Court date set for Castlegar/Celgar tax dispute
By Kyra Hoggan
The City of Castlegar and Zellstoff Celgar will finally have their day in court as the B.C. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear their case on March 22 and 23 of this year.
The case began in summer of last year, when Celgar declined to pay a $3.6-million municipal tax bill, filing suit instead and arguing the city taxes are “unfair and unreasonable”.
Far and away the city’s largest ratepayer, with tax bills representing roughly 40 per cent of Castlegar’s budget, Celgar effectively forced a re-evaluation of its municipal tax burden (one it had been calling for repeatedly in previous months).
Celgar has since paid hundreds of thousands of dollars on the outstanding amount, including all the money owed other jurisdictions such as the school district, regional district and so forth, and continuing negotations include regular payments on the bill as the city, for its part, works to find ways to reduce its primary ratepayer’s local tax burden. (Much of the city’s resultant new taxation paradigm will become evident in its 2010 budget process, for which public meetings will likely be held in March.)
Castlegar mayor Lawrence Chernoff said the court proceedings are simply part of processing the conflict, and should not hamper negotiations in any way.
“I think we’re still on the same premise, that we plan to go ahead with the case,” he said. “There’s a question here; an issue that was raised. The question is still out there and needs to be answered.
“I think the public is looking for that – for a court decision. We’re talking about a point of law here – it’s just part of the bigger picture. It’s one more thing we want to clear off the plate to see this whole thing resolved.”
Four similar cases elsewhere in the province have already been heard by the B.C. Supreme Court, with the courts largely finding in favour of municipalities’ right to set taxation rates (although TimberWest was successful in getting its tax increase overturned).
Chernoff said he expects the city’s position to be similarly vindicated in court, but the basics of the situation remain the same, by his lights.
“We still need to work with Celgar to make sure our largest employer is viable and healthy,” he said. “But we also need to see that (tax) bill paid.”
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