Yellowknife (Dec 17/04) - It appears city council is giving some community groups an early Christmas present this year while others are stuck with nothing but coal.

City council went into its first night of budget deliberations wondering how to accommodate nearly $200,000 in new or additional core funding requests, Wednesday.

Its solution was to boost the core funding budget to $300,000 from $236,000, which will put three first-timer groups on the permanent funding list, and offer a raise to three others.

Two other groups which sought additional funding -- Caribou Carnival and the SideDoor youth centre -- will have to make do with what they already receive.

Caribou Carnival president Pat McMahon appeared before city council Monday with a request for $36,000 rather than the $17,000 the group got last year.

McMahon noted the carnival is entering its 50th anniversary and just hired a full-time co-ordinator.

Coun. Mark Heyck suggested the group should try its luck with one-time special grant funding next year instead.

The biggest showdown of the evening involved a group that wasn't even seeking additional funding. Once again as last year, Coun. Alan Woytuik took aim at Folk on the Rocks, which he said should be cut from core funding because it has shown a profit in recent years.

The group currently receives $15,000 a year from the city.

"There's a flaw in our system that doesn't allow people to get off," said Woytuik.

"We really need to look at weaning these people off."

Councillors Dave McCann and Doug Witty agreed, suggesting core-funded groups that appear to be doing well financially, should be encouraged to become more self-sufficient.

"We don't want to write a blank cheque and say, 'here come pick up your bag of money,'" said McCann.

Other councillors warned, however, the outdoor music festival's sunny financial outlook could easily change for the worse with the weather.

"They've only been lucky not to have rain the last few years," said Coun. Bob Brooks.

One bad year

"One bad year, and they could be in the hole for the next five."

Ultimately, council voted to leave the music festival's funding alone for now.

The biggest boost went to core funding newcomer, the Yellowknife Ski Club. It didn't get the $75,000 it was after, but council did offer $25,000.

"They're a tremendous organization, but to go from zero to $75,000 is a whole lot of money," said Witty.