The Major Stories In The City Of Prince George in 2013
Prince George,B .C. – While many events took center stage in Prince George during 2013 , by far and away City Hall received the most coverage.
Mayor Green was elected on a platform of producing savings in every department of up to 10% and she moved to make that wish come true with a core review of the city operations. While the core review received a great deal of publicity and cost nearly $400,000 dollars, apart from the introduction of a host of new service costs , the savings that were hoped for didn't appear.
There was an increase in the cost of garbage, and increase in the cost of water and sewer rates, an increase in parking rates, an increase in the levy for snow removal, a new tax on the home and business owners by way of a storm water utility, new business licenses for those that have rental units, and an attempt to re introduce paid parking downtown at a cost of $1.4 million, even your cost to license your dog or play hockey at the arena took a hike.
In order to shore up the City's image, part of the budget of the new City Manger, Beth James , is a proposal that would see two and possibly three communications officers hired by the city .
The city meantime says it is hoping to hold their spending increase to 2.5%.
2014 is the year of the election and with less than 11 months to go before the civic election, the public of the city has been largely unimpressed with the work of the mayor and Council.
However, incumbents traditionally have a leg up on any person running for council or Mayor . At this early date no high profile candidates have stepped forward saying they will be seeking office, although it is rumoured that former Mayor Dan Rogers may return to civic politics and there are buzzings about former Councillor Debora Munoz launching a come back.
While the downtown received its share of coverage , the fortunes of the Commonwealth group continued to take a back roll to other events in the area. Late in 2013 the Commonwealth Health building had its name removed , no new name has been posted.
The Wood Innovation center being built by the province at a cost of $25 million dollars was in full building mode as was the first independent development, the Delta hotel.
The new RCMP building was openeing for an official "unveiling" but it no where near ready for occupancy. It is likely the $40 million dollar will be officially open for business later in the spring .
All in all it was a year in which the city tax payers became increasingly edgy and were asking why the increases in costs and what were the benefits?
Comments
Great- “Mr. Dithers” verses “Mean Girl”.
This town sure could use a guy like Ben Meisner
I don’t think it’s “mean girl” as much as it is ineptitude. Coming out of the gate in her election campaign she promised a 10% reduction in all departments, knowing full well, (due to her previous experience as a councilor) there were no savings to be had. In lieu she commissioned some high priced bean counters to the tune of almost 400 grand to find ways of chiseling more money from the wallets of her citizens, to foster empire building, for certain departments, example..communications…we the tax payer pay the Mayor around a 100 grand per year and she can’t communicate to the people, she can’t communicate to much of the media, she is out of touch with the community, she can’t relate to the needs of neighborhoods, etc..isolated her work force, hurting the downtown, wrecking neighborhoods, cutting services etc…yup..total inept :(
As I recall, Debora Munoz was the only one who voted against competing to have the Canada Winter Games here.
As always, the voters were not paying attention leading up to the election when they voted for Stolz, instead of Munoz.
Here are some other examples:
Deborah Munoz has the following two additional examples among her voting records:
1.October 2010 council meeting: âIt was suggested by staff that the Councillors come up with a ballpark tax levy percentage increase so that the Finance & Audit Committee could come up with a suggested list of cuts to reach that target.
The number 2.5% seemed to resonate with most Councillors.
Councillor Garth Frizzell expressed concern that a 2.5% increase might not be flexible enough in regard to balancing spending cuts with services and that he would prefer a upper limit of 3.25%.
Councillor Munoz thought that the City could do better than 2.5%. Munoz was the lone dissenting vote due to that opinion.
Remember, Green, Stolz, Wilbur, Frizzell, Krause and Skakun, the last of the big time spenders, are still on Council to this day.
2.With respect to the RCMP building: âCouncillor Munoz was also concerned about the price of the detachment and wondered if the City was spending beyond its means.â Munoz and Skakun voted against borrowing $13.8 million for the RCMP building since they thought the costs should be reduced more.
Council archived meeting minutes on the City web site do not go further back than 2010.
Here is an interesting site that attempted to keep some records of who said what rather than bare minutes provided by the City.
http://northofcentre.ca/category/prince-george-city-hall
Cheetos: “I don’t think it’s “mean girl” as much as it is ineptitude. Coming out of the gate in her election campaign she promised a 10% reduction in all departments, knowing full well, (due to her previous experience as a councilor) there were no savings to be had.”
Come on now, there is a lot of fat that can be cut at City Hall, it just takes the intestinal fortitude and leadership to implement it, and to disregard the faux outrage every time a change is suggested which might affect someone.
Brian Skakun for mayor!
They weren’t voting for her. She did not win the election, Dan Rogers lost the election. They were voting to remove him as mayor.
When quizzed on her promise of 10% reductions with no layoffs in city hall did she not say her words were taken out of context? I don’t remember her telling us what the actual context was tho, or anyone asking.
This time around we won’t have Ben to quiz the panel on the radio… have to go by newspaper ads and billboards in 2014 unless someone steps up to the plate
gitterdun: “They weren’t voting for her. She did not win the election, Dan Rogers lost the election. They were voting to remove him as mayor. “
No question that was a factor. And next election, another unknown promising big things will be elected.
Perhaps Ben could bring back his radio program for the election this fall?
The following comments were attributed to Mayor Green in an article in the Citizen Friday Dec. 27th.
**While she’s happy to boast about her City, Green said it “astounds” her as to why here are so many naysayers within the community. “If its such a terrible place, surely there must be greener pastures somewhere for them. There’s a lot of people that I’m more than happy to spend my time working with to make our community better”
There is much more to the article, however I think from the Mayors perspective this quote sums it up.
“While there are a few people who might be displeased with my work, I can tell you there are a lot of people-frankly I believe, the silent majority-who are very, very happy,”
So there you have it. Naysayers should migrate to greener pastures, and the balance support the Mayor.
JohnnyBelt: “Come on now, there is a lot of fat that can be cut at City Hall, it just takes the intestinal fortitude and leadership to implement it, and to disregard the faux outrage every time a change is suggested which might affect someone.”
That’s not the point of my comment JB – So I’ll repeat it. She said 10% cut….She sat as a Councillor..she would be privy as to what she could cut…she came across like she knew what she was talking about, but obviously not! Or speaking with “fork tongue”….they had made cuts to various departments….they had a plan for staff cuts through attrition…she knew that, but she wanted to get elected…right! Also regarding changes…her changes only have dollar signs in front of them and tax increases – JB…so put down the shovel… it’s getting a bit deep..
I for one hope Dan Rodgers puts his hat back in the ring. He seemed to have a balanced approach and knew how to communicate with the public. Something the current regime doesn’t really know too much about.
I also think some of the increases that we are currently seeing were coming no matter who was Mayor. So it’s not all Mayor Green’s fault when assessing blame.
Overall, I’m just hopeful that this City is making progress. The best way I think to judge if a City is achieving that progress is to see an increase in population. That doesn’t seem to be happening yet!!!
scary sherry can go…..Wow …gotta be somethin in the air..Dan was not that bad..EH!!
I think that Dan should consider running for Mayor or at least Councillor. At least he can present himself as a leader, he has back bone and he isn’t interested in being a puppet.
According to the Mayor: Naysayers should migrate to greener pastures, and the balance support the Mayor.
What a dumb thing to say. Obviously not Mayor material. Never was, never will be. More akin with the likes of Ford from Toronto than ANYONE I have ever experienced here in the last 40 years.
Facts:
1. This City belongs to the people who live here.
2. The people who live here and are of voting age can vote in the PUBLIC SERVANTS on Council. Yes, that is what they are, PUBLIC SERVANTS.
3. The PUBLIC SERVANTS on Council must try to run the City as close as possible to the wishes of the people (not the majority, but as many interest groups as possible).
4. In order to do that we must have a conversation (not a lecture), which means a transparent city operation and direction as is expected in todayâs society throughout Canada, that takes both input through a decision making process which is as open and as inclusive as possible and not restricted to an elite in the community that is called on over and over again to represent the remainder of the population.
5. Anyone who basically says that people who are unhappy with the Mayor should leave the city does not understand the fundamental duty of a Mayor. If each Mayor would say that and people would actually do that, it would be the quickest way to depopulate a city.
I consider the present Mayor to be a rogue Mayor and needs to go ASAP. She got in on false pretenses. It is not as if she did not have any experience with City Government before she ran.
If she gets voted in again, there is something wrong with the system. We would be better off with a benevolent dictator.
Anyone who knows Ms. Green personally can attest to the “mean girl” label. If the shoe fits, wear it.
I am no fan of rodgers but at least he was honest. Our new mayor promised rec hockey a new arena before the election but once she got elected she not only dumped that promise but made it worse by jacking up our user fees. In the emails I saw from my rec hockey buddies it seemed she was willing to promise anything to get our support. She also was trashing rodgers pretty good behind his back. Politics is entertaining.
After reading her comments in The Prince George Citizen I was so disgusted. She really has her head up her a## if she thinks she is good for PG. If she is reelected I for one will be selling my over taxed home and heading for greener pastures.
Maybe we should ask Mr. Rogers to run again
Cheetos: “That’s not the point of my comment JB – So I’ll repeat it. She said 10% cut….She sat as a Councillor..she would be privy as to what she could cut…she came across like she knew what she was talking about, but obviously not!”
It appears you missed my point as well, then you started talking about shovels so I’ll try and get you back on track.
It wouldn’t be hard to cut 10% in the City’s budget, because we all know there’s fat at City Hall. What the Mayor doesn’t have is the leadership to make those kinds of decisions and to get people to buy into what she’s doing.
Mitch, I too play, but if your that dumb as to believe the spew she was spreading about the new rink, and the crap Hines was sending out, you deserve everything you get! Maybe you and some of your “hockey buddy’s” should have started wearing a helmet at a younger age, so as you could make an informed decision next time, and not follow your pal Al like a herd of sheep! Sheesh!
As for the Mayor’s comment on naysayers, she’s right. I think comment sites like this one give those ‘naysayers’ a voice.
I don’t agree about her comment that those naysayers should move elsewhere if they don’t like it here. That’s a cop out statement.
She also has a point about Why those so-called ‘naysayers’ don’t get off their computers to try and make the community better. If you read some of the commenters on this site (and the Citizen), they seem to have all the answers. I guess it’s just easy to whine and bi–h about everything.
JB’s comment seems to mirror Shari Green’s public comment in one respect; both make generalized statements about a segment of a population and classify them as “naysayers”. JB’s comment goes further and makes the assumption that all naysayers spend all their time on their computers and don’t spend time making the community better.
With respect to volunteerism, I myself have spent 1,000’s of hours over the years volunteering to make this community better! I am sure there are others on this site, and the Prince George Citizen site, who volunteer as well.
Quite the stretch attempting to associate naysayers with apathy JB.
Not really, People#1. Are you saying every so-called ‘naysayer’ is also volunteering thousands of hours? Talk about a stretch.
We need a whole lot less moaning and groaning and more people willing to speak out about the benefits of living in PG. How many people are proud to say they’re from PG vs. those who are not?
It has nothing to do with being proud to be from Prince George. That’s just a crock. How many people do you know that run around saying Ohhhh I’m from Kelowna, Ohhhh. I’m from Penticton, Ohhh I’m from Vancouver.
People have better things to talk about. The real issue here is the amount of taxes and services we pay, and the amount of actual services we get in return.
We need specific action on a number of projects for the next 5/10 years. It is the duty and responsibility of the Mayor, Council, and City administration to get the job done.
We seem to be caught up in this dialogue about Prince George being such a great place to live. I suggest to you that it is no better (perhaps somewhat worse) than hundreds of other cities and towns in Canada. We need to get off the **How great Prince George is bandwagon**
Prince George is a City that has a multitude of problems, not the least of which is its inability to remove snow, repair roads, stay on top of maintenance and infrastructure. In addition it spends and borrows money like it is going out of style.
In addition the City has a huge problem with credibility. While they do not outright lie to the citizenry they do lie through omission.
As an example, they will state that the PAC is not a City project at present, and that no money has been set aside for a PAC, all the while knowing that they, and IPG, have funded the PAC Society to promote, locate, and support the building of a PAC. In addition they have some pretty good ideas where they will get the money for a PAC, however they state that at this time they do not have any ideas as to where the money will come from. At the same time they passed a motion making the PAC the next major project in Prince George.
Hmmmmmmm.
Johnnybelt: “It wouldn’t be hard to cut 10% in the City’s budget, because we all know there’s fat at City Hall. What the Mayor doesn’t have is the leadership to make those kinds of decisions and to get people to buy into what she’s doing.”
JB – You are a good stick handler….cause you are stick handling my comment away….Mayor Green made it look like she was going to save the tax payer all kinds of money…I can still hear her voice…”10% cut in every department”..she knew she couldn’t do it…that’s why she didn’t…she was giving us all a line of C@#$…
Mayor Green was elected to work with the community to find savings at City Hall and rather than consult with her constituents she hired paid consultants from out of town to tell us how to run our city… at a cost over what the mayor would make in her entire term in office… a core review that was nothing but a cut and paste. That was a big red flag.
I would rather have a mayor that is willing to use the expertise in the community and consult with the community.
Part of the problem in PG is people mostly elect by name recognition. How could anyone compete with Green? Most people are learning her name by the time they are two years old, we are told from a young age only to proceed on a Green light, pot heads are always talking about Green, and the environmentalists have gone so far as to name their ideology as the Green movement. That is a huge advantage having a name like that in a city like PG… and even if we see through it all and don’t like it, we are told we can go to ‘Greener’ pastures, as if this level of Green isn’t bad enough already…. The way its looking is the only way to get rid of Green is if we can find a candidate named Momma or Christ himself….
Name recognition. Like, Jolly Rodgers ?
A choice of either Green or Rodgers for mayor.
That is a real good reason why people don’t bother to vote.
“Green said it “astounds” her as to why here are so many naysayers within the community. “If its such a terrible place, surely there must be greener pastures somewhere for them.””
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Agreed that this is one of the dumbest statements I’ve ever heard in my life. It’s akin to saying “if you want to move to PG please withhold your opinion unless it aligns with what I want”. The only reason she is calling people “naysayers” is because they disagree with her. Pathetic!
If people ask me where I’m from I tell them Prince George. When they ask me what it’s like, I tell them and I tell them the good and the bad. f they ask me why I moved, I tell them. If Sheri Green can’t handle people being honest about the city that she is supposed to lead, she so far in over her head that I can’t even begin to describe it.
Here is a suggestion Sheri, why don’t you take ownership of the bad things that people are saying so that you can work to find solutions? Maybe it’s just easier to attend ribbon cuttings and trips to China . . .
Cheetos: “JB – You are a good stick handler….cause you are stick handling my comment away….Mayor Green made it look like she was going to save the tax payer all kinds of money…I can still hear her voice…”10% cut in every department”..she knew she couldn’t do it…that’s why she didn’t…”
Oh, you’re a mind reader now? How do you profess to know what she thought she could or could not do?
Palopu: “It has nothing to do with being proud to be from Prince George. That’s just a crock. How many people do you know that run around saying Ohhhh I’m from Kelowna, Ohhhh. I’m from Penticton, Ohhh I’m from Vancouver.”
Lots of people. But since you apparently don’t get out much, you wouldn’t know that.
Besides, nobody is ‘caught up’ in any sort of dialogue about where people live. Yes, Prince George has a lot of problems. What are you doing besides sitting in your warm home on your computer to try and change any of that? Are you another one who puts in ‘thousands’ of volunteer hours?
“What are you doing besides sitting in your warm home on your computer to try and change any of that?”
Well, personally, I help pay the mayors salary and all the wonderful folks at IPG and Tourism PG to travel the globe spreading the fantastic story of Prince George. ( The city, not the kid )
Hmmm⦠could this be the way our Mayor and JB would like us to think?
http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/business-commerce-yes_man-group-think-thinking-thoughts-shr1029l.jpg
It speaks VOLUMES about the intelligence, or lack of, by the Citizens of PG who voted in the most self serving, self absorbed, heartless, most out of touch spending machine this city has ever seen in the Dictator Shari Green!!! Worst Mayor EVER! What’s even More frightening is to actually read some folks here suggesting Brian Skakum for Mayor??! The man is a total idiot who has not had an original thought in his entire time on council and has cost the City tons in legal fees for his failure to understand CONFIDENTIALITY…..but as amazing as this City is citizens STILL rave about a man that is a complete mental midget with the ability to draw attention to himself by always going against the grain (NO such thing as bad press to Skakum) and spouting cliches, but mostly just DUMB as the next possible “good Choice” for Mayor. Amazing!!
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