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YellowknifepushesformorerevenuesinHeritageFundTheGovernmentoftheNorthwestTerritoriesispleasedtoannouncethattheDepartmentofFinanceislaunchingTheFinancialSharedServicesCentreinFortSmithThenewcentreopenedonMondayNovember42013andwillprovideourbusinesspartnerswithaconvenientonestopcontactforprocessingallGNWTDepartmentsandtheNWTHousingCorporationnancialtransactions.ToensuretheGNWTcontinuestomaintainahighlevelofservicetoourbusinesspartnerspleaseensurenancialinformationisreroutedtotheFinancialSharedServicesCentreatIfyouareinterestedinlearningmoreabouttheFinancialSharedServicesCentrepleasecontact867872-2450.ThankyouforyoursupportandwelookforwardtobeingofcontinuedservicetoyouandhopeyouwillenjoythebenetsoftheGNWTFinancialSharedServicesCentre.TheGNWTFinancialSharedServicesCentreisopeninginFortSmithFinancialSharedServicesDepartmentofFinanceGovernmentoftheNorthwestTerritoriesP.O.Box876182BMcDougalRd.FortSmithNTX0EPoliticsFinance9TuesdayNovember52013ByMEAGANWOHLBERGEchoingcallsfromFortSmithearlierlastmonthYel-lowknifersmadeahardlinepushforatleasthalfofresourcerevenuesgarneredthroughde-volutiontobeputintotheHeri-tageFundforsafekeepingforfuturegenerationsatlastweekspublicmeeting.YellowknifewasthelateststoponthisyearsroundofbudgetconsultationsputonbytheNWTdepartmentofFinancefollowingmeetingsthroughoutOctoberinBeh-chokoFortSimpsonHayRiverandFortSmith.ThetourhasprovidedavenueforFinanceMinisterMichaelMiltenbergertopres-enthisplanofwhattodowiththeterritorysshareofresourcerevenuesafterresponsibilityforlandswaterandresourcesisnallytransferredtotheNWTonApr.12014.Theterritoryexpectstomakeamaximumof65mil-lionaftersplittingroyaltiesinhalfwiththefederalgovern-ment25percentofwhichwillgotoAboriginalgovernmentsleavingamaximumofaround52milliontotheGNWT.Asthatcaphingesontheterritoryscapitalexpendi-tureswhicharecurrentlywellbelowthe65-millionmarktheve-yearaverageforresourcerevenuesiscloserto42million.ThoughMiltenbergersplanistoput5percentofthat42millionintotheNWTsnewHeritageFundsavingtherestforinfrastructureanddebtre-paymentresidentsattendingthemeetinginYellowkniferequestedanywherebetweenhalfand100percentoftherevenuesfromnon-renewablestobeputasideforfuturegen-erationswhowontbeabletobenetfromthoseresources.YellowknifesFrameLakeMLAWendyBisarowasoneofthem.ThoughsheagreedwithMiltenbergersintenttoensurenoresourcerevenuesareallocatedforprogramsandservices-forwhichthegov-ernmentalreadyinvests1.4billionannually-shesaida5percentinvestmentforthefu-turewasdisappointing.Inmyviewweshouldbeplacingaminimumof25percentofouranticipatedresourcerevenuesintotheHeritageFundanditshouldbesostatedinlegislationnotinregulationswhichareeas-ilychangedbygovernmentwithoutanydiscussionwithorinputfromthepublicshesaidinlegislaturelastweek.YellowkniferesidentJu-lianMorsewhoattendedtheconsultationlastMondaywitharound20otherssaidtherewasamixtureofrecommen-dationswaveringbetween50and100percentofrevenues.ThoughhewouldliketoseealloftherevenuesgointotheHeritageFundhesaidheun-derstandsthevalueofinvestingininfrastructureforthefutureaswellandcouldsettleforacompromiseofatleasta50-50splitbetweenthetwoareas.Butjustthrowingevery-thingintocapitalbudgetsfortheyearisaterribleideahesaid.IfyouregoingtoputinasmallamountyoudontreallyhaveaHeritageFund.Youmightaswellputalotawayornoneatall.Hesaidthe5percentg-ureis100percentarbitraryandwantstoseethedepart-mentlistentotheviewsofresidentsinmakingthisde-cisiondespitewhatMilten-bergersaidmaybeatoughpoliticalsellinlegislature.IfpeopleinthepoliticalarenadontunderstandthebenetsofaHeritageFunditsMiltenbergersjobtoex-plainthattothemMorsesaid.Whenyouvegotresi-dentswhoknowwhattheyretalkingaboutcomingtomeet-ingsandsayingthisiswhatwewantthentheyneedtorespondtothat.Thisisthewillofthepeople.Morseaddedthatanyal-locationfordebtrepaymentisaredherringasthema-jorityoftheterritorysdebtisself-liquidating.Theinfrastructurede-citisabitofanimaginarygure.Theresnophysicaldecittheresnomoneythatneedstoberepaid.TheyretalkingaboutwhattheydliketobuildandthemoneytheyneedtobuilditMorsesaid.Thatsnotagoodrea-sonnottoestablishaHeri-tageFund.ResidentsinFortSmithalsocalledforatleast25percenttobeputtowardsthefundwiththepreferenceof100percentasisdoneinNorwaywhoseHeritageFundcurrentlyboastsaround730billion.Fivepercentwouldsee2.1milliongoingintotheHeritageFundeachyearwhich-whentotalledwithcompoundinterest-wouldseearound65millionsavedupinthe20yearsthefundislegislatedtogountouched.Thefundscurrentbalanceisjustover500000.Thedepartmenthastwocommunitiesleftonitsbudgetconsultationtour.MiltenbergerandhisFinancestaffwillbeinInuvikonNov.12andNor-manWellsonNov.13.ByMARIACHURCHAnoverhauloftheNWTsIncomeSecurityProgramISPsystemwhichservesseniorsyoungfamiliesandstudentstooffsetthecostoflivingwillincludeanewfocusonpersonswithdisabilities.Enhancingtheservicesthatweprovidetopeoplewithdisabilitiesisdenitelyapriorityforthedepart-mentJoleneSaturninodirectorofISPtoldTheJournal.TheISPofcehasdecidedtocreateanewadvisorypo-sitionspecicallytoaddressservicegapsforclientswithdisabilitiesandarenowlookingtohire.Theadvisoryrolewouldincludemakingadjustmentstocurrentprogramsbring-ingstaffuptodateonhowtobestservedisabledclientsandpotentiallycreateawholenewprogramforclientswithdisabilities.WhilemanyISPimprove-mentsforpersonswithdis-abilitieshingeonsuggestionsmadebythenewadvisorypositionthedepartmentre-centlycreateda2000grantforpermanentlydisabledstu-dentsontopoftheirregularstudentnancialassistance.SeparatefromEmploymentInsuranceISPsaredesignedforawiderrangeofappli-cantsfromastudentlookingtooffseteducationcoststoaseniorwhocannotaffordtoheathisorherhome.TheISPofficereceivesaround1200incomeassis-tanceapplicationspermonthand2500studentassistanceapplicationsperacademicyearSaturninosaid.EarlierthisyearISPscameunderscrutinyfromtheOf-ceoftheAuditorGeneralOAGwhichreleasedare-portinMarchmakingninerecommendationstoim-proveservicedeliveryandemployeesupports.WewerepleasedtoreadtherecommendationsfromtheAuditorGeneralJacksonLaffertyministerofEduca-tionCultureandEmploy-mentsaidinapressrelease.Alloftheirrecom-mendationsalignedwiththeactionswehadtakentothatpoint.ThefocusedreviewofourIncomeSe-curityProgramhashelpedusfurtheridentifyservicegapswhichwehavemovedtoaddress.SaturninoconrmedthatimprovementstotheISPsarealreadyontrackwiththerecommendationsmadeintheOAGsreport.TheprogramchangesandinternalenhancementsaswellthatwearemakingaregoingtobenetNorth-ernersandtheyaregoingtomaketheimprovementsthatwedoneedshesaid.Sweepingchangesforthedepartmentwhichincludedevelopingacompetencymodeltoidentifyindividualstafftrainingneedswillhap-penoverthenextfewyearsSaturninosaid.ThebudgetforISPpro-gramsisapproximately29.3millionperyearwithpro-gramsservicinganaverageof5500people.NWTIncomeSecurityoverhaulfocusesondisabilitiesHealthWellnessCostofLivingImageGNWTFinance