IQALUIT
Iqalummiut are taking their lives into their own hands when using or working in city buildings, it is suggested in evidence presented in photos to council by councillor Kenny Bell Feb. 10.
A firewall at the city fire hall would not stop a fire from spreading. - photo courtesy of Kenny Bell |
Bell showed images of an emergency exit at the Arctic Winter Games arena closed with a hockey stick and blocked with a folded table, as a wall of snow blocks the door from the other side.
Such walls of snow are seen blocking emergency exits - from both outside and in - at other city facilities.
Loose wires stick out from hydro boxes and walls.
A missing firewall could allow a fire to spread from room to room - at the Iqaluit fire hall itself. There, firefighters barely have space to squeeze between their trucks and gear in the event of a fire call.
Meanwhile, a new ambulance sits idle as crews await the arrival of a part.
At Public Works, a 22-year-old sewer truck's cab is held together by duct tape. The truck was due to be replaced a decade ago, Bell said.
Asbestos walls are common in many buildings, including the former Coca-Cola plant, where the roof is partially missing and sealed by a large tarp.
The roof at the Air Base garage, near the city's main intersection is also falling apart.
The Iqaluit Humane Society's building betrays the conditions faced by animals and workers there. Cages are rusted. Floor drains are frozen solid. Fencing and windows are regularly damaged by people who want to recover their animals. The drywall in what used to be a bathroom is missing from one wall.
"We're responsible for making sure these buildings are safe for the citizens of Iqaluit, for our employees, and right now, I think we're failing," Bell told council. "I don't know about you, but regardless of the money aspect, I don't want to be responsible for some little kid dying."
The city's top politician agreed with Bell's assessment.
"On one hand, the public is screaming at us because we're increasing the taxes," Mayor Mary Wilman said. "On the other hand, we are very aware of what we're up against. It's no easy task."
Wilman asked Bell to provide city directors with his photographs to fix the problems.
Those fixes would be just the start. A leaked city budget document shows the city is unlikely to be able to afford needed infrastructure repairs as it faces a $10-million deficit, illegal under the Cities, Towns and Villages Act.
And the Nunavut government is doing little to ease the city's infrastructure woes.
The deficit was mentioned in a Jan. 30 letter Iqaluit Chamber of Commerce president Shawn Lester sent to council on behalf of the chamber's members, in which he states the city is in dire financial straits and facing a $10-million deficit.
"Where is the money coming from to pay for all the capital projects the city keeps talking about?" Lester asks in the letter.
The numbers are not accurate, deputy mayor Romeyn Stevenson asserts.
"The letter highlights some numbers we don't agree with," he said.
Lester is managing partner at Lester Landau, the city's independent auditor. In 2012, the firm, then Mackay Landau, gave the city a clean bill of financial health, as seen in a letter available on the city's website. In 2013, the firm provided an identically worded letter. Last year, the firm changed its name to Lester Landau, and an almost identically worded letter is on the public record for the 2013 books. The audit of the 2014 books is expected in the coming weeks.
Each audit contains a brief note mentioning that the city is breaking the law by not eliminating its deficit.
In contrast, the chamber letter, signed by Lester, indicates that the city is in a position to be put into administration by the territorial government, which means its financial affairs would be taken over by the Government of Nunavut. When approached by Nunavut News/North, Lester would not back up his allegations.
"I am not able to speak to the letter at this time," Lester stated in response to an e-mail requesting an interview about the letter.
Despite his refusal to speak to the matter, Lester's allegation appears credible. Nunavut News/North has obtained a leaked spreadsheet (not from Lester) outlining the actual budget figures for 2010 to 2013, and the budget numbers for 2014 and 2015 show a concerning trend in line with Lester's allegations.
The city had a $1.228 million budget surplus in 2011, then went into a small deficit, $306,313 in 2012. In 2013, the deficit grew to $1.489 million, and in 2014 the deficit grew to $5.81 million. These deficits have piled up, and the document projects a $10.343-million deficit for 2015.
This deficit is despite tax increases criticized by landlords and members of the business community.
So where is the shortfall? The city has followed the rules and made required transfers to its reserves to recover withdrawals for the almost $3-million dump fire. The city also had to pull about $4 million from reserves to secure a loan for the aquatic centre under construction.
But a closer look shows the Nunavut government is failing to increase its contributions with no capital-related government transfers listed in the document. This is despite contributions of $3.452 million in 2010, $104,053 in 2011, $3.876 million in 2012 and $1.523 million in 2013.
This budget line is blank for 2014 and 2015.
Both the territorial and federal governments refused to pitch in to fight the dump fire.
Apart from capital, the city is balancing its books. But 2014 has certainly been a tougher year than previous years. From 2010 to 2013, the document shows the city had operating surpluses of $1.576 million to $3.764 million. In each year, these surpluses were offset by capital expenditures.
The 2014 surplus (non-capital) was a much tighter $182,626 and for 2015, it sits at $267,634.
In other words, the city has very little wiggle room if something comes up. This was evidenced in the need to dip into reserves for the dump fire.
These numbers are moot in the grand scheme when capital requirements are factored in. Depreciation of the city's capital continues to average about $2 million a year.
Meanwhile, government transfers are falling, despite continuously increasing expenses. Compared to 2010 expenses, 2015 budget projections show general government, emergency services and bylaw enforcement costs have almost doubled. Total expenses have increased to $23.7 million in 2015 from $15.4 million in 2010.
Legally, the city will have to clear the $10-million deficit projected in the document. Without government help, the city has two choices: raise taxes by far more in 2016, or increase its deficit and risk being taken over by the Nunavut government.
"Sure, that's in the CTV Act," said Bell, who is the chair of the finance committee, referring to the takeover risk from running deficits.
"Do I believe it would happen? Absolutely not. This council is making moves to fix those problems, and that's why our mill rate is going up. We've got to pay for those problems that have been problems for 40 years. It's a systematic failure of management that is coming to light."
Another councillor is not seeing total doom and gloom.
"We are not in the best position we have ever been, but we are not in financial chaos and we are working toward making this city better financially," Stevenson said.
