Fort Simpson makes headway on its budget deficit

The Village of Fort Simpson says it has nearly eliminated its deficit after announcing a five-year deficit recovery plan just last year.

Senior administrative officer Andre Larabie confirmed to Cabin Radio the village’s deficit dwindled to $21,133 in the 2024-25 fiscal year, down from nearly a million dollars in 2023-24.

He said the village cut labour costs at its recreation centre from more than $1.2 million in 2024 to $974,518 in 2025.

Larabie said in 2025, two people retired from their positions at the rec centre while four were laid off.

Those costs, he said, will continue to drop next year.

“The full impact will not be seen until the end of this year since we had to pay severance to the employees that we laid off,” Larabie said in an email to Cabin Radio.

At a village council meeting earlier this month, Larabie said the deficit will be eliminated completely in the next fiscal year.

A year ago, the village announced it would implement a five-year deficit recovery plan. That plan had the village cutting costs by nearly $400,000 in each of those years.

Asked if any other communities reported a deficit in the 2024-25 fiscal year, the territory’s Department of Municipal and Community Affairs said it does not publicly report on specific communities.

“Our focus is on working constructively with community governments to understand the circumstances contributing to their financial challenges and to restore financial stability,” a spokesperson for the department said.

The spokesperson said that while the department doesn’t publish communities’ financial information, community governments are required to make their final audits available to the public.

In the previous financial year, communities such as Aklavik, Wrigley, Wekweètì and Fort Resolution each reported a deficit, the department previously told Cabin Radio.

Last year, Fort Resolution’s administrator, Tom Beaulieu, said the community would report a surplus in the 2024-25 fiscal year. Similarly, Wrigley Chief Jamie Moses said the community balanced its budget during the same financial year.

Fred Behrens, senior administrator for Wekweètì, said the community is making progress on lowering its deficit from about $1.2 million down to around $200,000.

He said this was accomplished by cutting costs where possible, including withdrawing from some contract work.

While the community used to be a subcontractor for the Tłı̨chǫ Investment Corporation for the construction of a segment of the winter road south of Wekweètì, rising costs contributed to the community government’s decision to discontinue that work and allow it to be carried out by the investment corp, Behrens said.