The legislative assembly approved a 2018-19 fiscal plan on March 12, with additional funding for the arts and four new government positions.
After weeks of budget negotiations, MLAs agreed to increase operational spending by about $1.1 million.
The added funds will go toward the NWT Arts Council ($200,000), two government service officer positions for Jean Marie River and Sambaa K'e (totalling $300,000), and two, three-year positions for employees, based in Fort Smith, that will deal with equity lease issues in the territory (for a total of $578,000).
At least one regular MLA, however, had reservations.
Kevin O'Reilly, the representative for Frame Lake, said the operational budget restricts programs and services in favour of a larger surplus, to be spent later on infrastructure projects.
What's more, said O'Reilly, the coming year's budget includes "no serious effort" to diversify the NWT economy.
"Little work is under way to develop a knowledge economy and the future of Aurora College is still very much up in the air," he said.
O'Reilly noted that the only new revenue generating proposals spelled out in the budget concern a possible land transfer tax and sugary drink tax.
These taxes, if implemented, would not likely yield new money for the GNWT until after the 2018-19 fiscal year.
"I cannot accept cabinet's approach of continual cutting without some corresponding and commensurate effort at raising new revenues," said O'Reilly.
Kam Lake MLA Kieron Testart, was more optimistic about changes to the main estimates.
"We have made progress on arts funding. We have made progress on land tenure issues. We have made progress on environmental concerns. We have made progress on business support," Testart told his colleagues in the legislature on March 13.
Nahendeh MLA Shane Thompson commended the legislative assembly for adding two government service officer jobs as these employees will help people in the communities navigate the GNWT bureaucracy.
"(Government service officers) do a lot of work for the residents and they are a good conduit for myself – as the government – as we are trying to get information out to people," said Thompson.
Thompson pushed for these new positions during this session's budget talks.
"We are not going to all have the positive relationship that we want," he added, "but I have to applaud the department and the minister for working with us on this."
The 2018-19 territorial budget received assent from the commissioner of the NWT on March 13.