A fiery debate ensured at Tuesday's council meeting over a proposed draft policy to assist development of new affordable housing in the city.
The policy for a new $5,000 residential down payment grant program was eventually adopted by a 4-2 vote, but not before vocal opposition was expressed from the two councillors who voted no: Brad Pattinson and Trent Houk.
Both opposed the idea of taking tax dollars away from one group of residents and giving it to another to allow them to buy new condos. Houk also suggested during the meeting that mill rates could go up to fund the grants - something he opposed.
The intent of the policy, according to City Planner Tim LaFreniere, would be to develop new affordable housing in North Battleford. It's being spurred on by recent efforts to develop a 21-unit condominium in the Killdeer area.
According to the terms of the down payment grant program, as explained at the meeting by LaFreniere, the City will provide a grant equal to a $5,000 down payment to the purchase of an affordable housing unit for homeownership purposes. There are also various eligibility requirements attached, including provisions the grant be available only to individuals and families meeting the definition of low or moderate income.
The whole notion of the city government providing a grant for a down payment on a condominium had the fiscally minded Pattinson aghast.
He sympathized with people trying to come up with money to afford a home, but Pattinson said it shouldn't be the role of municipal government to provide home ownership grants, as that ought to be a provincial and federal responsibility.
"Civic government was never established to dole out grants for people to buy housing," said Pattinson, who said it was the role of civic government to provide infrastructure, streets and roads.
"The City of Saskatoon embarked on a low-interest loan. This is an outright grant," said Pattinson. He went on to say he was "not interested in redistributing other people's wealth."
"I'm not interested in taking tax dollars from folks who are probably having as hard a time as everyone else, and handing it over to somebody so they can buy a new condominium," said Pattinson of the policy.
"It goes against all my being."
LaFreniere responded the genesis was the response of three years of work done province wide, addressing the issue of a lack of affordable housing. He explained vacancy rates were now around two per cent when it used to be at 22 per cent. The idea was that by allowing those new buyers to move up to ownership, it makes a rental unit available to someone else in the market. He also said it would help spur housing development.
The program is an alternative to tax abatement, he said.
The city planner's explanations did not persuade Pattinson, who later called the whole idea a downloading of a provincial government responsibility onto the municipalities. He also noted the historic incentive programs in North Battleford weren't designed to help people buy a new home but to spur construction and economic spinoff.
"Your worship, you're not going to change my mind. This is different," Pattinson said of the housing grant proposal.
Trent Houk voiced similar sentiments to Pattinson.
"This is the responsibility of the provincial government, not the municipality," said Houk of the grant policy. "I'll be strong on that one until the day I die."
Houk also sympathized with people looking to buy their first home but noted nobody gave him a down payment when he bought a home.
"I saved up and I bought a home," said Houk.
He further called it a waste of taxpayers' money.
"Are we going to be giving out more and more and the next thing you know we are giving out food stamps?"
Houk was so strongly against the grant policy that some testy exchanges ensued in council, with Houk suggesting the mill rate would go up to accommodate the estimated $105,000 it would cost for grants for 21 units at the proposed Killdeer condo development.
At one point Houk asked the Director of Finance Byron Tumbach if a tax abatement was not something that "could be rolled into the budget and factored into the mill rate and pay tax for it," Something Houk was implying the home grant might do.
At that point Councillor Ron Crush raised a point of order, claiming Houk's point was "not relative to the discussion."
That prompting a testy Houk to respond,"I hardly doubt that. It is relative to it because we are talking about a $105,000 out of the budget that's going to raise the mill rate and tax people in this community, Coun. Crush."
Crush was one of the councillors supporting the home-ownership grant from the city, saying that if the community isn't willing to invest in itself that you couldn't expect other levels of government to invest either. Ultimately, Mayor Hamilton allowed Houk's question to stand.
In the end a recorded vote was taken where Pattinson and Houk cast the only two no votes. The other four votes were all in favour of the policy, which was adopted at Tuesday's meeting.
