Debt is city's biggest challenge
Councillors get look into past and ongoing financial woes
Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Monday, November 23, 2015
IQALUIT
Only a few weeks in and the new Iqaluit council was confronted with the city's debt as councillors examined the third quarter 2015 financial report last week.
Coun. Terry Dobbin, left, asked council why the City of Iqaluit spent so much on lawyer fees when comparable services for the City of Yellowknife are much cheaper. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo |
The city is $9.4 million in debt, which was a top issue in the past election.
Uncollected property taxes have left millions on the table in past years for the city, but the chief administrative officer told council he's working to crack down on it now.
"Everybody is in place to try and act," said CAO Muhamud Hassan, explaining that the city is working with the Government of Nunavut and other partners on the issue.
Coun. Terry Dobbin noted that at least one of the people owing money is deceased, but Deputy Mayor Romeyn Stevenson responded that there's a bureaucratic process to go through and the city can't just wipe the slate clean in those cases.
Dobbin also wondered why the city is spending nearly $500,000 on lawyers who fly up from Edmonton, when the City of Yellowknife contracted the same law firm for $139,000 in 2014.
"I just think that it's a bit excessive," he said, suggesting perhaps the city should look into hiring lawyers in Iqaluit.
John Mabberi-Mudonyi, the city's director of corporate services, said sometimes those corporate lawyers give the city a discount and pay for their own flights.
He also brought up the city's past culture of spending problem, which would see city staff order new products instead of looking in the warehouse to see if they have what is needed already.
"I think the problem wasn't necessarily a major-numbers problem but was more a culture of spending problem that is being changed slowly within all of our departments," said Stevenson.
At one point, Mabberi-Mudonyi expressed disbelief in past city councils not raising the price of water in the city, which is at about one cent per litre. In Rankin Inlet, he said the cost is closer
to nine cents.
"We have to snap out of this illusion of paying one cent for a litre," he said. "How are we going to maintain this infrastructure with one cent?"
The water fund deficit is currently around $5 million and is legislated to be balanced by the Government of Nunavut.
Coun. Gideonie Joamie took exception to Mabberi-Mudonyi's criticism of past councils, asking that he keep his views to himself.
"I don't think that was an appropriate comment," said Joamie.
Mabberi-Mudonyi said he will refrain and apologized.
The city is also looking to better manage employee requests for vacation travel allowances.
A significant number of city staff request their allowances in the early part of the new year. With 150 employees in the city, this can represent upward of $500,000, which poses a significant amount of administration work and impact on the city's finances in the new fiscal year.
"This is simply one of many issues the city is reviewing with respect to introducing operational efficiencies," stated Mayor Madeleine Redfern.
