Yellowknife official warns of 'unprecedented' debt during budget deliberations

Building a new aquatic centre and replacingthe aging pipeline that draws water from the Yellowknife Riverwill bring Yellowknifeinto "some pretty significant debt," the city's director of corporate services warns.

The city will have to borrow $11 million in 2019 and $43 million more in 2020 to fund both projects, explained Sharolynn Woodward.

"We would still be within our legal limits, but it's getting close to having those credit cards maxed out," she said."If we were to borrow for both the pipeline and the aquatic centre, those would be unprecedented debt levels."

After Mayor Rebecca Alty and the new citycouncilweresworn into office on Monday, their first item of business was to hear Woodward's presentation on a draft of the 2019 budget.

The draft budget comes in at about $80.5 million, representing a $4-million increasefrom the 2018budget approved by council last December.

The proposed aquatic centre is shaping up to be the most expensive building project the city has ever undertaken, Woodward said.

The new pool is estimated to cost around $50 million to build and $3 million annually to run.

The draft budget includes about $7.5 million for an architectural and engineering firm to develop a detailed design for the aquatic centre and prepare for the tendering process.

The pipeline that pulls city drinking water from the Yellowknife River is nearly 50 years old and expected to reach the end of its lifetime in 2020. Replacing the water line is estimated to cost $28 million.

The existing pipeline was put in by the federal government in 1969 to "avoid any issues that might potentially arise from Giant Mine," said Woodward.

With remediation of Giant Mine set to begin in the next few years, the city is hoping the federal government will help pay for a replacement.

Draft budget proposes 1.44% tax hike

Property taxes are expected to provide for the single largest source of revenue to the city next year.

The 2019 draft budget proposes a property tax rate increase of 1.44 per cent. Last year's budget raised taxes by 1.86 per cent.

Administration also pitched city council on adding 5.7 full-time positions to the payroll. They would include new climbing wall staff, a library assistant and a municipal engineer to reduce reliance on consultants.

In total, the city expects to bring in $76.4 million in revenue in 2019.

Council will hear public comments on the draft budget, then go through the document line by line before adopting a final version of the budget on Dec. 10.