DAWSON CITY – Last Wednesday’s meeting of Dawson council saw passage of the 2023 Budget, Fees and Charges, and Tax Levy Bylaws.

The three meetings leading to this final passage have been quite contentious.

Mayor Bill Kendrick has noted a number of times that many of the decisions being taken have been far from unanimous.

On at least two occasions, council has been forced to take 10-minute pauses, shutting down the meetings’ audio and radio feed, as tempers flared, especially between the mayor and Councillors Patrik Pikálek and Brennan Lister.

While the budget did pass at 5-0, as did the Fees and Charges, the Tax Levy Bylaw was a recorded vote of three to two.

Pikálek and Lister voted against while Alex Somerville, Kendrick and Julia Spriggs voted for.

Somerville noted that fee and tax increases should be seen as inevitable when expenses rise.

Speaking to Fees and Charges increases, Spriggs said part of the reason for fairly substantial hikes lies in the fact that previous councils have avoided smaller increases for many years.

Historically, property tax increases in Dawson are not the result of municipal increases in the mill rate, which has hardly budged in decades. Rather, they occur when the assessments performed by the territorial government increase the value of assessed properties.

Some of the highlights of the changes, along with some explanations, follow:

• Approximate five per cent increase in residential and non-residential property taxes.

• Approximate 6.5 per cent increase in fees for recreation (e.g. pool and arena fees, fitness passes).

• 25 per cent increase in hotel/bed and breakfast room rate, water and sewer charges.

• 6.5 per cent increase in other water and sewer fees and charges, including water delivery.

• Cancellation of a dedicated communications position for the town (this will continue to be done by individual departments).

Council had hired a specialist for this job last year, but she had already resigned after a brief period and taken up similar duties for the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation.

• Addition of two new positions in Public Works to deal with waste and – recycling – waste and recycling supervisor, and additional landfill attendant.

Council took on these new duties last year after failing to resolve contract issues with a long time contractor. The new recycling centre opened for business on Rabbit Creek Road on March 15 after a year of service at Crocus Bluff Park.

CAO David Henderson indicated that, so far, the cost of collecting waste bound for the landfill has fallen since the town took over the service.

• There will be a higher minimum tax rate for stand-alone vacant residential lots.

In response to a question, Kendrick revealed that the new minimum tax rate had risen to $840 (from $800), and the rate for these vacant lots would be $1600.

Responding to questions from Jackie Olsen, Kendrick noted the vacant land tax will not be applied to residents whose lots are double-sized or more and have for many years been amalgamated for tax purposes, even though they may not be consolidated.

• Cancellation of special vacant waste management fees for vacant residential and non-residential lots (now, all lots, whether vacant or not, are proposed to have the same applicable fee).

• 25 per cent reduction in the Seniors’ Grants for taxes and water and sewer fees, and raising of the eligibility age to 61 from 60.

A seniors’ discount for recreation fees and cable TV was removed after the budget’s first reading, but was restored after the second.

• Cost of service increases of 20-plus per cent in all cable TV charges, both analog and digital.

• Cancellation of the cable TV insert in the Klondike Sun.

The Sun has decided to cover the costs of the guide for a few issues while seeking to find some support for this service to viewers from the business community.

The board of the Literary Society of the Klondike, which runs the newspaper, has heard from a number of citizens that the usefulness of the town’s cable television service is hobbled if there is no printed guide to programs.

It should probably be noted that this council and others have discussed the need for the town to maintain the TV service (which is not normally a municipal responsibility) and justify it only so long as it pays for itself and has no impact on the town’s finances.

Postponement of purchase of replacement bylaw vehicle.

To balance this year’s budget, council took $200,000 from its unassigned reserves from last year as a “mitigation step”.

It has been noted repeatedly over the last month that the town was facing a deficit of as little as $600,000 and as much as $800,000. Towns are not allowed to run deficits, and must have balanced or surplus budgets.

As Henderson explained at an earlier meeting, ”The $200,000 represents a gap that has to be addressed next year; $200,000 represents a 5.7 per cent property tax increase.

“The usage of reserves pushes this part of the gap into next year and mitigates by spreading the gap over two years and buying us time to see what funding changes may occur, what the effects of changes internally and externally are.

“Any dollar savings we find in the budget that can be applied to this $200,000 contribution from reserves, reduces next year’s problem,” Henderson added.

Coincidentally, $200,000 is the cost of operating the May-to-September swimming pool on Fifth Avenue.

Somerville noted that number in a general discussion of the public impact and cost of recreational facilities in town.

Only one of them, the Waterfront Building Fitness Centre, actually covers its operating costs.

Several times, Kendrick has stated that the Association of Yukon Communities has been lobbying the territorial government to make increases in the Comprehensive Municipal Grant, which provides funding to the communities.

The outcome of those negotiations, which have been going on since 2018, according to the mayor, is not yet known.