Iqaluit city finances healthy, despite $9.4M debt: officials

Officials at the city of Iqaluit say that although the municipality's debt has risen to $9.4 million, the city is in fact in a much healthier financial position than before.

At the end of last year, Iqaluit was saddled with $8.2 million of debt, the result of major expenses like the dump fire and three consecutive years of deficits.

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The difference, officials explain, between what was owed last year and what is owed now is that last year the city had not yet started paying for the new aquatic centre.

As of Sept. 30 the city has spent approximately $6.9 million on the aquatic centre, says the city's director of corporate services John Mabberi-Mudonyi.

That means that of the $8.2 million debt the city started with this year, only $2.5 million is left.

The city's chief administrative officer, Muhamud Hassan, says that's a "phenomenal accomplishment" and in addition to thatoverall reduction of debt, he says each of the City's four major operating funds are bringing inmore revenue than they are paying out in expenditures. That includes the general fund, which accounts for the fire department and emergency response, as well as the water and sewer fund.

"Our ultimate goal is to obviously eliminate the deficits which havebeen a legacy of the city and then have only the long term obligations which would be the aquatic centre," Hassan said.

"If we achieve that... and we only have that single debt obligation, I think it's not only going to be manageable but we will be able to finance that," he adds.