Cindy McDougall
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 26/00) - The Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce is once again calling for the city to show what kinds of cuts would be needed for a 10 per cent reduction of property taxes.

"The city made some good efforts to cut expenditures in the latest budget," said John Williston, chair of the chamber's municipal affairs committee. "But what they didn't do is what we've asked. Let's see what a 10 per cent tax cut would look like."

Williston said the chamber is not demanding a cut. Rather, he said the chamber wants city administration to look at what would be lost to gain a reduction.

"If there has to be any pain to lower taxes, we (residents) want to do it collectively as a city," he said. "But we need to know what they (the cuts) are before we make a decision."

The 2000 budget forecasts that property tax would make up 35 per cent of the city's revenue. The remainder comes mainly from federal and territorial government grants.

A 10 per cent property tax cut translates into a four and a half per cent decrease in the budget.

City councillor Robert Slaven said an emergency plan drawn up two years ago does show the effect of a 10 per cent tax cut.

However, neither he nor the city are prepared to release the findings because the report suggests emergency staff cuts.

"It's like saying, 'By the way, if anything ever happens, we're going to cut your job,'" Slaven said. "You might as well flush morale and productivity right down the toilet."

Slaven also said publishing the report may make people think the city is planning to go through with the cuts.

"You can talk about a 10 per cent tax cut, but tell me what you want to get rid of," Mayor Dave Lovell said. "And this is the hassle because you're asking administration to do something political, which it can't do."

Lovell said the city was open to public suggestions during a budget open house and a call for written submissions this fall.

The city mailed a flyer on the budget process to every household in Yellowknife, he said. However, response was low.

"The time to do it (give suggestions) is when expenditures are discussed," he said. "The public should have been coming out at budget time. Historically, people don't take much interest."

The lack of a 10 per cent plan is not the only worry for the chamber, Williston said.

The city has not yet rolled back last summer's 3.7 per cent tax increase, he said, but it has cut a two per cent early payment tax discount, raising many businesses' actual tax burden.

"Here's our problem with that," he said. "Rental businesses who plan their taxes on a yearly basis were taken by surprise by the late notification.

"In effect, they received a two per cent tax increase."

Slaven said getting rid of the discount has helped the city save about $200,000.

"It was something we instituted in the 1980s when interest rates were around 20 per cent," he said. "The rates are so low now we decided to get rid of that."

As for the recent increase, Lovell said once a recent deal with Miramar Mining to recoup taxes from Giant mine has been secured, a roll back will probably take place.

This year's final property taxes will be decided in June, once the Miramar deal is settled and the final mill rates are set.