Second Draft of Budget Heads to Finance and Audit
In the first round, staff prepared budgets based on 1.5%, 2.5% and 3.5% increases.
While Councilor Albert Keohler supported that a 1.5% scenario be explored, he admitted during the last Finance and Audit meeting that perhaps that was a little too ambitious “You have to shoot for the stars, but sometimes you have to settle for the moon” said Koehler when the consequences of holding the budget increase to 1.5% became clear.
While the scenarios presented each included a .58% increase to the snow removal levy, the 1.5% overall hike would mean no wage increase for management or councilors who are entitled to the same increases as the unionized staff and there would need to be a trimming from the agreements with the P.G. Library and IPG.
It is expected staff will come back with a revised scenario which would hold the increase in the 1.8% range.
Comments
Trimming the Public Library and IPG sounds like a good idea to me. Not giving Management and Council a raise also sounds pretty good.
We have to stop the continuing increases in the cost of running this City and those are good places to start.
Reducing the subsidy to the Northern Sports Centre from $300,000.00 per year to $150,000.00 per year, and eliminating it altogether in 4 years would also be a good idea.
The whole structure of running City Hall has to be reviewed with a view of reducing costs in every area. This should be the job of the new Mayor and Council. If we don’t stop these increases we will pay the consequences down the road.
Time to wake up Prince George.
Agreed Palopu. We need to start looking at some different ideas based on what people are doing today, and not keep funding things the same way because that’s the way we’ve always done it.
The library and IPG are good examples.
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