Jess McDiarmid
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, November 14, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - City administration presented highlights of its 2008 draft budget yesterday, which included a 2.53 per cent tax increase, and $12.4 million in capital spending.

If approved, it would mean taxes will go up for the fourth year in a row, and an extra $18 collected for every $100,000 worth of assessed property value. The 2007 tax increase was 3.7 per cent. Budgets for the next two years call for increases of roughly 2.2 per cent in 2009 and 2010.

The general fund - collected mainly through property taxes - is projected at $24.86 million, There are no increases in spring cleanup funds, core funding or special grants.

Major costs increases for the city include $887,000 in salaries, $188,000 for public transit, $278,000 for power and heat, and $240,000 for new positions.

The budget doesn't include any new borrowing or foresee hikes in the solid waste levy or tipping fees. It allows for debt reduction to less than $1 million by 2014.

Almost $68 million (in 2006 figures) is required over the next 10 years for capital projects, averaging $16.7 million per year. But $49.5 million worth need immediate attention, city administrator Max Hall told the priorities, policies and budget committee.

The document will likely be available online today and the printed version is scheduled for release Nov. 19.

Budget deliberations will go on for the next month. Council is scheduled to meet Dec. 17 to adopt it.

Budget wishlist:

Last week, Yellowknifer asked the city's eight councillors what their top three priorities were for the 2008 budget.

Here are some of the things they say are important.

Bob Brooks:

The councillor wants a daytime homeless drop-in centre. He'd like another municipal enforcement officer to add greater presence and more foot patrols downtown and wants construction to start on the field house using funds from the community facilities reserve.

David Wind:

Wind said he's concerned with tax increases projected for 2008 and 2009. He'd like to see no increases if possible by cutting expenditures.

Growing municipalities should fund increases in operating costs with revenues from growth. He said he will encourage the city to plan growth well by acquiring the lands needed to sustain it and cleaning up, revitalizing and redeveloping the downtown.

Lydia Bardak:

The councillor wants to develop a social plan to address affordable housing, support the work of the non-government sector and deal with social issues.

Bardak also wants to work with other sectors to develop a day shelter/drop-in centre for street people, and she'd like to see an expansion of recycling and composting programs.

Paul Falvo:

Falvo would like to see smart growth that will benefit businesses and residents, and enhanced emergency services, including fire protection and more community policing.

He also calls for a social plan to combat downtown crime and address social issues.

Mark Heyck:

The councillor won't be proposing new additions as many budget items he wants to see, such as solid waste operation improvements, more investment in the Community Energy Plan, trails and public spaces, are already there. But he said he's open to "reasonable additions" brought forward by other councillors.

Heyck stressed the need for balance between revenues and spending to reduce the need for tax increases.

Kevin Kennedy:

Kennedy wants funding for recommendations made by the Solid Waste Management Advisory Committee, including large commercial cardboard recycling, a composting pilot project and enhanced salvaging.

He'd like increases in the budgets of the special and core grant programs and for the city to continue directing funds from the GNWT to the Community Energy Plan and the Integrated Community Sustainability Plan, which he said will save money for the city.

Shelagh Montgomery:

Montgomery wants a social plan that will address social issues, not only problems like drugs and crime but also to make sure residents have fair access to resources and services.

She'd like an affordable housing strategy, which would likely fall under the social plan but said the city already has tools to promote affordable housing short-term. Montgomery said more trail development, including a trail from Con Mine to Giant Mine, is a priority.

Dave McCann:

McCann wants improvement to city service's real-time cost-performance reporting to support finding more effective and better targeted approaches to delivering programs, while re-directing savings to new needs.

He'd like improvements to trash control and better snow clearing on sidewalks and more support for a weekly public market, which would encourage economic diversification.