Saskatoon curling clubs seek financial support to survive
The City of Saskatoon has made public its report which would address the financial supports requested by the four curling clubs in the city; the Granite Curling Club, Sutherland Curling Club, CN Curling Club, and Nutana Curling Club.
Granite Curling Club general manager Steve Turner says he’s disappointed in the lack of involvement the clubs had in the process.
“We had a couple brief meetings,” he said.
Turner says the city asked each club basic questions as to their financial impacts and percentages of overall expenses.
“We provided that information and then sat and waited,” he said.
“We just get to a point where this week they say ‘Hey the reports all done, can we meet to talk about it all’, but it's too late have any input on it.”
In an email statement, Community Services general manager Lynne Lacroix said meetings were hosted with the group to get their feedback on the potential approaches, which formed the basis of the various options presented in the report.
“Administration was tasked to gather all the feedback and formulate options, listing the advantages and disadvantages of each of the options, and has made a recommendation based on the technical and financial review of the options. Committee and Council can choose any other option in the report or direct Administration in any other way.”
The report puts forward four options which will go before City Council on Monday.
One of them is to maintain the status quo.
The others include:
OPTION 1
Create a property class for curling clubs that would lower their property taxes
Turner says the report fails to include that all four curling clubs recently received massive property tax increases with the latest assessments.
“The Granite, for example, received over a 25% property tax increase. So we're looking at additional $11,000 worth of property tax,” he said.
Turner says option one, which would see curling clubs “taxed at a residential rate as opposed to a commercial rate” would amount to practically no savings after their property tax increase.
OPTION 2
Provide a temporary tax abatement, with suggestion of two years
Turner says a two year tax abatement would be fantastic for those two years, but points out it wouldn’t do anything for them over the next 12 months, as it wouldn’t take affect until 2022.
“And in reality it's a bandaid,” he said. “Yes it would be great in the interim, but going forward ... we will be right back to where we started two years later.”
OPTION 3
Develop a Recreation and Sport Grant Program, similar to the Culture Grant Program
Turner says developing a Recreation and Sport Grant Program is the best of the three options, but it doesn’t address the four clubs’ current situation.
“The idea of that, and if that's approved on Monday, it would be for the 2022-2023 year,” he said. “We've got to get from here to that point.”
“There really is a lack of urgency in it, like the recommendation is to kind of, the best case scenario is us seeing an impact on this in potentially a year from now, and it's like, we've been working on this since 2018. A year could be too late.”
Turner suggests a hybrid of the ideas would be the best route for the city’s four clubs.
“What if we could get a break on our taxes? What if they could prevent the increase for us at very least or, 50 per cent, just to help us get to that point where we can develop this grant and abatement program for the long term solution,” he said.
“That right now is so far out in the future.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Made-in-Newfoundland vodka claims top prize at worldwide competition
A Newfoundland-made vodka has been named one of the world’s best by judges at this year’s World Vodka Awards.