The city's former mayor is praising the proposed operational budget for the year, but is stopping short at telling council how to handle things.

At Monday evening's city council meeting, former mayor Bev Buckway was the first delegate to speak out at a public input session on the proposed $65-million budget, which proposes a 3.83 per cent property tax hike.

"A city that does not keep up with growth stagnates,” she told the current council – elected in October 2012 – after congratulating members on bringing forward a balanced budget and on the financial award the city recently received for its accounting practices.

The former mayor also praised the city's plans for additional evening bus service through the week.

While many will complain about a tax hike, Buckway said she is one of the silent majority who doesn't mind paying an extra 14 cents a day for city services to be maintained.

As with all delegates before council, members were given the opportunity to question Buckway after her presentation.

Veteran councillor Dave Stockdale used that opportunity to question how she'd deal with the finances if she were back at the council table for a third term as mayor, something she did not run for last year.

He first questioned whether she thought the city should test the expanded evening bus service for one year before determining whether it will be a permanent part of the transit service.

"Good try, but you're in that seat,” she told Stockdale, smiling.

He then queried what she thought of the request coming forward from the Great Northern Ski Society for $400,000 in immediate cash as well as a long-term core funding for the Mount Sima recreation area.

She gave the same answer.

Much of the public input over the next nearly three hours came from residents speaking in support of Sima.

Others criticized further funding for the hill or took issue with the request (see Tuesday's Star).

Other speakers, though, noted their interest in other aspects of the budget, including the changes to transit and the proposed property tax hike, among others.

Daniel Ashley, the Yukon College student union's president, turned up to let council know the group supports the expansion of bus service into the evening, a move which will help students get home from class.

While students can often get to their evening classes by bus, they have to find alternatives to get back home, council was told.

"This is absolutely an essential service,” he said.

He noted his group is currently working on a plan with city officials to provide all full-time students with a transit pass next September, provided the evening service goes ahead.

The possibility of a reduced rate transit pass for part-time students and staff of the school is also being looked at, he said.

"I think it's a very important initiative,” Ashley commented.

Under questioning by Stockdale, Ashley told council the MOU that will see the student union and student services department at the college split the cost of the passes 50/50 is currently being drawn up, and he expects it will be signed before the end of May.

While Ashley praised the city for the transit changes proposed, Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce chair Philip Fitzgerald was not so complementary.

He took issue with the ongoing tax hikes that are expected to continue this year with the proposed 3.83 per cent hike.

The accumulated increases over the last few years have not matched inflation, Fitzgerald said.

He argued the chamber's position that the city should limit tax increases to two per cent or the rate of inflation.

The chamber, he said, is also asking council to bring forward the operating budget earlier with the capital budget rather than adopting them as two separate entities, and to reduce to the tax rate difference between residential and non-residential properties.

As Fitzgerald pointed out, the capital budget which comes forward in December and is adopted early in the new year has a direct impact on operating expenses.

Thus, the two should come forward together and be adopted much earlier.

With commercial properties paying a higher tax rate than residential properties, Fitzgerald suggested the rate difference between the two should be reduced.

He noted later, under questioning by Coun. Betty Irwin, that the chamber would be working with the city to explore ways of generating revenue outside of property taxes, provided other stakeholders were included in the discussions as well.

A public input report on the session is set to come forward at Monday's council meeting, with second and third readings of the budget then expected to come forward on March 25.

Mayor Dan Curtis and Coun. Kirk Cameron were absent from Monday's meeting.