Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 04/00) - Five Yellowknife MLAs have agreed to do whatever they can to prevent further territorial grant cuts.

City councillors and administrators are concerned over the recent 4.73 per cent grant reduction, which represents a financial loss of almost a quarter of a million dollars for the city this year.

As a result, the city has been forced to put several projects on hold for this year, given block funding grants are used only for capital infrastructure improvements.

Now the city will receive just over $4.9 million for the current year, compared to $5.2 million in 1999, but that's not where the concerns end.

"What we're more concerned about is continued and more substantial cuts," said Tim Mercer, the city's director of corporate services.

Mayor Dave Lovell said over $600,000 has been slashed from territorial grants over the past few years, and that's enough.

"We can't continue to take these cuts," he said, adding further $1 million reduction could be possible next year.

If MACA continues to reduce block funding, Lovell said it will be a "very tough decision," but significant cuts to services, water and sewer replacement, or raising taxes are options that will have to be seriously looked at.

"I think what we are looking at is a water rate increase ... we cannot stop our (water and sewer) replacement program.

To symbolize the urgency of replacing the city's water and sewer infrastructure, administration placed a badly-corroded sewer pipe on the floor of the meeting room yesterday for the MLAs to see.

"We're not just playing a game ... this is a real crisis here," Lovell said.

Frame Lake MLA Charles Dent said he and the other Yellowknife MLAs will do whatever they can to urge MACA minister Jim Antoine to ensure there is "a long-term, stable block funding agreement with the city."

"I think everybody wants to see a situation where the funding is predictable, where they can plan for it, and then I think they will feel that they've been well-served by the GNWT," Dent said.

The Frame Lake MLA said he did get the message from the corroded pipe displayed inside city hall and agrees "there is a real crisis" for replacing city infrastructure.

"It's important, in terms of public safety, that we ensure that there are adequate funds for the city to get the job done," he said.