The "Buy now, pay later” theme is not working for the city, and it needs to plan its spending years ahead in the future, says Coun. Ranj Pillai.

"We must properly plan,” the rookie councillor argued Monday night. He then became the lone council member to vote against the final two readings of this year's $59.1-million operating budget.

Along with hikes to user fees and service charges, the budget will hike property taxes by four per cent – the latest in a string of increases over several years.

Pillai said he can appreciate the city has, at least to some extent, been "forced into a corner” thanks to the a period in the 1990s when there were no tax increases and no real vision as to how the city will deal with aging buildings.

Pillai expects the cost of maintaining the new infrastructure will mean an ever-mounting operating bill for the city.

As he pointed out, the city may be constructing new structures like the Whitehorse Public Safety Building at the top of Two Mile Hill that will replace the older structures, but there are also plans to use the old buildings that are being replaced.

The Takhini fire hall, next to the new safety building, for example, is set to serve as a storage facility.

There has been no proper forecasting as to how the city will deal with the rising costs. Pillai suggested the city should be looking at three-year cycles for spending that could prepare residents for certain tax hikes well in advance.

"Can we not identify a plan?” he asked, arguing the city also has to look at where its money is coming from.

As he got set to raise his hand and register a vote against the operating budget, veteran councillor Doug Graham commented that used to be his job.

While Graham joined most of council in voting in endorsing the final two budget readings, it was not without some criticism.

He began by explaining why, in an earlier e-mail, he had suggested the budget is "less than honest,” noting he had been "taken to task” on the matter by other members of council.

Graham then launched into criticizing how the territory's operating grant is explained in budget documents. He went on to state he also takes exception to the graph showing city property owners are among the lowest taxpayers in the country.

Unlike a number of other cities listed on the chart, things like school taxes, policing and, in Montreal's case, utilities aren't included in Whitehorse property taxes.

While the chart makes note of that in the fine print and colour-codes the amount paid in school taxes, Graham argued it is not an honest comparison.

"We have to tell people the real truth,” he said.

In the past nine years, taxes have jumped by more than 32 per cent while the Consumer Price Index has only risen by about 13 per cent in the same nine-year period.

Graham noted he's not sure the latest four-per-cent increase in taxes will be enough to cover city costs in the coming year.