City of Iqaluit 2011 budget ready for council vote

The City of Iqaluit’s 2011 budget will be put before Iqaluit City Council March 8, following a lengthy finance committee session this past weekend, the city’s chief administrative officer, John Hussey, said March 4.

Hussey said the city’s finance committee, which sat for two all-day budget sessions Feb. 27 and Feb. 28, will recommend that council adopt a small, .25 mill increase in the property tax rate charged to private homeowners.

This means that on a private home assessed at $150,000, the homeowner would pay about $50 more in tax this year over last year. For a private home assessed at $300,000, the homeowner would pay $100 more than last year, Hussey said.

At the same time, the finance committee will recommend a higher increase — of 1.75 mills — for government and institutional properties.

The city has been hit this year with a $400,000 reduction in revenues to be received from the Government of Nunavut and by a six per cent increase in electrical power rates, coupled with another power rate increase expected later this year, Hussey said.

But new revenues from property taxes on recently-completed developments that came on stream before December 2010 have made up for most of that, Hussey said.

The city’s core operating budget, minus capital spending and activities financed through various standalone revolving funds, will stand at around $12 million in 2011, Hussey said, up from 2010 by about $1.5 million.

The city’s overall spending, including capital projects and other activities, will reach about $35 million.

To help pay for capital projects, most of which are improvements to Iqaluit’s water and sewer system, the city will receive about $7 million from the federal gas tax fund, Hussey said.

The finance committee, chaired by Coun. Romeyn Stevenson, will present the budget to council for final approval March 8.

The finance committee comprises all members of council and operates like a committee of the whole.