Mayor Kennedy Stewart says the City of 麻豆传媒映画is not going bankrupt but he continues to demand emergency funding from senior governments to offset the $5 million per week the city is losing in revenues.
Stewart reiterated his call Wednesday for financial assistance from the provincial and federal governments, saying he needs to know either way whether any money is coming.
鈥淚f they are not going to help, tell us,鈥� he told reporters at his weekly briefing at city hall. 鈥淚f they are going to help, tell us. Don鈥檛 leave us hanging in the middle of this massive crisis.鈥�
In recent weeks, the mayor has spoken with federal and provincial ministers and joined a regional and national push from mayors to seek emergency funds and tax relief measures for citizens.
Last week, he publicly requested the provincial government provide a $200 million injection of cash to offset losses accrued from closing community centres, libraries, pools and suspending parking enforcement.
Stewart said he heard over the weekend the money wasn鈥檛 coming, but continues to press the provincial government to help with other measures, including property tax relief for citizens and business owners.
Selina Robinson, B.C.鈥檚 Minister of Municipal Affairs, said in an emailed statement last week that she was aware of the financial state of B.C. municipalities, and is working to develop solutions to the crisis.
The city temporarily laid off 1,500 employees and expects more layoffs and cuts, if physical distancing measures continue to be in play for the near future.
The pandemic鈥檚 hit on city revenues, which could reach $190 million or more by year鈥檚 end, could be more severe if people don鈥檛 pay their property taxes.
The mayor dwelled on that fact Wednesday, referring to an independent online survey he released Sunday that showed 25 per cent of respondents could only afford to pay half of their 2020 property tax bills, while six per cent can鈥檛 afford any amount.
鈥淲e are not on the verge of bankruptcy, as some media outlets reported over the weekend,鈥� Stewart said. 鈥淚 did not say that, and I鈥檓 not saying that now. But I think all mayors would reasonably agree their city finances would be devastated if property owners are not able to pay their full property taxes, as our research shows may be the case for up to 35 per cent of our residents.鈥�
He acknowledged the city has billions of dollars in assets, but said the 鈥渧ast majority of it is tied up in real estate and other assets that are not easily converted to cash.鈥�
The majority of that value is in land, he said, that has affordable housing, libraries and fire halls on it.
鈥淚n order to access these funds, we would need to sell off land 鈥� something that I believe is extremely shortsighted 鈥� not to mention how dumb it would be to try and unload assets in the middle of one of the worst global downturns in the past century,鈥� said Stewart, taking the same line on budget surplus. 鈥淭hat figure is largely made up of development contributions 鈥� funds that are restricted to capital projects and cannot be used for operating [budget].鈥�
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