A bit of neighbourly arm-twisting worked well to scrounge up a few more people to sit on the five local advisory councils (LACs) that surround Whitehorse.
After the first deadline for nominations closed, only Marsh Lake was able to acclaim a full slate of council members. After a week-long extension, both the Ibex Valley and Tagish local advisory councils could also boast a full slate.
In Mount Lorne, the current council has recommended to the minister of community services a person for appointment to fill the final vacancy.
The newly acclaimed members of the South Klondike (Carcross) local council will meet in November to make a recommendation for their fifth council position.
Then all positions will be filled, and the councils will do what they can within the limits set by the Department of Community Services.
The Yukon Bureau of Statistics reports that there are now approximately 2,500 people who reside in the five LAC areas. Marsh Lake is the largest with close to 750 residents. The remaining four — Ibex Valley, Mount Lorne, Tagish and South Klondike (Carcross) — are communities of between 400 and 500 people.
While LACs have similar populations as the smaller Yukon municipalities, LACs are still classified as unincorporated communities, and the Department of Community Services is responsible for all service delivery in them (transfer stations, firehalls, recreation).
LACs are purely advisory and operate from a budget of $15,000 each.
“As LACs are not registered societies, they are not allowed to apply for additional funding,” explained an email from the Department of Community Services to the News.
LACs are not permitted to look for assistance outside of the community services department, which provides community advisors to assist with governance, strategic and community planning.
Contact Lawrie Crawford at lawrie.crawford@yukon-news.com