by Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

NNSL (Dec 17/97) - Two bids to trim 1998 taxes by two per cent were defeated by council Monday night.

"If a person is making $50,000 a year and finds out their salary is going to be cut by $1,000, they'll find some way to make those cuts," said Ald. Cheryl Best, who proposed two per cent be cut from both taxes and expenditures.

"Yellowknife in 1998 could possibly be in the worst financial shape it's been in since the 10 years I've been here," added Best.

She suggested departmental directors could best decide where budgets could be trimmed.

A two per cent cut in taxes would result in $275,000 less going to city coffers next year. Two per cent of total expenditures amount to $400,000.

Ald. Bob Brooks' motion called for a two per cent cut in taxes only. Noting that in the last three years the city spent less than it budgeted to spend, Brooks suggested the anticipated surplus would offset the tax cut.

"We consistently come up with surpluses ... the idea here is we budget for zero and come up with zero," said Brooks.

"I'm not suggesting any cuts to services and I'm not suggesting administration do anything other than what they've been doing," he added.

Ald. Blake Lyons led opposition to both motions.

"Let's not say there's a magic way of (cutting the budget) ... until you identify the so-called fat, its very difficult to plan a reduction," Lyons said.

"To do it tonight, based on assumptions and maybes isn't the way to go about it," he said speaking to Best's motion.

Arguing against Brooks' motion, he said surpluses were the result of "skill and luck," adding that, "if we're going to talk about a cut, let's talk right now about how we're going to cut capital projects or services."

Ald. Peggy Near agreed with Lyons. During a failed attempt to cut $1 million from the $10.65-million budget for the new recreation centre, Near confirmed changes could be made to the budget at any time in 1998.

Best's motion was defeated by a vote of 5-2, the only support coming from Ald. David Ramsay. Ramsay and Best then supported Brooks' motion, which was defeated 4-3.

Ald. Robert Slaven successfully argued that rather than making cuts that night, city staff be told to come up with contingency plans for the kind of reduction in revenue that would occur if one or both gold mines shut down.

"I would like to see the able staff at city hall go away and, pretending they have a gun to their heads, come back with options for cuts of five to 10 per cent in case something nasty does happen," said Slaven.