. And the difficulty here is that we don't have a large tax base, other than residential. So when we exempt almost 10 per cent of our base from taxation [which is the total of permissive tax exemptions], that then puts a significant burden on other taxpayers."
At the end of the meeting, when the three readings had passed, Fairhurst asked if there is an appeal process. Inkster answered that there isn't.
Other questions were left hanging, until staff can put together answers.
"Do you realize," Joan Bittroff asked, "that you are jeopardizing this camp and its ecological and environmental value, because Girl Guides may not be able to keep it?"
