Hellfire Suppression Services firefighters, seen at right being thanked by Mayor Mary Wilman, extinguished the Iqaluit landfill fire in September after 17 days on the ground. The final bill will be about $2.75 million, money taken from the city's reserves. - Casey Lessard/NNSL photo |
Dump fire bill at $2.75 million
Costly blaze diminished city's reserves by 62 per cent
Casey Lessard
Northern News Services
Published Monday, December 1, 2014
IQALUIT
Most of the receipts are in, and the total bill for this past summer's Iqaluit landfill fire is about $2.75 million, council heard Nov. 25.
Acting chief administrative officer John Mabberi-Mudonyi came to council to ask for the authority to move the funds from the unrestricted reserves "in order to meet the costs," his proposal read. That amounts to 62.44 per cent of the city's reserves.
The request puzzled some councillors, including councillor Kenny Bell, who pointed out that the administration had a council directive to "allocate all financial assistance needed to try to extinguish the fire starting immediately, independent of the final costs of the operation," according to the text of the Aug. 1 motion.
"We approved the expenditure," Bell said. "It should just happen, in my opinion."
"Administration has no authority to transfer funds (from reserves) without council approval," Mabberi-Mudonyi said. "You instructed us to do whatever it takes, but the actual transfer of funds, we need a council motion to do that."
Coun. Romeyn Stevenson, who missed several summer meetings, said the motion reminded him how annoyed he was that the territory didn't pitch in.
"Still to this day, I am angered by the fact that the Government of Nunavut didn't respond to this emergency with financial support," Stevenson said, "and that it clearly implied in the letter it sent us that because of our sound management of funds over the past five to seven years, we were being penalized and forced to spend that money rather than get help from them, whereas if we'd been imprudent with the way we purchased our vehicles and planned for the future, we wouldn't have been penalized and they probably would have supported us financially in the extinguishment of this fire."
He noted that he realized the city caused the fire, "but the GN can't say they don't have any blame in the fact that they haven't been adequate in their help with all the municipalities in dealing with waste management and helping with the massive problem of waste management in this territory."
Bell countered Stevenson's comments, noting that the government was there with the city every step of the way.
"At the end of the day, we did get a lot of support from them, and I just want to thank them for that," Bell said.
Still, he called for an exact accounting to be brought to council.
Mabberi-Mudonyi committed to presenting the numbers at the next finance committee of the whole.
The final figure may go up by another $100,000, but likely by only $60,000, he said. That accounts for some equipment cleanup bills yet to be factored.
The motion to move the funds passed unanimously.
