Yellowknife draft budget proposes tax increase, infrastructure projects

The City of Yellowknife's draft 2017 budget, released this week, suggests a 2.55 per cent tax increase next year.

That translates to an increase of around $45 in local taxes for people with $300,000 homes, or around $75 a year for those with $500,000 properties.

It's now up to city council to decide what items in the draft budget stay and what get cut. For the past two years, council has maintained a zero per cent increase by significantly trimming the budgets it's been given.

Big ticket items

The proposed tax increase is being suggested partly to deal with inflationary pressures, mostly in employee salaries and benefits, and partly to fund new projects.

Notable capital expenditures in the draft budget include:

• $1.9 million towardtransforming the city-owned lot on the corner of 50 Streetand 50 Avenueinto a plaza or streetscaping the adjacent areas. A decision on the controversial plan was postponed last year. It would roll out over three years at a capital cost of $4.75 million.
• $1.4 million towardbeautifying the shoreline near the McMeekan Causeway to Latham Island with new docks, a walkway and amenities such as lights.
• Nearly $10 million in federally funded water and sewage work.
• $1.75 million to re-pave Kam Lake Road.
• Around $1 million for a centralized biomass boiler to heat the Multiplex, Fieldhouse, Fire Hall, City Garage and Community Services Shop.

The budget also recommends adding two new emergency dispatchers, although it has nothing about additional firefighters, despite a recent report suggesting the fire department needed as many as eight new firefighters to be fully functional.

• Understaffed and overworked, Yellowknife's fire department struggling with basic functions: report
• Homelessness top priority for Yellowknifers, according to city survey

Councillors' items in, but not tallied

A number of items suggested by councillors are included in the budget, although they weren't included when determining the 2.55 per cent tax increase. These include a $700,000 plan to hire extra RCMP officers to patrol downtown, a $50,000 homeless employment program and a $230,000 climbing wall in the Fieldhouse.

Yellowknifers are invited to give input on the proposed budget next Tuesday and Thursday, from noon to 1:30 p.m. and 7 to 8:30 p.m. at City Hall.

Councillors will begin debating the budget on Dec. 6.