City of Kamloops staff say performing arts centre business case would not result in tax increase

KAMLOOPS — City of Kamloops staff say they have analyzed the business case presented last month by the Kamloops Centre for the Arts Society (KCAS) and confirm it will not lead to a property tax increase.

After council heard the KCAS business case at its Oct. 22 meeting, it pushed staff for a quick analysis to pave the way for council approval in time to meet federal grant application deadlines.

The analysis comes back to council in the agenda for next Tuesday’s (Nov. 5) regular meeting.

It says the city would take on the debt for a new performing arts centre (PAC) at about the same time the debt for the Tournament Capital Centre is retired.

In that case, staff say debt servicing costs for a maximum $45 million borrowed would be about $6 million annually.

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Speaking to CFJC’s Balance of Power, Mayor Ken Christian says the lack of a tax increase is one factor that makes this proposal significantly different than the one voters rejected in a 2015 referendum.

“They are different projects. The last one had a higher price tag, the issue related to parking was kind of confused with the last project. This is simply about an arts facility,” said Christian.

“We saw last time that there was a demonstrable increase in taxes related to the project,” added Christian. “A lot of people, if you ask them, ‘Do you want your taxes to go up?’ they’re going to tell you, ‘No.'”

The report to council also lays out pros and cons of both another referendum or a counter-petition process to approve the borrowing. At least one of those processes is required by law.

Christian favours the former.

“My preference, I think at this point in time, would lean toward a referendum,” said Christian. “The public has been asked about a different project of the same nature. We really owe it to them to ask again to see if they feel that this is significantly different and if this is the right project at this point in time for Kamloops.”

KCAS hopes to raise at least $22 million for the PAC, split between fundraising and grants from other levels of government.

“On balance, when we look at citizen satisfaction surveys and ask people what they want in Kamloops, generally they’ll tell you quite consistently two things: they want more uniform services — police and fire — and they want a performing arts venue, they want more investment in arts and culture,” said Christian. “I think it reflects the fact that Kamloops has been quite successful in investing in sporting facilities and now the arts and culture — it’s their time.”