Another $14 Grand Up In Smoke At City Hall
What would you expect would be the answer when you asked the following question?
The following are activities or services provided by the City of Prince George through tax revenues. To what extent is each a priority to you? Starting with the high priority, medium, or low priority.
- road maintenance
- Snow removal
- Fire services
- Police services
- Increased wages for city workers
- recreational facilities
- trails and parks upkeep.
That was one of the questions in the survey commissioned by the City of Prince George, a survey conducted by the Mustel Group, a survey which cost $14,700, that’s $49 dollars for each of the 301 calls..
I don't think I would have to pay Mustel a penny to know which item would be at the bottom of that list, yet the City noted that one of the highlighted "findings" of the survey was that "only 5% report that increasing wages for city workers is a ‘high priority’ among the services and activities provided by the municipality".
Strange as hell it doesn't ask for your input , for example in the increase in Garbage fees, the new proposed Storm water tax ( I mean "utility" ), water and sewer increases, the Performing Arts Centre , and just for icing on the survey cake, whether it is a good idea to twin with cities in China. After all, if you're going to ask about priorities, let's get it all in and in particular that PAC issue which City Council has now put on the fast track, maybe ask if the taxpayers support spending up to 12 million or more on that project.
Did the survey ask those polled whether they are in favour of an increase of $400,000 in the City Manager’s budget? Did they ask, if Councillors should receive pay increases every year, or if they support increases for city administration? It's only fair that if you're going to ask about salaries for the general workers, you sure as hell should be asking about the rest, yourself included.
One of the questions says if you go with the City's proposal in the contract negotiations our taxes will only increase about $440,000 a year or about 1/2 of 1 per cent. Wow, just about the same amount the City Manager has added to her budget for 2014. No one asked if we thought adding up to three communications people was a priority for spending.
The survey was designed to try and make the City's unions look like they are overpaid . Now whether you agree or not is not the issue, what is however, is that the City Council or whoever, took it upon themselves to try and discredit the workers at the city.
Is the City trying to orchestrate a strike? Is the City looking for public support so they can lock out workers?
Let’s not forget, the contract will, eventually be settled, but the damage done to the employer-employee relationship will last far longer than any term of such an agreement, and trust and respect are not retroactive.
The City of Prince George heads, and that includes the Mayor, Council and administrators, have sunk to a new low in the interest of trying to serve who?
I'm Meisner and that's one man's opinion.
Comments
Totally agree Ben. They’re trying to run City Hall like Gestapo, which might not even be that bad if any of them were smart enough to know which jackboot goes on which foot. As it is, the City is like the Keystone Cops meets the 3 Stooges.
Are we certain Daryl Thompson isn’t running the show on Patricia Blvd? Management acumen and employee/public satisfaction seems about on par with the culture over at CN Centre.
I can’t believe that the mayor and councillors have to outsource surveys to come up with answers to common sense issues . Why not just have one guy or gal with some common sense decision making skills run the whole show .Oh , I forgot that is the job of the Mayor .
Totally agreed, thanks for giving us the rest of the story!
I think we should start calling them the mayor and council of the city if Prince Ford! When does the Reality show start?
I hope Cupe votes it down for that reason alone! Then we can all start throwing our garbage bags on the lawn of city hall like it was done many years ago!
The Mayor and City administration are basically looking after their own self interests. The interests of citizens are getting short shrift.
Do they actually understand the needs of the citizens of Prince George. One wonders what the City looks like from the lofty heights of Administration. Especially when management is getting paid anywhere from $100,000.00 to $200,000.00 plus per annum.
With the $32000.00 stipend for councilors and the $17000.00 additional for the Mayor and 3 councilors who sit on the Regional District, and then of course the money they make from their business’s or other jobs, it might be a little difficult for them to appreciate how a person on a limited income gets by.
Most managers and others get paid two or three or four times the median wage of Prince George, so to them tax increases, services increases, etc, are not really a big concern. Hmmmmm.
Just look at the City Manager’s history. Doing things like this is quite literally her MO.
Thanks Ben…I was thinking much the same and you can bet that the majority of the citizens of Prince George do as well. Mayor Green has reached a new low by allowing such a skewed survey to take place under her watch…she owes the city workers an apology. I do not, never have, worked for the City of Prince George, I’m just another tax payer..
I agree what a joke!
I absolutely agree 100% with your article Ben. Never in the entire history of Prince George has there been such a low and disrespectful presentation of City workers to the public by City Council and administration.
Good article Ben…..this mayor, council and administration….bilking us for millions collectively ever year in their perks and salaries alone have reached a new bottom. Hey rest of council WAKE UP, SPEAK. UP, time to earn your power of position and your monthly stipend. Stolz needs to go to work to pay his taxes, so may remain quiet….please.
What stupid timing on the part of the City Manager, asking for more money in her budget while telling City employees that they get nothing.
Anyone who has read my past posts will know that I don’t support the high wages of city employees, but I don’t think that they need stuff like this thrown in their faces.
Labour Relations is about relationships. This move by the City throws a big bucket of ice water on the relationship between the city workers and the city’s management team. Additionally, it is a very condescending position to take with the general public. How stupid does City Hall management think we are?
Thank you Ben for a very direct and to the point commentary on this issue.
Thank you Ben for speaking it like it is. There is a clear indication of war brewing here between unionized workers and the city’s upper echelons. The fact that it is being waged on the taxpayer dime is even more infuriating. The current city manager and the mayor are joined at the hip, and while I suspect the mayor will be gone next year, the manager will not. This divide is only going to get deeper.
I wonder why they kept it such a big secret…refusing to let Brian Skakun see a copy of the questions being asked?? I wonder if he is the only Councillor that is being shut out by city administration?
Seems Ben’s not the only reporter catching on; https://twitter.com/akurjata/status/406506376127471616/photo/1
Jim13135, Brian Skakun is definitely not the only councillor that is kept in the dark. I have heard that others are as well. Ms. Green is very much one of those people who likes to make people feel like they are not worthy of her attention.
I need to start a survey calling business
Oh, hey and the City manager corrected reporters today on CKPG news, there was only a 30 percent increase not 65 percent like reported, and this money is from savings elsewhere not new money (as if it makes a difference)
It is all in how you look at the numbers. 1,267,435 minus 1,807,538 equals 540,103 and if you divide that by 1,807,538 you get 29.88% increase of the total budget amount.
If you divide the increase of 540,103 by what they used to get 1,267,435 it is a 42.6% increase in city manager’s budget over what they used to get.
Opponents will use 42% and proponents will use 30% but is anyone really wrong?
Top this off with Corporate Management Salaries and benefits, which are proposed to climb by 534,123, 869,735 to 1,403,858. Which is an increase of nearly 61.4% as reported by the media, but if you use city math that is 1,403,858 – 869,735 = 534,123 / 1,403,858 = 38% increase in salaries… not so bad
The only person that would use the first calculation is one who does not know simple financial math.
An item in a store was $10. It is now $15.
What is the percentage increase? 5/10 = 50%.
Simple, there is only on right answer, not two.
Take it to the next stage, the store has been able to sell some at $15. Time to clear the rest of the inventory. So, the price is dropped to $10.
What is the percentage reduction of the sale? 5/15 = 33.3% ….
I forget in what grade the notion of percentage was introduced, but I think it was around 5 or 6.
As they say, when speaking to the general public, keep it down to no higher than grade 8 level. In the case of percentage, it obviously needs to be lower.
The likely reason why it is 30% or so is because the base numbers used were in error.
1,267,435 minus 1,807,538 equals 540,103 …. wrong ….
The correct answer is
1,267435-1,807,538= -540,103
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