City sees benefit of funding review
MLAs say balance must be struck between large and small communities
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Friday, April 17, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A community funding formula review that found a $40-million shortfall is already benefiting the city, says Mayor Mark Heyck.
Mayor Heyck says the end result will be a major improvement, as the city has not been funded to the level that its infrastructure demands. - NNSL file photo |
The city is now receiving more money for water and sewer work, a change that stemmed from the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) review of the formula that transfers money to communities across the territory in 2014.
Previously, Yellowknife received nothing from the MACA water and sewer fund, but in the 2015-2016 fiscal year, the city is receiving $130,000, the mayor said.
"We had an issue with the fairness of that and are glad that it's changing," said Heyck, who was involved in the review along with representatives from other communities. The end result will be a major improvement, Heyck said, as the city has not been funded to the level that its infrastructure demands.
"In Yellowknife alone, we have somewhere in the neighbourhood of $65 to $70 million of infrastructure that should technically be replaced today or tomorrow but we simply don't have the resources to do that," Heyck said.
He cited decades-old water and sewer infrastructure that routinely fails in the winter as a significant contributor to that multi-million-dollar figure. As well, the pipe that draws water from the Yellowknife River for the drinking water system needs to be replaced - work that is expected to be costly.
Additional money would have been helpful when building the city's new $30-million water treatment plant that's expected to be commissioned in May.
Despite representing nearly half of the territory's population, the city receives about 13 per cent of the $103.6 million in MACA funding under the existing formula.
Some smaller communities were getting more money than they needed under the old system, building up surpluses that went unused, Fort Simpson Mayor Sean Whelly told News/North earlier this month.
Meanwhile, larger communities such as the city were under-funded, said Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins, a former councillor.
"It was nice to see the formula rebalanced to those communities that need it most," Hawkins said.
Range Lake MLA Daryl Dolynny expressed similar thoughts.
"I understand infrastructure requirements in the smaller communities are always paramount, but I always look at what is fair in funding models," Dolynny said, adding the formula should be reviewed frequently.
Yellowknife, Inuvik, Norman Wells, Fort Simpson, Hay River and Fort Smith are the only communities that raise money through property taxes to fund operations.
Heyck recognized that the GNWT has to balance the demand for funding in the smaller communities that may not have the ability to pay, with the city where money can be raised from taxes.
The NWT Association of Communities, which helped carry out the funding review, will be lobbying MLAs to push cabinet to increase MACA community-funding in future budgets.
Dolynny expects the funding review will be debated at the legislative assembly during the summer session.
MACA associate deputy minister Eleanor Young said in a previous interview that, should funding change, it likely wouldn't be all at once. Instead it would be a gradual ramp up.
This is a good thing, Hawkins said, as it will take time to find the additional money to allocate in the budget.
