I am not sure whether Council, and in this case it appears to be more specifically Councillor Wilbur, understands the division of responsibility among the various levels of government in Canada and the need to work as a team so that there is no duplication, but instead a smooth running team effort to create an effective and efficient delivery of services for which the taxpayer pays and the public servants are expected to deliver.

In the case of attracting as well as retaining businesses and the jobs which go along with them top this city, Prince George’s role is to provide an effective, efficient and socially attractive community as is envisaged by the people living in this community. In other words, the City provides the environment.

It is the responsibility of organizations and businesses to determine their manpower and infrastructure needs and set plans in action to satisfy those needs.

There is enough downloading taking place from Feds to Province to Municipalities without volunteering to participate in activities which are not within the authority of City Hall.

FOCUS!!!!

Neither the province or the feds can improve the governance or administration of this City. Only the 9 sitting as a Council and those working as City employees can do that and we all know that they are challenged in carrying that responsibility out to a standard acceptable to this community.

Improve that, and the others on the team will have an easier job of attracting people to this community.

Well said Gus.

Anyone have any stats on how many jobs the other two twin cities delivered? Does Wilbur even know we have two other twins?

Posted by: NoWay on December 11 2012 7:00 AM

Anyone have any stats on how many jobs the other two twin cities delivered? Does Wilbur even know we have two other twins?

This last venture was the 4th twin for PG.

City council is not getting the picture of the people and this is why the public is not cutting the councillors that have served more than this term in office any slack. When you see one councillor show a total lack of understanding where money comes from to fund a joy ride to China on the tax payer’s nickel which only involved a small portion of money compared to some previous spendatures this council has made and gives us a better understanding why we are in trouble and our taxes are increasing.

This brings the question? Can this council be trusted making decisions involving our money and neighbourhoods when they do not seem to understand even the basics? We have seen the 2-3 term councillors demonstrate votes being made in favour of issues that made no sense and the councillors did not have any knowledge or did not do any research on matters they are voting on but rather are just going with the flow.

It is common to blame the previous administration for the bad state of affairs that we are currently experiencing but what we as the tax payer’s need to understand is only 3 out the 9 in council are new. The issues of today were created by previous council and the problems do not seem to be changing. The 3 new councillors are being coached by the old councillors and mayor. I was hoping to see some better decisions from a couple of the new councillors.

Its time this council, city and Mayor remember that it was not the campaign contributors that got them into office, it was average joe’s who have worked dam hard and invested in this community to survive. If this council wants to feed commonwealth and a few other big players with my tax dollars and then ram things through city to appease the rich, the city can buy my property as well and I will find a community to live that is run with some integrity.

I think that the big issue here is that civic politicians have a hankering to become provincial or federal politicians and believe that this extra ciricular activity shows someone out there that they are big players. I could see Lynn Hall running to become a provincial MLA

Prince George is a pebble in the sand compared to Provincial or Federal politics. It is almost like watching a predictable movie unfold here in Prince George. If you learn on how the most successful business men became successful in our community then you can see how our leader is trying to run our city and assume that this motto is being followed. (Divide and conquer). Watching the last couple of years of council it appears to be working amongst council. I think as this movie unfolds council is surprised that the public is paying attention and maybe council should consider regrouping or face an uphill battle and remember that we are not Provincial or Federal politics here. If you want to make it to the big leagues you need to make through the minor leagues first.

Hey Dave, do ya still believe we need to attract more people to come and live in PG in order to “lower taxes”? A most interesting guy you are, Dave. IMO.

This day and age has changed by way of how we are informed. Gone is the T.V. news and word of mouth. We have numerous ways of being informed by the minute. Cell phones with internet, twitter, computers.
These councilors that don’t know or understand where the money comes from should be fired on the spot! Quit patronizing the public. The majority of us are not as stupid as they would like us to think. We CAN organize, just look how many councilors have fallen just by way of Facebook. LOL! We know how the system is supposed to work, so quit trying to throw loads of sh*te in our faces, we know that this trip was a given from the LIBERALS. It’s time that all these political s are held accountable for all their expenditures!

I think the current Mayor and Council are bored and don’t know what to do with themselves :(

Or maybe they just don’t know what to do…that makes sense…I think..

From a staff report to Council date April 6, 2010

“Council accepted a $50,000 grant to complete the deliverables of the MoA. In the event that Council chooses not to fulfill the terms of the agreement, the grant will be returned. If Council chooses to pursue a twinning agreement with a local government under the terms of the MoA, an ongoing commitment to sustain the relationships would be required. The expense associated with such a relationship is dependent on the plan that would be developed in partnership with a selected twin; however, PEER COMMUNITIES HAVE BUDGETED IN THE AMOUNT OF $25,000 ANNUALLY FOR THAT PURPOSE.”

In order for Council to show that it is trying to be transparent, I suggest that the issue of the total cost of twinning coming from the Prince George tax base be shown from the beginning of the project to the time when an agreement may be signed and then further costs of maintaining that relationship on an annual basis so that it can be compared to what other cities in BC have budgeted as suggested in the staff report.

This has become an issue and it needs to be resolved to the satisfaction of at least some of those interested in where City tax dollars are spent. So far, transparency is not there with respect to this project.

Hey Gus, you are a pretty smart fellow :)

Gus is right on. What is the cost expected to be to maintain a relationship on an annual basis and how is the city going to measure the return on the investment?

It is ironic and some might say hypocritical, that the mayor and council continue to pursue this during a time that they are preaching about the need to return to “core” services.

So job creation and trips to foreign countries is a core responsibility of municipalities?

So You want to be a City Councillor – Part 1

In CITY GOVERNMENT, UNCATEGORIZED on February 8, 2011 at 12:45 pm

Responsibilities of council members
•115 Every council member has the following responsibilities:

o to consider the well-being and interests of the municipality and its community;

o to contribute to the development and evaluation of the policies and programs of the municipality respecting its services and other activities;

o to participate in council meetings, committee meetings and meetings of other bodies to which the member is appointed;

o to carry out other duties assigned by the council;

o to carry out other duties assigned under this or any other Act.

Responsibilities of mayor
•116 (1) The mayor is the head and chief executive officer of the municipality.
•(2) In addition to the mayor’s responsibilities as a member of council, the mayor has the following responsibilities:

o to provide leadership to the council, including by recommending bylaws, resolutions and other measures that, in the mayor’s opinion, may assist the peace, order and good government of the municipality;

o to communicate information to the council;

o to preside at council meetings when in attendance;

o to provide, on behalf of the council, general direction to municipal officers respecting implementation of municipal policies, programs and other directions of the council;

o to establish standing committees in accordance with section 141;

o to suspend municipal officers and employees in accordance with section 151;

o to reflect the will of council and to carry out other duties on behalf of the council;

o to carry out other duties assigned under this or any other Act.”

The time allotted for the performance of these functions is outlined each year in the Council Key Dates Calendar. The Key Date Calendar for 2011 shows that there are 18 scheduled Council meetings, 19 scheduled Finance Policy Committee of the Whole (FPCOW) meetings, and 12 Public Hearings, for a total of 49 scheduled meetings in 2011, i.e. slightly less than 1 meeting per week. A Councillor may be assigned to one or more of these Committees, some of which meet regularly. This will take the numbers of meetings per week to more than one.

Don’t see job creation on the list.

Too often candidates put themselves forward in good faith but without the basic knowledge of the job for which they are applying to make themselves truly useful for several years. We are interested in democracy, not dumbocracy, and it is incumbent on those putting themselves forward to demonstrate that they not only have ideas, but have knowledge of the context, policies and procedures within which they must work to see those ideas bear fruit. A candidate owes it to his fellow citizens to be ready to fully engage in the office for which she/he is running from the get-go rather than after several years of frustrating on the job training –or never. A good heart and good intentions are not enough to make an effective Mayor or Councillor or an effective Council.

Comments would be appreciated from past or present Mayors or Councillors, past or present candidates and of course from voters or potential voters. How can we do a better job? Or are we doing as well as we can?

Well said 007 – if our current Mayor and Council were engaged in what they are suppose to do, they wouldn’t have time to, gallivant to China on the taxpayers tab, looking for pie in the sky..

I have seen Councilor Wilbur in action, justifying his junket to china, and he adds nothing to our city’s council. At best he is a “yes-man” to Mayor Green’s wishes and whims, rather sad really. The good news is the civic election is not that far off. So, vote wisely and on their record not their empty words.

This attitude regarding the taxpayers money explains why our taxes keep going up but each year we have less to show for it.

I’m not a fan of the China trip, but to openly malign a Councillor without evidence is foolish and childish in my opinion.

The City of Prince George is not the only funding source for IPG, right? Perhaps there are dictates surrounding what IPG can use the money from the city for and has to use other sources for these types of expenditures? Just a thought, it’s not interesting enough or enough of an expenditure for me to make the effort to look into it. Wilbur might be right in asserting that in this instance, no municipal tax monies were utilized. It’s hard to tell with just that excerpt taken out of context and pure speculation. Maybe you should ask Councillor Wilbur directly about his comment? Clearly exposing your source is not an issue, so how about it, did you ask him yourself? Or is that approach not inflammatory enough for you.

I think that Dave Wilbur is a very sweet man.

Just shows the true intelligence of our representatives , don’t ya feel a bit scared and rather worried. I certainly do.

The trip to China will not produce anything, and at the very least was in poor taste.

Our Mayor and Councillors need to stick close to home and look after local problems, God knows we have enough of them.

As I mentioned in a previous post, other Countries in Europe are starting to detwin cities, mainly because they do not seem to produce any results, and cost money.

In the USA twinning has been mentioned as nothing more than an excuse for Mayors and Councillors to travel on taxpayers money.

Lets get back to the basics, and get away from **big shotism**

“but to openly malign a Councillor without evidence”

He is reported to have gone to China. I think he admits he went to China.

That is enough evidence.

He can go to China on his own dime.

This City government has no business in China. It could not be simpler. If they do, prove what it will do for the improvement for PG – show how much it will cost over the long term, not just a single visit and what the return will be..

I know, that would in itself be a totally unique thing for Council to do. After all, they are Council and once they are elected they really do think they have no accountability they owe to us until the next election when they will again BS us.

IPG revenue

$1,024,904 out of PG tax payer coffers

$199,050 FEDS. Income tax for us joes.

$58,585 for cleaning and Maintenance? Wow must be a palace.

$2,963.33 Rent per month!?

$30,000 legal and accounting? My accountant would love this job.

$20,000 Phones? Must be calling China a lot.

Firstly I call BS on those numbers. Secondly we can not afford this. IPG needs to go.

I = Investing
P = Personal
G = Gain

Or better yet.

I = Inside-track
P = Personal
G = Gain

IPG = :)

Tax Payer = :(