The city plans to raise taxes, slash parks services, hike user fees and take on a multimillion-dollar debt.

Unveiling the city's 2007 annual budget Monday, Mayor Bev Buckway said council has to raise more money to keep pace with the cost of living.

' ... (W)ith the expansion of our infrastructure, combined with inflationary pressures, the 2007 operating budget will require a five per cent increase in property taxes, a three per cent increase in utility rates, a seven per cent increase in garbage fees, and further increases in selected user fees.'

According to the budget, the city is slated to spend $41.3 million in operating costs in 2007, up from $39.6 million this year.

There is $16 million slated for the city's capital budget in 2007, down sharply from $25.2 million this year.

The rate of increase for taxes for the average house assessed at $131,420, the budget states, is $78 a year.

Utilities for an average single family house will rise from $46.90 to 48.30 per month.

The five per cent boost for 2007 follows three consectutive tax hikes of two per cent each.

According to the budget, there are a number of fees that are set to rise, including:

• a 1.5 per cent jump in all recreation fees effective in September 2007;

• a 10 per cent rise in park booking fees;

• a hike of 10 per cent, $40, for burial plots;

• a rise in cemetery interment fees of 10 per cent, or $120 per funeral;

• a 10 per cent increase to leisure programs and events;

• an introduction of a subdivision approval extension fee of $250;

• an introduction of a road closure fee of $500;

• a boost in the development permit fees of $25 to $275; and

• a climb in tipping fees at the Whitehorse landfill of seven per cent.

As well, fines for parking infractions will jump from $10 to $25 with early payment going from $5 to $10 and after-court payment leaping from $25 to $50;

Buckway also said the city will be taking on $4 million in debt to pay for its new fire hall, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2007.

'... (T)he Takhini North and Fire Hall No. 2 projects will require the city to take on some debt,' she said.

'The maximum debt allowable under the Municipal Act is three per cent of the city's annual assessment, or about $45 million in 2006 dollars.

'The city's total debt at Dec. 31, 2006 will only be $4 million, so the city is proposing an additional $4 million for Fire Hall No. Two in 2007 and an additional $1.2 million for Takhini North.'

The city's fire hall, according to the budget, is slated to cost $5 million, with the remaining $1 million coming from money already set aside.

Other capital project funding plans for 2007 include:

• $100,000 for a parking feasibility study;

• $225,000, to be spent between 2007 and 2009, to bring the city's accounting practices in line with new national standards;

• $230,000, to be spent in 2007 and 2008, for the construction of new elevators at the Mt. McIntrye Recreation Centre and city hall;

• a new building at Shipyards Park for $1.06 million;

• $2.4 million in waterfront development;

• $440,000 in restoration costs for heritage buildings at Shipyards Park;

• $300,000 in area development schemes;

• $950,000 for downtown road reconstruction costs;

• $700,000 for asphalt resurfacing;

• $450,000 for Fourth Avenue bike lanes and streetscaping;

• $800,000 for utilities work downtown;

• $455,000 for new computers; and

• $425,000 for a front-end loader.

'I stand behind this budget,' Buckway said in an interview following its release.

'This budget is a budget that's put together with input from staff, and we all go through it and make a joint decision.

'It would be nice not to have any (tax) increases, but we have to be realistic with what our citizens told us they want.'

Whitehorse, Buckway added, still has among the lowest tax rates of any city in western Canada.

Former mayor Ernie Bourassa told the Star this morning he's not surprised by the tax hike. If he'd been re-elected to a third term in October, he said, he would have recommended similar action.

Bourassa said he believes the city should consider more frequent tax hikes to keep the municipal budget in line with inflation.

'Nobody likes a tax increase, but everybody expects a pay increase,' Bourassa said.

The proposed budget must still be passed by council early next year.

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