Good Samaritan's Christenson Village and Sunshine Coast Community Services Society's Gibsons Thrift Shoppe will get permissive property tax exemptions from the Town of Gibsons this year, but neither group is getting the amount they've requested.
Gibsons council voted Tuesday night to give a Christiansen Village a 75 per cent exemption and the thrift shop s 50 per cent exemption.
Both groups had requested 100 per cent exemptions, but the Town has been trying to reign in on some exemptions as giving them out means tax bills for those properties must be shifted to the rest of the Town's taxpayers.
The Town had first offered a 50 per cent exemption to Christenson Village, but after a sit-down between council and Christenson Village managers, council agreed to only request a tax payment on the assisted living portion of the building.
Mayor Barry Janyk said the Town is putting plans in place to hold meeting with B.C. Minister of Housing and Social Development Rich Coleman to discuss how more of the financial burden for Christenson Village can be shifted to BC Housing.
Similarly, the community services society was able to reach a compromise with the Town after initially being told there would be no exemption for the Thrift Shoppe, which is used to fund the society's other work.
Coun. Bob Curry voted against the motion on the grounds the he believed both groups should receive full exemptions on account of the work they do in the community.
