Prince George, BC – It was an election promise, and after an 10-month process, Prince George Mayor Shari Green will be receiving a 155-page consultant’s report on the city’s core services review which details ways to save and/or generate revenue of up to $1.8-million dollars in next year’s budget, and as much as $3.9-million dollars over the longer term.

Green and the three other members of the Core Services Review Committee – Councillors Frank Everitt, Albert Koehler, and Cameron Stolz – are scheduled to meet at 1pm this afternoon for their 14th committee meeting to go over the KPMG report, which details 38 immediate cost-saving ‘opportunities’ for Council’s consideration and another 68 longer-term opportunities.

Based on suggestions made by City Councillors, City staff, and public consultations, the opportunities for potential revenue/savings for the 2013 budget run from a low estimate of $627-thousand dollars to a high of $1.84-million dollars.  Some of the medium to longer term opportunities are estimated to generate/save between $608-thousand dollars and $1.9-million dollars.  With the total revenue/savings of implementing all the opportunities identified in the report running between $1.2-million ad $3.9-million dollars.

Among the suggestions (further details will be provided in a subsequent story): 

• selling or engaging a private operator to run the Civic Centre for an estimated potential of $500-thousand dollars;
• finding a third party operator for the Four Seasons Leisure Pool for an estimated high of $500-thousand dollars, or close the pool altogether and use it for another purpose or sell the land for re-development;
• increasing recreational fees – generating a high of 930-thousand dollars from ice rinks and another 400-thousand from aquatics;
• increasing fees and increasing revenue by selling fire services to adjacent communities like Miworth and Lheidli T’enneh for a potential of up to $1.4-million dollars

Just which ‘opportunities’ City Council will choose to capitalize on remains to be seen.  In the report’s Executive Summary, consultant, KPMG, cautions Councillors to be "cognizant of factors relating to the City hosting the 2015 Canada Winter Games including financial implications, city obligations, and legacy from the Games."

Reps for the City’s two union locals, CUPE locals 1048 and 399, along with the community group ‘Stand Up For The North’, have organized a public meeting at CNC on November 13th to discuss this final report.  Only Councillors Garth Frizzell and Brian Skakun plan to attend. (click here for previous story)

Click here for the full draft final report