Air traffic towers are found at every airport but the towers are now at the centre of controversy.
Nav Canada is the private corporation that has towers across the country.
It has recently appealed some of their assessed values and won.
Today, mayor is expressing concern because if Nav Canada makes a similar move, it could affect Kelowna’s bottom line.
“Absolutely it’s a shock,” says Gray.
Gray says recent successful appeals by Nav Canada of its property assessments at four airports could affect the Central Okanagan city in a big way.
In Victoria for instance, the property assessment appeal board dropped the assessed value of the control tower from $1.4 million to just $20.
The city of Kelowna is in a unique situation because unlike most municipalities, it owns the airport and if a similar move was made in Kelowna, it would mean Nav Canada, a private corporation, would pay the city virtually no property taxes.
“We are of the mind they should pay taxes. They are a private company,” says Gray.
“They’re argument is that these are very specific special use buildings at the airport, but our belief is that if our tower was available we would find a user for it and they would pay taxes.”
Gray the City of Kelowna stands to lose $51,000 in annual tax revenue from Nav Canada, an amount he says is significant.
“If we don’t get that $50,000 then the broad base of taxpayers will have to pick up the slack or the city has to cut some program.”
Nav Canada says it has made no decisions yet whether to appeal assessed values at other airport towers like the one in Kelowna.
Nav Canada’s successful appeals are now the subject of appeals themselves by BC Assessment.
Nav Canada is waiting to see how that turns out before making any further steps.
One of the four successful appeals of assessed values was at the Penticton airport.
But unlike Kelowna, the airport in the Peach City is owned by the federal government not the municipality.
That means there is no impact to Penticton city coffers.
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