Arts funding tax dropped

Photo: Contributed

It's strike two for an arts tax in one area of the CSRD.

The Columbia Shuswap Regional District will be taking no further action on a proposed bylaw to allow the district to make a long-term, annual financial contribution to registered non-profit groups, the district said in a release.

Arts funding kiboshed

Non-profit groups must make project-specific applications through the CSRD’s grant-in-aid process to be considered for funding, the CSRD said. This bylaw had proposed a tax levy to provide a stable, annual source of funds instead.

Electoral Area C Director Paul Demenok and Electoral Area F Director Jay Simpson suggested no further action should be taken at this time, saying voters do not support for the alternative approval process in general.

“It looks like a great number of people opposed this based on their dislike for the AAP process in general, nothing else… It was discouraging to have this type of response,” said Demenok, who noted he was unlikely to support the use of the AAP process in future.

This was echoed by director Simpson.

“In this process, the naysayers become so much louder than the positives. I would have to look really hard before ever doing an AAP again,” added Simpson.