City council will not raise property taxes but may roll back unspecified services to pay for the Canada Winter Games.

At their meeting Tuesday night, members of council decided that while the original two per cent hike in property taxes planned for this year will stand, there will be no further increases.

At a meeting last week, city administration suggested that council raise taxes a further 0.5 per cent in 2006 and another 2.5 per cent in 2007 to fund an estimated $537,000 in Games' cost overruns.

The increase in taxes would have been above and beyond the current hike of two per cent determined in previous city budgets.

The $537,000, according to city manager Dennis Shewfelt, was just a 'guesstimate' of the additional funds that will be required by the city to operate the Stan McCowan Arena, the tent arena at the former Motorways trucking yard on the waterfront, and higher labour costs.

Speaking to fellow council members as well as members of the public, Coun. Dave Stockdale and Mayor Ernie Boursassa promised citizens that taxes will not be used to fund the 2007 Canada Games operating costs.

'We are not going ahead with any additional tax increases,' Stockdale said. 'I'd just like to make this clear; we are not going to do that.'

Bourassa confirmed Stockdale's comments, saying council had no plans to raise taxes to pay for Games operating costs.

'The two per cent tax increases were not intended to fund the Canada Games, it was intended to fund the Canada Games Centre,' he said.

To fund any additional costs associated with the Games, the mayor added, council would likely have to dip into a city contingency fund or cut back on existing services.

Bourassa did not specify what, if any, services would be affected.

During the meeting, city financial manager Ray Goruick said there would be additional meetings with the Canada Games Host Society to determine what the extent of cost overruns would be.

Last week, host society president Piers McDonald said it's unlikely any additional funds, from the federal government and from fundraising, would be directed toward city coffers.

He said while the host society would not consider 'planning for or contemplating' a deficit for the Games, it's still awaiting word from the federal government on a $5-million to $7-million request for additional funding.

An answer to the request, McDonald said in an earlier interview with the Star, was originally expected in December but was postponed due to the recent federal election.