In its first order of official business on Wednesday -- immediately following the national anthem and flurry of welcoming remarks -- the Union of British Columbia Municipalities passed a special resolution on industrial taxation.

The UBCM resolution asserts that municipalities “have a legitimate right to expect that all taxpayers pay taxes,” and resolved that the UBCM will ask the province to help resolve B.C.’s milltown tax mutiny within a framework that acknowledges “local government’s legitimate expectation of fair compensation.”

The executive resolution, entitled “SR1,” referred to three related resolutions that also address components of industrial taxation. Among the actions urged by those late resolutions are support for the communities involved in court actions, and a request that the province determine an equitable solution to the standoff.

UBCM has addressed this issue at previous policy conventions, albeit in a less urgent fashion. A 2006 resolution supported the current authority for municipal governments to impose different tax rates for different categories of taxpayers — e.g., a higher rate for industry and a lower rate for homeowners.

Monte Paulsen reports for The Tyee.