Regina daycare still calling for property tax exemptions

EXCERPTS

A Regina daycare is renewing its call for property tax exemptions for licensed, non-profit childcare centres as the city’s executive committee considers a policy on how to grant them to non-profit organizations on Tuesday.

Colleen Schmidt, a board member for the Cathedral Area Cooperative Daycare said the draft policy would exclude organizations like hers.

“We’re disappointed. We had hoped daycare would be included in the exemption policy,” Schmidt said.

She points to the policy’s third criteria for eligibility, which states that a group applying for an exemption must provide services and programs that enhance council objectives for improving quality of life.

Applicants must operate as a sport, culture, recreation, arts or heritage organization.

“Anyone can go through the exercise of applying if you’re a non-profit. But it would just be an exercise because you wouldn’t meet any of the eligibility criteria,” Schmidt said.

“And that’s why it’s so important to be included in the wording in a meaningful way so that if we did apply, we’d at least have a reasonable opportunity of success.”

Council could approve the policy at its Dec. 17 meeting.