OLDS — Town of Olds council has approved six of eight requests by non-profit groups for 2025 tax exemptions. They’re looking for more information on the other two.
The requests came up during town council’s Jan. 27 meeting.
Corporate services director Sheena Linderman told council successful applicants would be exempt from full property tax, including the education and seniors’ components.
The six approved are: Padnoma Support Services, the Olds & Area Pregnancy Support Centre, Scouts Canada, Imagine Gymnastics Club, Accredited Supports to the Community, and the Mountain View Hospice Society (formerly known as the Olds & District Hospice Society).
The two applications not approved, pending more information, are from The Friends of the Grizzlys and Mountain View Lodge No. 16 AF & AM.
Linderman said if all eight were approved, that would be about a $46,756 hit on the municipal portion of taxes, based on 2024 levies.
“The municipal portion obviously affects our budget, tax revenue, budget. And then the education and seniors’ (portion) would have to be absorbed by everyone else.”
She confirmed that all eight applications had received tax exemptions in the past and all have met the no. 1 requirement: that they’re a non-profit organization.
“The one that council really needs to look at is that the resources are devoted chiefly to a charitable and benevolent purpose for which the facility is used,” she said.
Linderman assured Coun. Heather Ryan that council can could postpone approval of requests for a month if necessary.
“They are just being presented today so that they're in place when we go to set tax rates and have all the information together,” she said.
The Scouts Canada application came in for a bit of a rough ride.
Ryan noted that under the Municipal Government Act (MGA) membership in the applying organization cannot restricted on any basis.
She suspected the Scouts Canada is a boys-only organization and therefore would not qualify for the tax exemption.
However, Ryan was mollified when legislative clerk Marcie McMillan’s Google search indicated that the organization has been coed for decades.
When the Friends of the Grizzlys application came up, Ryan questioned whether other groups are using its facilities.
The Junior A hockey club has a facility where players and coaches meet and as well as where players can work out.
“If there's no other groups using it, then I would oppose this one,” Ryan said, adding she’d like the Town to receive a letter from the Friends of the Grizzlys outlining who uses the facility.
Council passed a motion calling on chief administrative officer Brent Williams to contact the organization “as to the utilization of that that facility, above and beyond the immediate Junior A Hockey club” and bring the information to a future council meeting.
In the case of the Mountain View Lodge No. 16 AF & AM application, Ryan and Mayor Judy Dahl said they were unsure what that organization is.
Coun. Blatz suggested it’s the Freemasons.
“I don't know what they do in the community, so I would like to have a little bit of a report from them saying what they do,” Ryan said.
“I agree with Coun. Ryan,” Coun. Darren Wilson said. “I have a little bit of difficulty with this particular application.
“If you look at their website, there are certainly assemblies or offices throughout Alberta. There's a little bit of a lack, I think, of -- for a word that maybe is overused -- transparency.
“When I looked at their website as far as what they do, I believe it's largely a male membership club. So again, I don't know how that would necessarily fit in with the MGA criteria.”
Wilson said he struggled with the application because it’s his understanding that the group is a service club.
“I acknowledge all the fine work that all service clubs do, but there's just a little bit of limited information as to what's at the core of their mandate and what they do,” he said.
At that point, council voted to table a motion which would have approved the the Mountain View Lodge No. 16 request, pending a report from administrative staff on what the club does, what it’s all about.
The whole discussion spurred Wilson to advance a motion calling on chief administrative officer Brent Williams to schedule a council discussion on property tax exemption criteria prior to this June.
Wilson said the idea would be for council to “crisp up the criteria” for tax exemptions in the future.
Coun. Harvey Walsh questioned the necessity of that, noting the rules are contained in the MGA.
“I guess I'm just looking for this council to take another level of granularity and specificity around the criteria,” Wilson said, adding that the MGA appears to be “very broad” in several areas.
Williams told council that the MGA section regarding exemptions is under review. In the meantime, the life of that rule has been extended until the end of this year.
Ryan expressed hope that council could have input into the new regulations. For example, she cited “benevolence” as being a concept that seemed pretty vague.
“I mean, it's one thing for us to exempt our own taxes, municipal taxes, but then we're asking our community to eat the provincial taxes,” she said.
“And really those provincial taxes, those people should be applying to the province, to getting those exempt, as opposed to us having to eat both, not only ours, but the province’s at the same time.”
Coun. Wanda Blatz suggested that council wait until the review and possibly revised act are in place “when we have a more clear idea of what the new regulations and definitions will be,” perhaps in early 2026.
Councillors Dan Daley and Walsh agreed with that idea.
As a result of that discussion, Wilson withdrew his motion on that matter.
“I will just wait for the provincial government to deliver their findings with lightning speed, as I'm sure they will, so that we can move forward in a more efficient and timely manner as far as this discussion,” he said.
