There was an interesting and open debate at Tuesday night’s council meeting regarding the ongoing funding for Kicking Horse Culture. Since 2006 the town and the CSRD have provided joint funding through Golden Area Initiatives (GAI) to fund the Cultural Services Contract with KHC. Since 2009, KHC received $120,000 per year under this contract.
In 2013 the tripartite funding agreement that provided
funding for the GAI was terminated by the town. To facilitate the ongoing
operation of KHC for 2014, the town replaced the GAI as the contracting party
under the Cultural Service Contract and the town and the CSRD agreed to fund
KHC with $120,000 from the Economic Opportunity Fund (EOF). The EOF had been
funding the GAI to the tune of $100,000 per year.
KHC has requested that the Cultural Services Contract be
renewed for another 3-year term (2015-2017) on the same terms and conditions.
At the council meeting on Tuesday, council passed a resolution to continue the
funding from property taxes, and for Mayor Benty to petition the CSRD board to
do likewise. I had suggested that a review of all the funding options,
including membership fees and ticket pricing, should be undertaken with both
the KHC management and the CSRD regional director at the table.
Petitioning the CSRD board without complete analyses of the
funding options and gaining the full support of the regional director is
unlikely to succeed. In fact this action will entrench positions and make the
creation of a stable financial platform more difficult to achieve. Consequently
I voted against the resolution.
KHC adds a valuable cultural dimension to Golden and the
regional district, one that should be preserved and encouraged to grow. I am a
member of KHC and have attended a number of KHC events, however I feel a twinge
of guilt knowing that my entertainment is being subsidised by other people’s
property taxes.
I believe that
property tax payers should control how their entertainment and recreational
dollars are spent. Would it be better to keep property taxes low and leave
money in people’s pockets that they can spend on KHC or maybe going to the
movie theatre instead if they prefer?
No other society enjoys the privileged position enjoyed by
KHC. There are no operating grants for the golf course, the Nordic centre nor
the ski hill. It could be argued that these activities are economic drivers
larger than KHC but they stand alone without operational subsidies. The movie
theatre does not enjoy any cultural grants.
Should property tax payers be allowed to support whatever
activity they choose with direct contributions to the societies they consider
worthwhile? Or should they be forced to support an activity they neither enjoy
nor participate in? Should there be a referendum question regarding funding
these type of activities? Should the town expand its subsidies to include the
golf course, the Nordic centre and the hang gliding club?
I am interested in your opinion and would appreciate a few
minutes of your time to complete my survey on KHC, if you have not already done
so. The system only allows one submission per computer.
The opinions expressed in this blog are my personal opinions and may not represent the opinions of other Councillors nor the opinions of council.
