Property owners in Whitehorse can expect to pay more into city coffers as they shell out cash for property taxes, garbage/compost pick-up and water and sewer bills in the coming year.

At Monday's city council meeting, Mayor Bev Buckway brought forward and council approved first reading of a $59.1 million operational budget.

It proposes a four-per-cent property tax hike along with increases of 10 per cent to garbage/compost collection and a 7.23-per-cent hike to water and sewer bills.

Those changes mean the average home owner in Whitehorse will pay $2,009 in taxes for the year, $97.02 for garbage/compost pick-up and a further $61.87 a month for water and sewer services.

For those paying monthly bills that include all three utilities, it means a bill of $69.95 each month for their city utilities.

"It's a very much a hold-the-line budget,” Buckway told reporters following last night's meeting.

She added she's pleased the city has found a way to hold to its proposed four-per-cent tax hike rather than move forward with an even steeper hike.

"This budget comes at an exciting time for our city,” the mayor said shortly into her 13-page, 10-minute budget speech.

"We have not only been able to weather a global economic downturn, but we are actually experiencing growth at a time when other areas of our country have fallen on hard times.”

With the city's population at an all-time high of 25,690, there is a duty to accommodate all those citizens, she said.

Although the larger population means there are more tax dollars coming in, it also means there are more water and sewer lines, roads and services to maintain, Buckway said.

"It has led to greater interest in community and recreational grants as well as additional requests for money in areas such as arts, culture and events,” she continued.

That comes in addition to the city's seniors' utility grant, discounted recreational programs and the like.

The budget proposes putting more than $800,000 into community grants this year for various initiatives ranging from the seniors' utilities grant at $240,000 to $10,000 for museums.

As Buckway moved on to discuss the tax hike, she argued it's important to keep in mind the city has few ways to raise the cash to meet demands.

"Outside of a projected $5.8-million comprehensive municipal grant given to the city by the Yukon government, which makes up just over nine per cent of our budget and that we appreciate and say thank-you for, our options for raising funds are limited,” she said.

"And though we would like more ways to raise additional funds, our financial tools are currently limited to fees, charges, utility billings, and of course our largest source of revenue, property taxes.”

She cited council's commitment in 2008 not to implement any tax increase of more than four per cent. That commitment came after taxes jumped 7.5 per cent that year.

Prior to that, taxes rose five per cent in 2007, following a two-per-cent increase each of the three years prior. If the 2010 operating budget passes as proposed, it means taxes will have gone up 22.5 per cent in the last five years.

And there's no guarantee that's where they will end.

Questioned last night following the meeting, Buckway would not commit to keeping the tax hikes at four per cent or lower for 2011.

"We'll have to look at our strategic plan,” she said, noting the city is in the midst of working on that now. "It's still too early (to say).”

The four-per-cent hike this year would represent another approximately $1 million coming into the city, with each percentage of the increase bringing in about $250,000, city manager Dennis Shewfelt said following the meeting.

Holding to the four per cent increase this year means there will be some cuts.

"Today, I'm pleased to say that after some tough decisions, including strategic budget cuts, we have been able to hold the line at four per cent in 2010,” Buckway said.

Among them, the city is expecting to cut one full-time equivalent job at the Canada Games Centre.

Rob Fendrick, the city's director of administrative services, confirmed Monday that users of the recreational facility won't notice a major difference because it isn't a front line staff position they intend to cut.

He also wouldn't confirm what the position is, as that is still being finalized. He did note it would likely be cut through attrition. It's also expected the city will reduce overtime and casual hours, he said.

In total, it's anticipated the city will save $191,000 through the staffing cuts, Buckway said during her speech.

While some departments in the city will feel the results of staffing reductions, it won't be the fire department, which would hire two new full-time firefighters this year to meet occupational health and safety standards in ensuring they have enough firefighters on a scene at any one time.

Fire chief Clive Sparks explained this morning that under occupational health and safety regulations in cases of structural fires, two firefighters can enter the building.

However, within 10 minutes of that, a rescue team of two must also be in there to assist. At the same time, there also has to be a firefighter operating the pump and another in charge of the incident.

While the department has a number of volunteer firefighters through the evening, finding firefighters to fulfill those roles through the day is more difficult, he said.

Along with making sure the department can meet the standards, the two new staff will also mean the department can operate more effectively, Sparks said. That will be done by ensuring there are staff to oversee the two fire halls when others go out on a call and to respond to multiple calls more efficiently, if need be.

City taxes will help fund the two new positions, but it's expected the city's taxes will remain the lowest in the country, when the territory's homeowner's grant of up to $450 is taken into account.

Using data collected from a City of Edmonton survey, it was found in 2009 that Whitehorse residential property owners paid the least property taxes among 21 cities throughout the country. They range from major centres like Montreal, where the average home owner paid $3,585, to smaller cities like St. John's, where the average home owner paid $1,760.

However, the survey doesn't include other northern cities or considers the homeowners grant. The services offered to residents are also not factored in, but in many cases, it can include funding a city police service.

In Whitehorse, as well, a number of services are funded on a user-pay system.

"This user-pay philosophy is enshrined in our fees and charges, which ensure that the costs of providing many non-essential services are not paid solely by the taxpayer,” Buckway said, before citing the proposed fee hikes.

Among them:

• annual licence fees for un-neutered dogs and cats would increase from $38.50 to $52.50;

• at the landfill, $100 per tonne for sorted material and $250 per tonne for unsorted material would be charged for waste coming from outside municipalities in an effort to encourage that waste to be sorted;

• at the landfill, $35 would be charged for all older appliances coming in including those which contain chemicals such as Freon (used for refrigeration);

• the annual 1.5-per-cent increase would be applied to park and recreation fees, with a booking fee of $5 as well for rentals in an effort to defray the cost of staff time needed to respond to the requests of renters; and

• a demolition permit fee of $200 is proposed as well as a $55 fee for special inspections.

Meanwhile, those on city utilities pay the full cost of operating those systems.

"The City of Whitehorse has a utility billing policy in place to ensure that Whitehorse's urban residents continue to enjoy the reliable water, sewer and solid waste pick-up services they have come to appreciate and expect,” Buckway said.

That means the service isn't funded by tax dollars, so those without the service aren't paying for it.

"Servicing our ever-increasing and aging infrastructure is a challenge and requires consistent re-investment,” the mayor said as she detailed the changes to utility bills.

"Even with these increases, we anticipate that Whitehorse will retain its middle-of-the-pack position among Canadian municipalities in terms of utility rates, despite having to provide these services in a harsh and unpredictable northern climate,” she said.

Reaching the balance between the mounting demands on the city for services while keeping taxes low was not easy, she said.

"It has required diligence, prudence, compassion, foresight and many difficult decisions and in making those decisions, council has taken into account all members of our community with their futures in mind,” she said.

"We remain committed to fairness, fiscal responsibility and preserving our quality of life, and I believe this budget has allowed us to live up to those commitments.”

Following the meeting, Buckway said she's hopeful residents will let city council know what they think of the proposed budget.

Budget packages are now available at city buildings throughout town and will soon be on the city's web site at www.city.whitehorse.yk.ca

A public input session on the operating budget is set for council's meeting on Feb. 8. A report on that will then be brought to council on Feb. 15 with second and third readings coming forward Feb. 22.

Combined with the city's $15.4-million capital budget, adopted last night, the city plans to spend nearly $75 million this year.