Councillor Cameron Stolz is right in that he doesn’t need to report on his disclosure form that he must submit in running for civic election or the annual declaration, that he was in serious delinquency in his home taxes.

Had it not been for some good digging by a 250News reporter, the public might have never known that property owned by Councillor Cameron Stolz , the Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee of the City of Prince George, was subject to a tax sale for failure to pay his residential taxes over the previous three years in the amount of $15,064.78.   That amount ,” The Upset Price”, included outstanding taxes, interest and fees.

Under the Financial Disclosure Act of the Province section s-3(e), it says “list all creditors to whom you owe a debt. Do not include, residential property debt (mortgage, lease, or agreement for sale) money borrowed for household or personal living expenses, or any assets you hold in trust for another person”. Stolz was quick to point out that he felt that he was exempt under the personal living expenses and residential property debt. So armed with that information, Stolz was not obliged to tell anyone he was seriously delinquent in his taxes and didn’t.

Now you would wonder who in the province wrote a section in the Financial Disclosure Act that you could drive a city bus through?

One would think that if your home is being put up for sale, because you didn’t pay your taxes and part of your yearly income is derived from setting the amount of money that taxes will bring to the municipality,  that the very basics of common   sense would prevail.

If it is designed to allow persons such as Stolz a way out of reporting on a major issue affecting their council seat , I for one would like to hear about it.

The issue rests at the feet of Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, Coralee Oakes.  If her Department supports this legislation, which was only recently introduced , I am sure again the people of BC would like to know why. Surely it should be paramount in the legislation that if your home is up for a tax sale or you are delinquent in  paying  your taxes, that you shouldn’t be sitting in a position to set the tax levy in that affected municipality.

Returning to the Stolz position. Councillor Stolz says ” to be very clear here,  Before the story broke in the media, I met with my fellow members of the Finance and Audit Committee and shared with them the fact that I was going to be, and was, delinquent and behind in my taxes, that, that  would be cleared up before the end of the month, that I was deeply embarrassed by that, and to admit that”. The story on the delinquent taxes broke October 3-2014 , Stolz was delinquent in his taxes from the previous years but they are not mentioned on his disclosure form of 2012.

If it is true the rest of the Finance and Audit Committee of the City Of Prince George knew ahead of time that Stolz was delinquent and his property was up for tax sale,  why didn’t those  fellow committee members  (Mayor Shari Green, and Councillors Murry Krause and Lyn Hall) insist that he not only resign as  chair of the committee, but  remove himself from  the committee altogether?

I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.