Yellowknife, N.W.T. - The town of Hay River has itself a new policy for handing out grants to the community and the city of Yellowknife had a bit of a hand in helping out.

The new community enhancement grant program policy will see groups apply under specific guidelines, something which has never happened before in the town.

Mayor Ken Latour said Yellowknife provided a good example of how its special grants by-law works and he hopes it can happen in Hay River as well.

“We were aware that Yellowknife did this kind of thing and we took a page from their book in streamlining our process here,” he said.

He added this isn't meant to be a permanent source of funding for groups, but more of a helping hand.

“We haven’t had that conversation about whether this means that they will get a committed ongoing (amount) of funding from the town after a few years,” he said. “That’s not the intent as it stands. Whether that’s something council chooses to do down the road, that’s a different story.”

Some of the projects which have received community support in the past are the Hay River Heritage Society's museum and the handi-van program.

Latour said the new policy will help the town's administration to collect all the information and give to council in a more systematic fashion.

One important thing Latour said people should remember is that it's for non-profit groups only.

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