A Red Deer city councillor is suggesting low-income seniors could benefit from a $100 property tax credit to help them to stay in their homes as long as possible.
Larry Pimm would like to see the City of Red Deer study delivery options and costing impacts of allowing a $100 credit for the 2010 tax year to low-income seniors who own a home.
Their income must be low enough that they are receiving financial assistance from the province, he added.
Pimm will bring forward this notice of motion to Monday’s city council meeting, with the hopes that staff would compile a report to see if this credit is practical.
“And hopefully, in my mind, it could be implemented this year,” he said on Thursday. “It would be a little bit of help to some people who need it.”
Pimm envisions if this goes forward, that the credit would become permanent.
He said he looked into the issue a few years ago and became a little disenchanted by it.
“What I saw was a demeaning means test and application process and about half the money went to administration rather than to actually assisting people,” Pimm said.
With this proposed scenario, seniors wouldn’t have to apply because the province has qualified them for income support.
“Grande Prairie does this and there is very little administration involved,” he said.
For the second year in a row, Grande Prairie city council recently decided it would give low-income seniors a $100 credit against their property taxes. Mayor Dwight Logan had wanted the subsidy to increase to $150, but his motion was defeated during a committee meeting.
In 2009, the subsidy cost the City of Grande Prairie just over $40,000.
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com