City council has considered a list of concerns it has received on the proposed 2006 budget.

At their meeting on Tuesday evening, council members heard of a number of public concerns forwarded to the city regarding the budget.

Council also heard administrative assessments of those concerns.

The public was invited to comment on the budget since it was released to the public on Dec. 12.

The city's $48,449,000-budget includes several spending priorities.

Among them are $6 million in waterfront infrastructure; an additional $2.6 million in waterfront development; and $2.5 million, over four years, to be spent on computers.

Reviewing the list of concerns forwarded to the city, Ray Goruick, the city's financial services manager, said city administration had received input at council meetings as well as through correspondence.

'The public was asked to give feedback and we got responses (via) letters, e-mails and telephone,' Goruick said.

The list of concerns/comments on the budget include:

• the need to expand transit services to include holidays;

• concerns about the roundabout at Lewes Boulevard and Hospital Road scheduled to be constructed in 2007;

• the city's reliance on grant funding from other levels of government;

• the cost of public emergency phones and of administrative studies;

• the need to set up a contingency fund for the 2007 Canada Winter Games;

• the need to upgrade the Robert Campbell Bridge connecting the downtown area to Riverdale; and

• the amount of money budgeted by the city for information technology.

Included in council documents Monday were administrative assessments of the concerns.

According to the documents, council will not consider, at this time, expanding the bus schedule to include holidays. It will instead work on the Transit Task Force recommendations to address the system as a whole. There is no bus service on Sundays either.

In addressing concerns about the $2.5 million targeted for computers, documents state that:

'all computer hardware and software expenditures are justified in the context of their ongoing operating costs in relation to the benefits provided.

'The largest portion of the Information Systems' capital budget is spent on upgrading, maintaining and replacing infrastructure.'

Council documents also state the city will hold public consultation meetings before building the Hospital Road roundabout, will continue with administrative reports, as they're necessary to provide required guidance to city administration, and will not be looking at the Robert Campbell Bridge as it's not a 'safety' concern.

Work on assessing what, if any, additional funds will be required to operate the 2007 Canada Winter Games is currently being assessed.

The city expects the Games to cost an additional $537,000 on top of the $20 million already envisioned.