Iqaluit adds $4.9M to city’s capital budget
Anticipated overruns due to inflation create need for extra spending
City council approved adding $4.9 million of this year’s capital budget during Tuesday’s council meeting. The extra funds are meant to help cover rising costs of construction due to inflation. (File photo)
The City of Iqaluit is adding $4.9 million to its capital budget to help pay for rising costs of building infrastructure projects due to inflation.
“There are difficult days ahead,” said deputy mayor Kyle Sheppard, the chair of the finance committee, after city council unanimously approved the move during its council meeting Tuesday evening.
The money will come from the existing city surplus.
The city needs the extra money to pay for planned infrastructure work across the city, such as water and sewage projects, that have seen costs rise due to inflation, Sheppard said.
Coun. Romeyn Stevenson asked what would happen if the city has to pour even more money into its planned city projects for this year.
Sheppard replied that the city should be able to handle it because there is still around $3 million in breathing room in the budget.
The city’s capital plan this year was its biggest ever at over $80 million, Sheppard told Nunatsiaq News. By having such a large budget, the unexpected costs were going to be higher than in a more conventional year.
Improvements to the city’s operation centre and solid waste facility are two of the larger projects this year, Sheppard said. He added the city intentionally spent more this year with the aim of completing those projects, so there is “a little less pressure” to address water and sewage issues in the following years.
The budget should be smaller next year, Sheppard said.
In the long term, Sheppard emphasized the city’s finances are still in good shape. He said the city’s planned expansion to water infrastructure will allow the city to develop more land, which will then grow the city’s tax revenue.
“We definitely need help from other levels of government when it comes to addressing our infrastructure gap,” Sheppard said.
“But from a fiscal standpoint we’re still in a pretty healthy position.”
The existence of a large surplus in Iqaluit’s city budget certainly raises questions about the level of taxation imposed on the city’s residents. Adding $4.9 million to its capital budget. Notwithstanding this substantial capital expenditure, the city reportedly still retains about $3 million in surplus. If this remaining surplus, is set apart from deferral and reserve accounts, it suggests that taxpayers might be contributing more than what is immediately necessary for city operations and improvements!
The City still does not have a Director of Planning or and planning or lands staff. Been over 2 years with no one in charge and they are paying 3 times in contractor fees instead of getting bums in chairs. The whole planning and permits is being run by people in Ottawa. No local control. We can’t even build the Nunavut 3000 housing.
Good comment on the housing! How will the City develop a meaningful number of lots for new construction so housing can be built? Iqaluit’s wait list for public housing is 563.
Ibelieve the list is over 900, and theres dozens of units under public housing in iqaluit that dont pay their rent and havent for ten plus years , still in units that they are not allowed to be kick out so that the O&M crew can refresh it and get more people into those units.
*stolen by Ottawa.
Let’s face it, those contractors are stealing from the Territory, and providing nothing.
The current opening for City Planner in Iqaluit pays the same or less than most openings for the same job in the south.
Go a few hours farther and I can find openings in NY and Mass that pay $105,000+ usd in cities where a modest house goes for $300,000. Looking at real estate ads in NY for the cost of a house here brings up five and six bedroom houses on 5+ acres with sub-hour commutes.
We play make believe and pretend that we can compete with southern economies based on merit alone. We REALLY can’t.
Oh darn tax hike again as Kyle said again and we need to elect new people who will stall taxes,
I will have to try harder again to pay for high inflation everything from 2022 and been on worst doubled on bills well close to from 2021.
Darn eye popped $,$$$.$$
There hasn’t been a single competent (by any measure) MP or MLA in Nunavut, Not one would have thrived in running a business successfully, managing an organization, functioning as a high-level professional (engineer, doctor, accountant, scientist, professor, lawyer), or otherwise. As for councillors in any hamlet or city or on any board of directors, yuk-yuk. Is it any wonder about the mess in Nunavut and Canada
Why don’t you get yourself elected then?
I fail to see how we a surplus but facilities, especially recreation, are in a decrepit state. When I first came to Iqaluit six years ago, I had a shower in the old arena. I forgot and left a distinct packet of soap in there. I recently took a shower and saw the same packet of soap. Does no one clean or maintain anything in this town?
PS. I of course took the packet and disposed of it.
the city will build nothing if they do not fix the water issue. they will not fix the issue if they give all the money to contractors with no specific scope of work for fixing the issue. with no new water infrastructure there will be no new housing subdivisions. like the connector between the new arena and road to nowhere that was announced 7 years ago and not a stick of work completed. this will continue to raise the cost of housing. and for NCC doing the work its fine for them, they own half the town and higher prices means more money to borrow against for them.