As mayor and council get set to head back into council chambers early in the new year, they’ll be getting set to hear from residents about a number of issues to help guide decisions on a number of issues.

Council’s first meeting of the new year will be held Jan. 7.

It will be the first council meeting in almost a month, as Mayor Dan Curtis and the councillors enjoyed their Christmas-New Year’s break.

The following week, on Jan. 14, residents will have an opportunity to provide their input on three topics.

A public input session on the city’s proposed $81-million operating budget, which includes a suggested 2.3 per cent hike to property taxes, is scheduled.

First reading of the operating budget was passed in December, thus prompting the public input session.

A report on the submissions that come into the city will be brought forward a week after the input session ahead of second and third readings on Jan. 28.

Along with the input session on the budget, the Jan. 14 meeting will feature two public hearings on zoning amendments which also passed first reading in December.

The owners of 1 Roderick Place are applying to the Yukon government to expand their lot in order to install a new septic field on the property.

For that to happen, the small section of land must have its zoning changed from the current Parks and Recreation designation to the Country Residential 1 zoning in place on the larger residential property.

The other zoning change up for discussion would allow for a child care centre inside the former night club at the Day’s Inn on Second Avenue.

While council passed first reading of the rezoning for the child care centre, some council members expressed concerns about child care centres being pushed out of residential areas into more commercial sites.

The centre proposed at the hotel would feature a fenced outdoor play area, though older children would be taken to nearby parks and outdoor spaces by passenger van.

Some council members have expressed concerns about the rezoning.

Others, meanwhile, have highlighted the need for childcare spaces. They have noted the opportunities for children to be immersed in downtown activities that are available simply by being in the neighbourhood.

As with the operating budget, city staff will prepare a report on the input provided prior to council voting on the final two readings.

While the council meetings will provide more formal opportunities to address council, as the city continues to work on its next Official Community Plan, it’s also accepting input on that until Jan. 25.

Along with an online survey currently available on the city’s website and written submissions that can be provided, a drop-in session is scheduled for residents from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Jan. 23 at the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre.

As 2019 moves forward, there will also be other opportunities for residents to speak out on a variety of issues that are brought to council for a decision.