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Election 2012 Yk's mayoral candidates wade in Three hopefuls respond to questionsNorthern News Services Published Wednesday, Oct 10, 2012
Tim Doyle
Q: Are you content with present tax and user fee levels and increases, or do you think cuts can be made?
A: In short, no. We have lived through eight straight years of tax and spend style government with no plan as to how we can provide the services we want in a responsible manner that does not add substantially to the cost of living. Cost of living is out of control for landowners, businesses, and renters because property taxes are rising rapidly every year and the cost is passed on to the end user or customer of a business. Year one: Tax freeze on property rates. Immediately assess all spending and prioritize what is absolutely necessary and what is wanted versus needed. Service fees are being used as taxation and that is not right. The fee should represent the value of the service being provided. Many fees need to be scaled back because there is no value added for processing a piece of paper to hang on your office wall, especially true for business licences.
Q: Do you think the city has a role to play in affordable housing? And if so, how?
A: Yes they can play a role. The city has no business in the development field actually building and owning homes but can reduce red tape and costs to developers who actually provide the housing we need. Many of our local developers are based here and work elsewhere because city hall has made it near impossible to get permits and approvals in a timely fashion. We have many projects stalled or cancelled in the last few years because our permitting department has been dictating personal preferences for style and design rather than following the building code guidelines. It adds costs, creates delays and is completely unnecessary. City hall has no business acting as interior designers. Approve the permits or don't approve them based on building codes. Also, we get land from the GNWT for $1, we do not need to charge exorbitant prices to private developers to grow our city.
Q: How does the city revitalize the downtown core?
A: Follow a balanced approach. Develop a downtown business district group comprised of business owners who gain control over spending a portion of their property taxes to revitalize the core. Discuss with local hotel providers if they would be interested in building a convention centre on some of the newly acquired land we now own downtown and we'll gladly get out of the development arena. A convention center on the 50 Street parking area would rejuvenate the mall and surrounding street. Next, lobby the GNWT and the feds to offer a health centre at Stanton to deal with addictions and mental health issues for street people. The city is not a health agency but has a vested interest in helping these people off our downtown streets. We need to have police foot patrols of our downtown streets to ensure we have safety and reduce the violence and substance abuse that is plaguing the downtown currently.
Q: District heating/geothermal project - Do you support continuing ahead with this project to heat downtown buildings?
A: Definitely not. I remain firmly opposed to this project because it does not work in this format. The landlords are not on board, the general residents have voted no in a referendum and it is time we stop spending their money and ignoring their wishes. The referendum should have killed this deal last year. Regardless of whether funding is coming from CanNor, the city or another government grant, it is still taxpayers' dollars and taxpayers here said, "No." We need to now move on and explore other alternatives to this project and move forward in another direction. It is an insult to voters that their wishes have been ignored in the last year and highlights the necessity of why we need to have referendums to protect taxpayers from such abuse.
Paul Falvo
Q: Are you content with present tax and user fee levels and increases, or do you think cuts can be made?
A: Every aspect of city spending needs to be re-evaluated annually to ensure residents are getting value for taxes.
As a councillor, I voted against two of the past six budgets because of what I saw as excessive tax increases. Unfortunately, ambitious capital projects have tied the city to ongoing operation and maintenance costs. We need to be more vigilant to ensure we live within our means.
Key budget discussions take place in December, when residents are preoccupied by holiday preparations. Splitting the budget in two, and voting on capital expenditures earlier in the year, would encourage public participation and facilitate identification of inefficiencies and unnecessary expenditures.
Fees need to be proportionate to the services offered, and the city has a responsibility to ratepayers to cover costs. As a general rule I'd rather see city services and programs achieve cost recovery through user fees, wherever practicable, rather than property taxes.
Q: Do you think the city has a role to play in affordable housing? And if so, how?
A: The city doesn't directly control rental rates and housing costs - but can influence them. Continued work to facilitate more housing, in a variety of types, will help all residents. This includes higher density, downtown infill, and single detached houses.
We need to streamline city hall services so that developers don't have to wait so long for simple permits.
Construction of smaller, more energy-efficient homes should be encouraged in several ways. The city should facilitate creation of affordable housing by making it easier to subdivide lots. Allowing for in-law/granny suites, and "alley" suites (for example, allowing residents to create housing in an unused garage) can help provide affordable "starter" places to live.
Improved energy-efficiency standards can lead to lower operating costs - but we must make sure upfront cost is not out of reach. Finally, improved public transit and trails can reduce living expenses for residents, contributing to overall affordability.
Q: How does the city revitalize the downtown core?
A: Since 2008, I've co-organized 19 downtown litter clean-ups. But, cleaning up garbage deals with only part of the problem.
Addictions are killing our downtown. We need vigilant law enforcement and community policing, including more foot patrols. Council needs to continue to push the territorial government to step up to its responsibility to provide better substance abuse treatment.
"Environmental design" plays a factor in crime prevention. Downtown infill means more residents living downtown - leading to more business, and greater public safety. Vacant lots have the opposite effect: The city needs to provide negative tax incentives for vacant/underdeveloped lots.
Public art and other beautification projects can all contribute to attracting residents and visitors to downtown businesses.
The city could provide positive tax incentives to businesses that rent space, even temporarily, to organizations and start-up businesses. These could work as "business incubators" for entrepreneurs looking to test the market.
Q: District heating/geothermal project - Do you support continuing ahead with this project to heat downtown buildings?
A: Taking advantage of a local product makes sense. Done properly, there are benefits to local business and employment from developing this resource.
Since geothermal energy is there, it seems a question of "how" not "if" we take advantage of it. The current proposal should probably be called "district heating." Geothermal is only one of the potential heat sources that could be employed, and needs further technical study to determine its feasibility. One advantage of the proposed system is the ability to switch energy sources to suit economic conditions.
Residents voted against the public financing option. It's now a question of whether developing this resource with private enterprise will be viable. The business case needs to be there, including customers.
Mark Heyck
Q: Are you content with present tax and user fee levels and increases, or do you think cuts can be made?
A: Taxes and fees have increased to keep pace with the rising cost of providing programs and services. Inflationary pressures on items like heating, power, and wages inevitably drive expenditures higher. We do need to consistently look for efficiencies at city hall, and the 2013 budget will reflect recent efficiencies that have been achieved.
Here's the challenge with property taxes: They are a lousy way to raise revenue as they do not grow proportionate to the economy the way income, business and sales taxes do. That's why municipalities across the country find themselves raising property taxes. Here's a sample of 2012 increases in some nearby municipalities: Edmonton - 5.25 per cent; Calgary - six per cent; Grande Prairie and Whitehorse - four per cent. Yellowknife, by comparison, had a 2.8 per cent increase. It's also worth noting that municipalities collect only eight cents of every dollar paid in taxes (federal/territorial taxes make up the other 92 cents).
Q: Do you think the city has a role to play in affordable housing? And if so, how?
A: Yes, the city does have a role to play in affordable housing. As the order of government responsible for zoning and land use planning, we can have a significant impact by encouraging more affordable housing types. In the past couple of years, we've seen the emergence of modestly priced townhomes and apartment-style condos, which was the result of a concerted effort to encourage higher density, more affordable housing units.
Affordability doesn't only relate to purchase price, however, it also relates to ongoing operating costs such as heating and power. Energy-efficient building standards, which I supported, help make home ownership more affordable. I also believe the city can help residents improve the affordability of their homes through an energy-efficiency retrofit program, so I've proposed a financing program that would assist homeowners in reducing their energy use and their monthly costs.
Q: How does the city revitalize the downtown core?
A: The social issues evident downtown must be addressed through a comprehensive and collaborative approach that enables health and social service agencies to work hand in hand with law enforcement. While the city does not have the mandate or expertise to provide social services, we can act as a catalyst for action, and I would make it a top priority to work with other stakeholders to establish an action plan to address social issues downtown. Extra policing is also an option that council could consider.
A common feature of any vibrant downtown is the presence of significant high-density residential developments. We've made progress on this front, with several new infill developments happening in the downtown zone. More people living downtown means more eyes on the streets, and a stronger customer base for businesses considering setting up shop downtown. We should continue to support residential and mixed-use developments downtown.
Q: District heating/geothermal project - Do you support continuing ahead with this project to heat downtown buildings?
A: The future of the district energy project is in the hands of its potential customers. Without a customer base, there is no district energy system. Following the referendum last year, the city committed to continuing its due diligence, engaging with potential customers, and finding a private sector partner, which is what has been done to this point. This work has been funded with territorial and federal grants, not property taxes.
Our energy challenges remain: we're still highly dependent on expensive diesel fuel for heating, which drives up the cost of living, and we're still emitting twice the per capita national average in greenhouse gases.
The referendum result means the city cannot borrow to finance this project, but if the large commercial and government properties downtown are willing and able to finance the system themselves through some other mechanism, then we should remain open to supporting the project.
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