Split vote, higher taxes win
Citizens of Yellowknife will pay six per cent more in taxes

Dane Gibson
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jun 30/99) - City councillors duked it out at Monday night's council meeting when the issue of raising taxes reared its ugly head. In the end, a six per cent tax hike was narrowly voted in.

Councillors Peggy Near, Cheryl Best and Dave Ramsay voted against the motion to raise taxes. Councillors Ben McDonald, Kevin O'Reilly and Blake Lyons were for it. Mayor Dave Lovell cast the deciding vote, and the motion was passed.

Near said with Giant mine employees working for a bankrupt operation, and Con mine employees just recently returning to work after an extended strike, raising taxes now is irresponsible.

"I think we should put ourselves in the places of those people who are facing an uncertain future," Near said.

"It is the wrong time to be raising taxes in Yellowknife. You don't kick people when they're down."

While McDonald pointed out there is no good time to raise taxes, Near responded by saying: "There is no good time, but there is a better time."

McDonald said if they didn't raise taxes, it would be a disservice to the citizens of Yellowknife. The city will have to budget with $500,000 less because Giant mine won't be paying taxes.

"I can't recollect a time when someone has said that now is the time to raise taxes," McDonald said.

"We've been through six years without a tax increase and seen a 6.5 per cent increase in our costs. I don't like paying taxes anymore than the next guy but we pay for services through our tax base."

Ramsay said council should have revisited their $1.3 million decision to widen the sidewalks and the $200,000 Franklin Ave. upgrade project.

"I know most of us voted in favour of beautification but you don't put an addition on your house when you don't have the money to do it," Ramsay said.

"We saw the writing on the wall a year ago. These projects should have been postponed."

Four per cent of the tax increase is to compensate for the Giant mine shortfall, the other two percent is an increase in the mill rate to offset lower property values.

Yellowknifers will see the six per cent increase on their final tax bill, which will be sent out this week.