Ricahd Gleeson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 10/99) - Those concerned about how the city spends its money -- and there were more than 200 who had something to say when the city hiked taxes last summer -- have a golden opportunity to chip in their two cents on how money should be spent next year.

Proposed cutbacks - not staffing two currently vacant senior positions (director of planning and lands and supervisory constable) and amalgamating two departments ($155,000) - reduction in public transit to hourly service during nonpeak hours ($63,000) - reduction in advertising and promotions ($40,000) - elimination of weekly luncheon meetings ($10,000) - freeze on software maintenance and design ($105,000) - postponement of scheduled capital projects including purchase of a road sander ($85,000), document management system ($92,000), fire hall cold storage shed ($20,000), deputy fire Chief truck ($25,000), Ndilo sports field/playground ($119,000), emergency traffic control system ($90,000) Total: $777,000 Source: City of Yellowknife

The city's draft spending plan, the 2000 draft budget, was released to the public Tuesday afternoon.

As it stands, the budget details spending of $26.6 million and revenue of $32.3 million. Not included in those expenditures is an anticipated $4.6 million in long-term debt repayments, leaving about a $1.1 million surplus for the year.

At least, that's the plan so far. The hefty 263-page draft budget will be the starting point for council's discussion on how city dollars will be spent next year. Council debates the budget at the committee level Nov. 29-30. Final approval is scheduled for Dec. 6.

City staff will be hosting an open house to explain the budget to residents Nov. 17.

At Monday's council meeting, Coun. Bob Brooks asked if city staff would, as they did last year, supply lists of service cuts that would need to be made to achieve five per cent and 10 per cent cuts to spending.

City administrator Max Hall said administration would not be going through the exercise again, that the 1999 list would still apply.

The list has never been released. Brooks said it should.

"If the public gets a chance to see what five and 10 per cent cuts look like, it's very possible in my mind they won't have the appetite to make these cuts," said Brooks.

The councillor who originally asked staff to draw up the lists spoke against releasing them. Coun. Robert Slaven said the purpose of developing the lists was to educate council about what emergency cuts could be made. At the time he proposed the idea, Slaven said the exercise would be useful in the case of one or both mines shutting down.

Slaven added the city has to do a better job of selling the budget to the public -- "We've got to point out we've already made a 10 per cent cut for 2000," said Slaven, referring to cutbacks to road work that preceded the debenture plebescite and ratepayers subsequent voting down of the borrowing.

Later the same day, city hall issued a press release noting some of the reductions and cutbacks included in the draft budget.