Yellowknife (July 02/04) - An expected property tax increase for this year has been shelved after city council employed a rarely-used motion to re-open debate on third reading Monday night.

Coun. Alan Woytuik will introduce a motion at the next regular meeting to put federal GST rebate money into capital infrastructure fund. - Mike W. Bryant/NNSL photo

Until this week, ratepayers were facing a tax increase of 0.7 per cent, but with two vocal supporters of the increase absent -- Couns. Kevin O'Reilly and Mark Heyck -- the hike was rejected by council in a 5-1 vote.

Voting to stick with the 2003 mill rates were Couns. Bob Brooks, Doug Witty, Alan Woytuik, David McCann, and Blake Lyons. Coun. Wendy Bisaro voted against, Heyck left before the vote, and O'Reilly was out of town.

Two weeks ago, during first and second readings of the bylaw, it was Couns. David McCann and Doug Witty who were left on the losing end of the argument. They were trying to convince council to use federal GST rebate money to cancel out the $198,000 deficit facing the city.

The majority of councillors at the time wanted to use most of the rebate to pay off the financially troubled solid waste fund, and use the remaining $88,000 to reduce a projected tax increase of 1.3 per cent to 0.7 per cent.

That's how the tax levy stood until Witty introduced a last minute motion to re-open the debate.

Woytuik plans to introduce a motion at the next meeting, calling on council to take the $684,000 GST rebate and put it into the city's capital infrastructure fund.

Doing that, he said, will allow council to take money out of the fund to pay off the $198,000 deficit.

"We'll free up those tax dollars that were initially assigned to pay off the debt," said Woytuik.

"You now can use that to pay off the $198,000 deficit."