The MacBride Museum – or any museum which holds title to property – will be granted their full property tax, at least for now.

Council voted Monday evening to exempt any museum holding title to property from the provisions of the granting policy and provide a grant equal to the entire property tax bill.

Currently, MacBride is the only museum in the city to hold title to its land. Most others are on Yukon government land.

“We’re really pleased,” MacBride president Keith Halliday said in an interview this morning.

The decision now enables officials at the museum to focus on presenting the Yukon story to both locals and visitors, he added.

“It sort of takes a weight off our shoulders,” he said.

The museum has been working closely with administration on the matter, and officials were “cautiously optimistic” about last night’s vote.

As Halliday said, the partnership the city and museum have had for 60 years will continue into the future.

The move by council comes after a vote in late May holding museums to the updated policy, which required museums and other non-profits to pay property taxes through a four-year phased-in approach.

MacBride officials argued the policy essentially punished the museum for its fundraising efforts, as its assets are calculated into property tax rates.

As the only museum to hold title to property, MacBride was the lone museum to face a property tax bill.

The museum’s prime downtown location also impacted the assessment rate.

Board officials were looking at how the museum could pay the bill while having as little impact on programming as possible.

As council discussed at last night’s meeting, since that initial vote in May, a council and senior management meeting was held on the matter.

“Following further review, administration was directed to amend the recommendation to fund all groups to their full eligibility under the new policies and revise the budget accordingly,” notes a summary report that went to council last night.

That means the city will add another $46,228 it had planned to spend on the grants.

The recommendation that came forward last night would have provided the museum with a grant on 2015 taxes only, but council voted to amend it so it is not bound to a single year.

That means unless council reviews it and makes changes, museums holding title to land will get a grant for the full property tax bill for the foreseeable future.

Council members were clear though that the arrangement is not “in perpetuity.”

Veteran Coun. Dave Stockdale quickly stated he was part of the council which voted to grant Softball Yukon their utilities “in perpetuity” as part of their lease arrangement.

The cost has risen considerably over the years. Because the agreement states it’s “in perpetuity,” the city is required to continue paying the full bill.

“It’s a dangerous precedent,” Stockdale warned.

Mayor Dan Curtis then made it clear the motion on the museums would not use the words “in perpetuity,” thereby enabling future councils to change it in if they wanted.

“We’re not tying their hands,” he stressed.

Coun. Jocelyn Curteanu had brought forward a notice of motion earlier this month to reconsider the grant for museums.

On Monday, she stressed her view that museums play an important role in the community of preserving history. She later withdrew her motion, noting that council’s vote provided what she had been proposing.

“(Museums) are the stewards of our past,” Curteanu said. She attended the meeting via conference call from Newfoundland and Labrador.

Curteanu then pointed out the funds that would otherwise have gone to property taxes can now go to programs and services that help ensure future generations know where the community has come from, something that is essential in knowing where it is going.

Along with approving the full property tax grant for museums, council approved the first two readings on municipal charges and community service grants for 2015, which provide non-profit groups with a grant for a portion of their property taxes and/or utilities for the year.

If third reading is approved later this month, the city will spend $186,228.16 on the grants for 25 organizations.

The grants range from a low of $484.35 for Habitat for Humanity to a high of $27,467.18 for MacBride’s full property tax grant.

During discussion on the grants for this year, Coun. John Streicker pointed out the challenge for the city is creating a fair and level playing field for non-profit organizations while providing what support to them it can.

The Humane Society Yukon’s Mae Bachur Animal Shelter stands to receive a grant of $7,697.60 from the city.

As the shelter’s administrator, Coun. Betty Irwin declared a conflict on the matter and left council chambers for the discussion and vote.