Whitehorse city council increases budget for pool, saving programs

Whitehorse city council voted unanimously Monday night to allot an additional $20,000 to the budget for the city's Canada Games Centre pool, after officials said they would be forced to start cutting programs if the money wasn't approved.    

The city's manager of recreation and city services told council last week that new national safety requirements, which require more lifeguards on duty than in the past, are the reason for the higher costs. The pool had previously applied for the funds in 2014 but was denied.

Linda Rapp, Whitehorse's acting city manager, said the allocated funds will cover wages for additional supervisors required by the new rules. 

"It's basically 40 to 1 so 40 people to one lifeguard," she said. "However, it is dependant on how many pools are open. So the lane swimming, the leisure pool area, the sauna, the steam area are all considered separate areas." 

Whitehorse headed for year end surplus

The money will come from the city's general reserve, but budget projections presented to council last night show that the city should have no problem coming up with the funds.

According to the projections, the city is headed for a year-end surplus of approximately $600,000, a result of revenues being over $900,000 higher than initial projections.

Last week, council learned that the city has a budget surplus of $1 million in department spending, much of that resulting from staff vacancies.