Rick Karp, president of the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce, wasn't surprised by city council's adoption of a four per cent tax hike for 2011, even after his presentation just before Monday evening's vote calling on the city to consider third party experts' advice.

"I expected that to happen,” Karp said in an interview this morning.

He was responding to last night's 4-3 council vote approving the $63.4-million operating budget for this year. It contains the tax hike and a range of fee increases.

After noting council's continued reliance on administrative direction, Karp commented that at least three council members had the "foresight” to think about his comments.

Councillors Doug Graham, Betty Irwin and Ranj Pillai all voted against the budget.

Before that, the three raised their hands in favour of Graham's motion to delay the budget vote by two weeks to discuss with the chamber its proposal that Karp said could potentially save the city $800,000.

In making his proposal, Karp suggested the city meet with a number of experts the chamber would bring in to look at cost savings.

The three argued the city should be open to suggestions, and that a two-week deferral could result in more cost savings for the city or at best, as Pillai suggested, mean a better understanding of the budget process for the chamber.

"I think a two-week deferral is exactly what's needed,” Graham said.

The four remaining councillors didn't agree, arguing the chamber was bringing forward its suggestion too late and that finding $800,000 in cost savings would take too long. Such issues, it was suggested, should be looked at when council considers next year's budget.

Coun. Dave Stockdale went as far as stating he'd be "absolutely disgusted” with a delay, describing it as an "absolute waste of time.”

Responding to questions by council, Rob Fendrick, the director of administrative services, said two weeks wouldn't be enough time to come up with savings of $800,000, even with the chamber's assertion that the savings would not come out of staff wages.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mayor Bev Buckway said any lengthy postponment would have delayed the proposed start date of July 1 for transit changes that will see it overhauled to a loop-based system. Put off for another year, Buckway suggested, the improvements might not go ahead at all.

While Graham was defeated in his motion to defer the vote by two weeks, he didn't give up there, later bringing forward an amendment that the two proposed new staff positions at the Canada Games Centre be taken out of the budget. The city, he said, has yet to see the 60 per cent cost recovery it was anticipating from the recreation complex at this point.

The city spends about $6.1 million each year to operate the Games Centre, Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre and Takhini Arena – all of which share staff and resources – with the three facilities taking in $2.5 million in revenue.

Stockdale pointed out the two new proposed positions for the Games Centre were estimated to bring in an additional $20,000 in revenue. Graham argued the centre should be recovering 60 per cent of its expenses before any new staff are hired.

Graham and Pillai were the only council members to vote in favour of the change, with Graham commenting: "That's pathetic, is what it is” after the vote.

After the meeting, he told reporters he had other ideas in mind that could also save the city money, but opted not to bring them forward, knowing they too would likely be defeated.

Among them, Graham would have eliminated the city's public relations manager's position. In 2009, when the position was brought in as the executive assistant to the city manager, it paid in the range of $26.88 and $31.61 per hour, or $56,097 and $65,975 annually.

While Graham said in some ways it is proving beneficial in the information being sent out to media by the city, he doesn't believe it's a good use of money.

He also would have proposed taking a closer look at how much is spent on travel for council and staff and the city's use of consultants, many of whom are brought in from Outside to work on projects that could be handled locally.

Before finally voting on the budget itself, a number of council members reiterated their stance on the matter.

Coun. Florence Roberts was the first to speak. The city has continued to raise taxes by four per cent each year for the past three years as "investments” into the city through the addition of roads, the ongoing costs of the Canada Games Centre, transit improvements and working conditions for staff, she said.

Coun. Dave Austin said the city now has the highest population it's ever had, and is being called on to offer more programs at the same time that fuel, electricty, building materials and other costs are going up.

While Austin vowed to vote in favour of the hike for this year, he said he will be proposing capping any further tax increases in future years to 2015 at a maximum of one per cent over the cost of inflation.

He plans to bring the idea forward when council meets for its annual retreat this weekend.

Stockdale said the tax increases the city has seen in recent years are not a major concern.

Looking at his own tax statement, he said, the increase works out to just about an additional $1.87 per week.

In the past decade, his taxes have risen by just $200 from about $1,200 to $1,400, he said as he made note of a number of subsidy programs offered to seniors living in their home.

"This budget doesn't need change,” he argued. "I believe our process is a good one.”

Graham said after the meeting Stockdale may not share the same circumstances as many in the city.

A number of Whitehorse residents, who don't have the benefit of a government pension, are struggling to keep up with increasing costs, he said.

Buckway also continued to defend the spending plan, citing the amount of work staff have put into drafting the document.

The four per cent tax jump, she said, comes as no surprise, as it was outlined when the provisional budget was developed in 2010.

She went on to defend staff, stating reserves are being diligently managed to be available when needed such as this year, and noted the financial reporting awards the city has received.

Meanwhile, Irwin and Pillai continued to argue in favour of smaller tax increases. Irwin pushed for a 1.5 per cent increase to reflect the higher cost of living over the last year, while Pillai advocated three per cent, reflecting the cost of living and the transit improvements.

Both also suggested the process needs change, arguing that administration should be bringing forward more options for council to consider during budget talks.

Graham suggested the city needs to look at ways of saving. As an example, he pointed to the 14 casual workers being hired for the Parks and Recreation Department this summer at a rate of $23 per hour plus benefits.

There's no reason not to look at contracting out the work, he said.

"We need that new perspective,” Graham said.

While the budget will go ahead as planned for this year, Buckway didn't rule out the possibility of a change in the process in the years to come. The topic, she pointed out, is part of the agenda for this weekend's retreat.

"I'm always open to looking at the process,” she said, though she also pointed out the city has made cuts along the way.

The Parks and Recreation Department isn't cutting or fertilizing grass as much as it once did, she pointed out.

After passing the budget, council voted in favour of adopting the latest property tax levy, with Graham, Irwin and Pillai voting against it.