The squeaky wheel gets the grease - or, in this case, Friday night bus service.

City council voted Monday evening to adopt the $55.7-million operating budget for 2009.

Earlier in the meeting, council passed a number of amendments to the document, including funding the Friday evening bus service it was originally proposing to cut - adding $49,900 to the transit budget for the year.

"We had such a delegation of people that came and spoke to us that, obviously, council responded to the request," Mayor Bev Buckway said in an interview following the meeting.

A public hearing held earlier this month on the proposed budget saw numerous delegates, many who arrived by the special transit service set up to get residents to the session, urge council to keep the Friday evening service going.

They pointed to their own use of it, some stating it allowed them to get to and from work, others noting it allowed them to have a night out once a week.

"I think this is what you'd call a compromise on behalf of council," Buckway said, pointing out there was little feedback on the budget from many people outside of the comments about busing.

Though the city will continue to provide its Friday evening service, the downtown loop pilot project will end as planned at the end of March.

With the exception of some transit users who said they didn't make use of the loop, which runs from downtown to Yukon College and Canada Games Centre, council heard next to nothing on the service, which was established as a pilot project originally expected to end last December.

As it prepares a new schedule without the downtown loop, the city will spend an additional $29,100 on keeping the loop going until the end of March, giving users time to get ready for the changes.

Among other amendments to the budget, council voted first to increase water supply and distribution revenue, representing the 15 per cent hike in water and sewer fees, by $120,041; spend another $90,941 on general expenses and another $10,000 (from the grant that would have gone to the now-dissolved Crime Prevention Yukon) on leisure programs at the Chillax'n Lounge in the Canada Games Centre; and decrease recreation services by $10,000 (the money originally proposed for Crime Prevention Yukon).

After voting on those expenses, council went ahead with another amendment to spend the $49,900 on transit to keep Friday evening service going and another $48,100 on general expenses; as well as dropping administrative spending by $98,000.

"We've done some juggling there to account for that, absolutely," Buckway said of finding the additional funds for transit.

Some of the $98,000 coming out of the administrative budget was carried over from 2008, the mayor pointed out, adding taxpayers won't notice a huge difference in the way the budget amounts have been moved around.

"That was one of the things that council looked at," she said.

Coun. Jan Stick, who attended the meeting by conference call, also said during the meeting she was pleased the Friday evening service will be maintained.

"I also look forward to seeing what (Whitehorse) Transit's plans are for 2010," she said. "I know we're looking at a loop service; hopefully that can take in concerns with reaching the Canada Games Centre and trying to be a more responsive system."

Stick went on to note it was good to hear from transit users who praised the bus drivers' service and said she'd also like to see the city continue to work with the territorial government on the Handy Bus service and perhaps see more funding for it. While the city provides the service, the territory pays for the Handy Bus service.

At the same time though, Stick said, she's also heard suggestions the city needs to work more collaboratively with other service providers, who have similar services, as well.

"And I think if we work collaboratively with other groups, we should be able to offer a better service," she said.

While the councillor commented she heard the concerns of the Utilities Consumers' Group over the substantial hikes to water and sewer bills, there's not much the city can do to avoid the increases.

"I just felt, 'Yeah, it would be great if we could give people a break and, you know, forgo it this year or take some money out of somewhere else,' but the bottom line is our policy dictates that it is recoverable and I would rather see us pay it as it's needed and not have to come back at a later time and say, 'Well, we didn't pay it this year, but now we're going to have to pay even more,' " Stick said.

The increases will see single-family property owners receive a quarterly bill of $173.10 for water and sewer services, with prices going up from there depending on the number of suites in a home. Duplex owners will now be charged $346.20 quarterly for water and sewer.

Though the city had originally proposed a 12.5 per cent jump in the bills, that was increased by a further 2.5 per cent thanks to a spread sheet error found in the midst of the budget process.

Coun. Florence Roberts was set to speak on the budget, but she noted Stick had covered off much of what she had to say.

"Well put, Jan," she said.

Roberts did state later she was pleased to see administration had found a way to stick to the four per cent property tax increase it had originally suggested would come forward in 2009.

Coun. Doug Graham was absent from Monday's meeting, while Coun. Dave Austin attended by conference call.