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Council adopts $100.3-million operating budget

Property taxes increasing by more than 3 per cent
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Mayor Laura Cabott. (Yukon News file)

Whitehorse city council has adopted the city’s $100.3-million operating budget for 2023.

Council voted in favor of the spending plan and accompanying property tax and fee increases at its March 13 meeting.

Property taxes will rise by 3.37 per cent, while water and sewer rates increase by 3.36 per cent and waste collection goes up by 6.04 per cent.

Those increases translate to an additional $88 on the average homeowner’s tax bill while those on the city’s water and sewer system will see their bills rise to $88.73 each month from the current $85.85. Those on the city’s standard waste collection schedule will pay $14.23 for the service on a monthly basis compared to $13.42.

Speaking to the budget ahead of the vote, Mayor Laura Cabott noted she was please with the work that went into keeping tax hike below the increases that have been seen over the last year in the Consumer Price Index.

She noted the price increases for things like diesal, equipment and more have impacted the city’s costs.

“We’re working against some hills here,” she said, going on to note that citizens are asking the city to do a lot and council is asking administration to do a lot when it comes to services like snow removal and enhancing the transit system.

“We’ve been able to do those things in this budget but keep a tax rate at a fairly low level,” Cabott said, going on to thank city staff and her fellow council members in making that happen.



Stephanie Waddell

About the Author: Stephanie Waddell

I joined Black Press in 2019 as a reporter for the Yukon News, becoming editor in February 2023.
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