HAY RIVER - What's on the minds of municipal politicians these days?

Well, just about everything, judging from wide-ranging discussions at the 44th annual general meeting of the NWT Association of Communities held May 13 to 16 in Hay River.

Michael Miltenberger, left, the minister of Finance and Environment and Natural Resources, chats with Deline Councillor Trevor Taylor during the 44th annual general meeting of the NWT Association of Communities held May 13 to 16 in Hay River. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo 2010 resolutions At its May 13 to 16 annual general meeting, the NWT Association of Communities passed – among others – resolutions calling for: the GNWT to create a strategy before the 2011 territorial election for eliminating poverty in the NWT; territorial legislation to provide NWT municipalities, hotel associations and/or similar organizations the authority to impose hotel room levies, with revenues to fund tourism marketing and development initiatives; the legislative assembly to pass legislation prohibiting the use of cell phones and hand-held communications devices, excluding two-way radios, while operating a motor vehicle, with exemption for police and emergency services; the GNWT to fund universal supplemental health benefits for NWT residents out of revenues from progressive taxation and not from co-payments, and that a drug purchasing program to decrease the cost of pharmaceuticals be implemented; a comprehensive review of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation; the GNWT to re-evaluate the ground ambulance program being discussed and provide appropriate levels of capital and operating funding to support the proposed program; the GNWT to review and amend the Conflict of Interest Act concerning GNWT employees who sit on municipal councils; the GNWT to freeze disposition of Commissioner's land within the block transfer areas outside municipal boundaries until a comprehensive review of the Commissioner's Land Act has been completed by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs.

The eclectic topics included health care, homelessness, housing, the international economic downturn, energy, and regulatory reform, just to name a few.

A record number of communities were represented at the AGM.

Twenty-three of the 27 member communities making up the association sent 76 voting delegates to the AGM. The previous record was 21 communities.

"Every year it gets bigger," said Yellowknife Mayor Gord Van Tighem, the association's president.

Among the dozen resolutions passed at the AGM, one called for the legislative assembly to prohibit the use of cellphones and hand-held communications devices, excluding two-way radios, while operating a motor vehicle with an exemption for police and emergency services.

Van Tighem presented the motion from the City of Yellowknife and hailed the benefits of such a ban.

"It's been proven incontrovertibly," he said.

Van Tighem said the legislative assembly rejected such a ban in 2009 because it would affect mainly Yellowknife, but he said cellphone service now covers many more NWT communities.

Five territorial cabinet members attended the AGM - Michael Miltenberger, Sandy Lee, Robert C. McLeod, Michael McLeod and Bob McLeod - along with Western Arctic MP Dennis Bevington.

Lee, the minister of Health and Social Services, offered a defence of the GNWT's controversial plans to reform the supplementary health benefits program.

"The purpose of this policy and proposed changes to the supplementary health benefits program has always been about ensuring those in greatest need are served by the program," she said, explaining it would be expanded to help the working poor.

The Yellowknife delegation suggested the GNWT consider taxation to cover the cost of changes to the program, and delegates backed the idea through a resolution.

Miltenberger, the minister of Finance, said given the economic circumstances, taxes are not an option.

Mayor Denny Rogers of Inuvik asked Lee about the difficulty in obtaining funding for facilities for the homeless.

"We can't seem to find capital funding for human facilities," he said.

"There is no question we need to enhance our services for homelessness in regional centres outside of Yellowknife," Lee responded, adding some progress has been made in the capital city.

However, she said her department doesn't have a budget for capital funding for homelessness, but it does provide program funding for shelters.

Asked about the federal government's intention to reform the resource development regulatory system, Miltenberger - as the minister of Environment and Natural Resources - said the GNWT supports reform, but he pointed to delays in Ottawa as being part of the problem.

The minister said the regulatory system often responds very quickly, only to see recommendations and reports "languish" on desks in Ottawa, sometimes for several years.

"We shouldn't hang our heads in shame when we talk about the regulatory regime," he said.

Miltenberger said any reform of the system without changes in Ottawa is only going to be a Band-Aid.

The GNWT took the opportunity during the meeting to announce specific plans for the NWT Public Service Capacity for Local Governments Initiative, which was launched last year to recruit and retain more local people as community administrators.

Before Christmas, there were no vacancies in senior administrative officer positions, but there are eight now, including in Enterprise, Sachs Harbour, Whati, Behchoko, Yellowknife, Tuktoyaktuk and elsewhere.

The GNWT announced $1 million in programs under the initiative, such as community assessments, mentorships, online resources, professional workshops, and more.

"We view the public service capacity initiative as one of the most important to support community governments in years," said Van Tighem.

One of the final decisions at the AGM was to select Tuktoyaktuk to host next year's annual meeting for the second time.

That will be the second time Tuktoyaktuk will host the association's AGM, said Mayor Merven Gruben.

"We're more than capable of handling it."