The city’s proposed $77-million operating budget for 2018 passed first reading Monday evening, but not all council members are on board with the plans.

The 5-2 vote in favour of first reading saw councillors Dan Boyd and Samson Hartland raise their hands against the budget and corresponding hikes in property taxes and city fees.

While residential property taxes would rise by 2.3 per cent, Boyd explained, non-residential property taxes would see a larger hike of 4.15 per cent.

Water and sewer bills are proposed to jump by four per cent from the current $78.98 per month to $82.14 monthly.

“We don’t need that much of an increase,” Boyd told reporters after the meeting.

As the budget moves forward, he said, he’s hoping he can convince his fellow council members that the non-residential tax rate should come down.

The average non-residential property owner would pay an additional $634 in taxes this year, or an additional $12 each week.

Boyd also cited concerns with the residential tax rate,.

The impact to the average home owner may not seem significant – with the average tax bill rising $54 each year or by $1 each week to $2,405 this year.

However, those with newer properties are being hit harder due to the high value of their properties, Boyd pointed out.

Last year, he noted, some tax bills on newer homes in the city were between $4,000 and $5,000 annually.

Boyd and Hartland told reporters they plan to bring forward some proposals for the budget in the coming weeks as the process moves along.

Those will include looking at ways to address the constant increases to the water and sewer bills those with properties on the city’s system have seen in recent years.

The two councillors would not, however, say what their ideas are, noting that’s a discussion that will happen later.

“I’m hopeful,” Boyd said of potential changes to the spending plan.

Meanwhile, Mayor Dan Curtis defended the plans in a nearly six-page budget speech made at the start of Monday’s meeting.

He emphasized that it’s through the operating budget that city services like road maintenance, snow removal, recreation programs and more are covered.

“It ensures the City of Whitehorse has enough lifeguards, accountants, engineers, planners, bylaw officers and many other employees to make the city’s programs and services work for you,” Curtis said.

He went on to point out the residential tax increase of 2.3 per cent is the third-lowest since 2006, and sits where it had been suggested it would be in the provisional budget released last year.

Along with releasing the proposed operating budget in a given year, the city brings forward a provisional budget for the following two years.

The provisional budgets unveiled last night for 2019 and 2020 also suggest tax increases of 2.3 per cent in each of those years as well with spending expected at $78.5 million in 2019 and $78.8 million in 2020.

Curtis emphasized the necessity of taxes (which make up about half of the operating budget) to cover the essential services that keep the city going.

Whitehorse’s taxes, he said, remain considerably lower than those of other similar-size cities.

Residential property owners in Penticton, B.C. for example, will pay an additional 3.44 per cent on their tax bill this year.

Port Moody, B.C. property owners saw their 2017 taxes leap by 5.97 per cent. Both Penticton and Port Moody have populations of about 33,000 residents, slightly more than Whitehorse.

The mayor highlighted the impact the budget has on the city.

“The operating budget allows us to increase our development incentives budget for the next three years, which grants development cost charges costs back to property owners who develop a secondary suite and taxes back to developers who build specific multiple housing developments,” he said.

“This successful program is seeing more and more applications each year. This program is one of the ways the city is able to meet its goal of increased affordable housing.”

The city works to make the best use of limited tax dollars while maintaining quality services for residents, Curtis said.

He then pointed out that water and sewer services, as well as waste collection (with the collection fee proposed to rise from $11 to $11.05 a month) are covered by user fees rather than the general tax base.

The proposed boost to water and sewer services, he explained, is required to keep pace with rising costs.

“The city’s infrastructure is aging, and it is not uncommon to experience water breaks or sewage issues,” he said.

“Whitehorse covers an area of 416 square kilometres. Coupled with a relatively small tax base, this presents certain challenges when it comes to maintaining our infrastructure.”

As an example, he pointed to groundwater that has to be treated and pumped from the Riverdale aquifer up to higher elevations and several pump houses to be distributed throughout the city’s neighbourhoods.

Meanwhile, there are 144 kilometres of sewer lines and nine lift stations city-wide that keep wastewater and sewage moving to the treatment plant.

“As you can see, the complexity of our systems helps illustrate the challenge we face as a municipality to keep our infrastructure in good condition,” Curtis said.

He then moved on to highlight the importance of recreation and greenspace to Whitehorse residents.

The city subsidizes 50 per cent of costs to recreation facilities, including the Canada Games Centre, the Takhini Arena, the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre and the Frank Slim Building at Shipyards Park.

Along with the recreation facilities, many residents enjoy the 750 kilometres of trails throughout the community.

As the city does annually, recreation fees would increase by 1.5 per cent in September.

Other non-profit organizations offer a wide variety of programs the city supports through its grants.

“With your tax dollars, our city will continue to deliver top-quality services and programs to all resident and visitors alike,” Curtis said.

“This includes snow-clearing, road maintenance, fire protection and first response, transit, park and trail maintenance, recreation programs and a number of other important services.

“These municipal services are some of the many, many reasons why Whitehorse is an ideal place for employment, business, education and pure enjoyment for our Wilderness City.”

The mayor went on to note his appreciation for city staff, and invited the public to have their say on the proposed spending plan.

A public input session on the budget is set for the Feb. 12 council meeting, with a report on that input scheduled for Feb. 19.

Finally, second and third readings are expected to come forward Feb. 26.