Yellowknife (Jan 28/05) - City councillors say they expect howls of protest, but most of those polled indicate they're in favour of imposing a gate toll and tipping fees to residents visiting the landfill.

Coun. Wendy Bisaro said it was only a matter of time before the city started charging tipping fees to residents - something that council has been putting off for three years.

She said the current funding arrangements for garbage collection and planning for a new landfill are simply not providing enough revenue to cover the costs.

The city's solid waste fund will likely be $131,000 by year-end. Administration hopes new tipping fees and increases to commercial and residential users will generate $300,000 a year in revenue.

"We could probably start off at less, and increase it maybe 30 per cent instead of 50 per cent, but eventually we got to cover our costs," said Bisaro.

"People have been getting a good deal for a long time."

Coun. Dave McCann said if council approves the gate toll, he hopes it will give Yellowknifers motivation to reduce the amount of garbage leaving their homes.

"It may help people restrain a little bit, especially with packaging," said McCann.

"People just use and throw away, no problem. Well, there's a consequence."

Coun. Doug Witty said he realizes that some people may be less inclined to salvage materials out of the dump if they're charged $5 every time they pass the gate, but believes it will still be a good bargain.

"I was talking to someone this morning who said, 'to pay $5 to go in and get a load of lumber that I need. It's no big deal,'" said Witty.

"It may stop people from going and getting a bunch of junk and storing it on their front lawn."

Where the issue gets sticky is whether councillors feel people coming to the dump only to salvage ought to be charged a fee.

Bisaro said she is troubled by it, but doesn't know how that can be solved if the salvage area remains behind the gate.

Coun. Blake Lyons said he doesn't support charging scavengers, but feels residents bringing waste to the dump should pay.

Coun. Bob Brooks is the sole councillor reached for comment this week who doesn't want to see a gate toll, period. He said considering that council has already raised property taxes this year by two per cent, and is set to approve a bylaw amendment that will add an extra $1 to the solid waste levy charged to each household, it's not a good time to increase tipping fees or add a gate toll. He also wants to ensure the dump remains open to scavenging.

"I'm one of those people that really likes the fact that many, many Yellowknifers find it a better place to shop than Wal-Mart," said Brooks.