Whitehorse Mayor Kirk Cameron immediately following the swearing in ceremony on Friday, November 1st. Photo Courtesy of Macklen Linke/CKRW.
WHITEHORSE, YT – During the Whitehorse City Council meeting on Monday, December 9th, Whitehorse Mayor Kirk Cameron had delivered the budget address for the City’s proposed Capital Budget for 2025 though to 2028.
In light of rising economic pressures affecting all levels of government, first and foremost Mayor Cameron says, this budget is rooted in fiscal responsibility, and ensures that the city of Whitehorse can maintain it capital reserves while still tackling the needs of a city with both an aging infrastructure and a booming population.
‘Rapid growth increases the demand for new infrastructure but also places an added strain on our existing and aging infrastructure. Many of our roads, pipes, buildings, and facilities are showing their age and are due for upgrades. Those upgrades will be necessary, and the costs associated with them are significant.’ – Whitehorse Mayor Kirk Cameron
Highlights of the proposed budget include $4-million for Water and Waste Water service upgrades in the Crestview neighborhood, $2-million to improve the quality of service delivery in the City for things like snow clearing, public transit, parks and trail systems, $850,000 in equipment for the Whitehorse Fire Department, including funds for fire hydrants and the Fire Dispatch System, $700,000 for improves to recreation facilities, and in a bid to support infrastructure needs, $200,000 for improvements to the City’s Asset Management System.
Mayor Cameron called the proposed 2025 capital budget a ‘restrained’ one, and notes that of the $96-million dollars in capital spending set aside for 2025, none of it is spent unnecessarily.
“The 2025 Capital Budget is a restrained budget, with total expenditures of $96-million. There is no excessive or unnecessary spending here. Instead we are focused on basics, and making sure we attended to the core business of municipal government.’ – Whitehorse Mayor Kirk Cameron
Mayor Cameron also noted that the City would be strategically investing to support the needs of a growing population, including investing in a new firehall in Whistle bend, a new transit hub, as well as as addition of more busses and bus shelters to the City’s transit system.
The Mayor also noted that the City of Whitehorse is still grappling with a long-term solution for landslides along Robert Service Way, and warns that while the city was fortunate there was no landslide there in 2024, we shouldn’t count on that being the case every year.
