The mayor isn’t very flexible. Sounds like she is pushing an agenda and is spending $350,000 to hide behind KPMG while pushing her agenda through them.

IMO its just paying to buy a propaganda piece for a political position… in this case being the buy out of public assets that produce revenue or have monopolistic qualities.

Why can’t a politician be fired, if we could green would have been sent packing a week into her term can’t wait till she is gone.

Oh No 99 cards, the kin center construction shows how easily council are swayed by a few cards or letters. Expect to see someone propose a new pool so there is no loss of pool access during annual maintenance shutdowns.

I’m surprized there isn’t some “Stop Fluoridating the Water” cards. That could save them 300K a year!

Less than just one half of one percent of the fluoridated tap water actually does what it is intended to do: Enter into the digestive system of those who drink and cook with the tap water! The rest goes down the drain – it’s used for washing dishes, showering, laundry, watering the lawn and washing the car and flushing toilets! From there the fluoride contaminates the environment. It ends up in lakes and rivers and in the ground water. Once this industrial waste has been added to water it does not bio-degrade.

You do the math! It’s easily the most wasteful and senseless method of wasting taxpayers’ money invented! And it doesn’t even accomplish what it is claimed to do: It does not reduce cavities to any measurable degree! Treating the enamel of teeth requires an application of fluoride to the SURFACE of teeth! After the fluoride in tap water disappears into the digestive system it starts to affect all the internal organs! It does not reach the surface of the teeth!

If your $300k per year number is correct it means that practically ALL of the money is totally wasted as only a thousand dollars worth would be ingested – where it doesn’t do any good!

Statistics supplied by the World Health Organization tracking the last two decades show that there is NO difference in tooth decay between countries which have no fluoridation and those who have!

That is the reason why 98% of B.C. is already fluoride addition free! Some cities never fluoridated and a long list of those who did have recently quit.

Predictably enough Prince George is the last large city which refuses to pay attention to the outside world!

However, it is not a question of IF Prince George will shut off the injection pumps but WHEN!

It will require a whole new team at city hall, mayor and councillors!

“49 of the cards call for the City to continue operating the four Seasons Pool as a publicly operated facility, and 51 others that request a stop to cutting public services and provide clean, safe and well kept parks.”

Oh yes, and cut my taxes please.

Yeesh, JB, is it always black and white with you? I know you realize that it is all about investing in priorities, right? Does a family go to Disneyland when the furnace is broken & winter is coming, or buy a lexus and then cry cause they cannot afford diapers? How about those that buy a too expensive home and other toys, not because they can really afford or need them, but because the bank says they can? We would say the aforementioned are short sighted and irresponsible.

To put it into perspective, do we want our tax dollars going towards all the brand new shiny buildings (esp. to replace them following years of neglect & lack of maintenance, in some cases) and/or for projects that can be argued as “wants” as opposed to “needs” OR those that arguably may be traced to benefit primarily private interests? How about big shiny, multi-billion dollar event when our community can’t even afford a piddle a*s fireworks show for everyone in the park on Canada Day (costing a miniscule FRACTION). The instances are many and have been posted here, over time.

How is it that we could afford a brand new Kin centre just over one short year ago, for added millions, and now we are seemingly broke? Or how can we lay people off/cut positions/axe an entire department yet give council a raise, and send ’em trotting off to a conference ‘en masse? *Just a few tiny examples. The bigger examples are nauseating.

Lets start by protecting the services that benefit the broadest of our population: streets & water, maintaining our existing assets – the basics – and yes those amenities such as public parks, pools and ice rinks which are open and accessible to all: families, youth & students and elderly.

We need decent paying jobs and a solid tax base, a city with the basic amenities to attract and retain the working stiffs and their families, throw in some community spirit and pride building opps, and the professionals & amenities to service them – the latter will follow the former on as needed basis. Let business do what they do best, from there.

Lastly, keep my tax dollars at work for the citizens of my city benefiting the broadest among them and NOT to be used for private or business gain. Write your own damn business plan.

Great post PG.
Cheers

JB … has it ever occurred to you that the people who are crying to cut taxes are generally not the same people who are crying to keep basic services that any city the size of PG has such as swimming pools?

We are a community. We have to make compromises to accommodate many differnt views. It is a basic requirement of which you do not appear to have an understanding.

You are a community divider rather than a community builder.

I’ll break it down, since a couple of you misunderstood my post.

I am simply making the point that I believe people’s expectations in general are unrealistic in terms of maintaining current service levels, staffing, etc. without raising taxes to cover the costs. This isn’t a problem unique to Prince George, it’s happening everywhere. It has nothing to do with being ‘black and white’.

gus: “You are a community divider rather than a community builder.”

Oh gus, don’t be so over-dramatic. This is a blog site, in which people post comments. I know I’m one of your favorite targets around here, and I don’t expect that to change. If you don’t like my comments, please don’t read them.

JB ….

In my mind this is a much bigger issue. People in this community, likely in this country, and most certainly in the country to the south of us are being divided into two categories, the haves and the have-nots. Based on income distribution data, the middle class is diminishing and it has been going on for some time. We have been watching it and doing little about it.

Let us just take the swimming pool thing. It is not a culture thing, it is a sport and recreation thing, something this community is very much into. We do not live in the south where you can go to the local beach for a good half of the year, or even further south where you can go all year. Nor do many people have the money to vacation in Mexico.

So, providing public swimming has been a common community service for cities our size and larger for many decades. In fact, when I went to public school, we used have swimming lessons during “gym classes” part of the year.

So what is happening to our rich society when we cannot afford those things we used to be able to afford? Have we got our priorities out of whack? Why does Romney think half the population is “sucking on the teats of government” while the other half is providing the milk? Why does he say it in such a way (which is exactly the same way you and several others on here say it) as if we are all on our own rather than a community which supports each other? I could understand if he were a Libertarian. But far from it, he is not. In fact, the Libertarians I know are all very socially conscientious people. He, and I would include you and some others on here with that, seem to have nothing but disdain for those who find themselves unable to fend for themselves for short and sometimes longer periods and sometimes for their whole lives.

The solution is not as easy as cut support to services. In my world of people I know, only a lazy person would take that approach. Those who care roll up their sleeves and say, “let’s solve this to the benefit of the community!”.

It is beyond the ability of a single person.

“I am simply making the point that I believe people’s expectations in general are unrealistic in terms of maintaining current service levels, staffing, etc. without raising taxes to cover the costs”

I would look at inefficiencies in the system before cutting the end result, the service.

I would look at what comparable communities have for services and how much they pay for them.

If we are effectively/efficiently delivering the services and we are paying less than other communities in total taxes, yet our community is complaining, I would want to find out why.

As I said, the cause is not simple to determine. People these days go for the quick fix …… we know from our infrastructure problems and probably many of our ersonal experinces, quick fixes will often just as quickly break down again

Good post bcNorth250.

Its one thing to do whats right for the community, and spend the necessary tax dollars in a fiscally responsible manner.

It is a entirely different matter when tax dollars are spent on projects that have little benefit to the community, but huge benefits to those who are involved in the building of it, etc;

There is not a good sound finiancial case for building a Wood Innovation Building. In fact this building was (as far as I know) thought up by Pat Bell Liberal MLA, and is more about him getting re elected, than about any need.

There are many other projects like this, that cost us huge dollars, and have absolutely no benefits.

At least we get some benefits from a swimming pool, skating rinks, library, and to some small degree an Art Centre, and these are basic to a community.

The others such as an over priced Police Station, Community Energy System, that has no reason to be in existence, Boundry Road, that will be a benefit to those who own the industrial land, but no benefit (and no new taxes) to the City. New office buildings for City staff, when they already had sufficient office space. Etc; ETc; Etc;

gus: “I would look at inefficiencies in the system before cutting the end result, the service.”

Believe it or not, I agree! I never suggested cutting for the sake of cutting.

“So what is happening to our rich society when we cannot afford those things we used to be able to afford?”

Part of the problem is that our priorities have gone from funding things like roads, swimming pools to district energy systems and wood innovation buildings. Building and maintaining roads and pools isn’t sexy, not does it grab headlines, but these other pie in the sky projects do. imo.