Four Alternate Approval Processes to Be Considered by Council
Prince George, B.C.- Council will be asked to approve four alternate approval processes tonight, if it wants to borrow money for four different projects.
Elector support is needed because the borrowing terms are longer than 5 years.
| Project | Length of Loan | Amount of Loan | Annual Debt Servicing Cost |
| Mobile equipment replacement | Max 10 years | $4,570,279.00 | $504,633.00 (General Op. Fund |
|
2nd Ave Parkade Upgrade |
20 years |
$2,725,000.00 |
$179,348.00 (from Off Street Parking fund) |
|
Plaza Parkade |
20 years |
$1,170,000.00 |
$ 77,004.00 (from Off Street Parking fund) |
|
Kin 3 Arena Floor Replacement |
20 years |
$1,050,000.00 |
$ 69,106.00 (General Op. Fund) |
If Council approves using the Alternate Approval Process, it would start on September 15, with the deadline for electors to register their opposition being 5 p.m. October 26th.
The process requires 10% of the electorate to state their opposition to a borrowing bylaw in order to prevent the City from moving ahead. That means 5,075 eligible voters would have to submit a form stating they oppose the borrowing.
Forms will be made available at City Hall as of September 15 and through the City’s website.
Comments
Whether the costs are appropriate or not, I think by going the alternate approval process for any expenditure shows a complete disdain for democracy by all that use this flawed piece of enabling legislation.
I think all four cases here should never even be an issue of borrowing to pay for. These are basic budgetary issues that should be felt with through responsible allocations of contingency funding for what are obviouse future costs.
Because the city hall has no one that can present a responsible budget we the tax payers will be on the hook for an extra million and a half in extra interest costs for these expenditures alone… Rather than being up a million in interest earned on the contingency funds.
They put us in effect down a net present value of $2.5million on $9.5 million in expenditures because they can’t do their job IMO.
Also I assume they are pricing out the borrowing costs at today’s interest rate, but in the real world interest rates are going up from this historic low and how high is anyone’s guess.
No one will finance them at today’s interest rates over twenty years. Expect the rosy interest cost projections to be way off. They will all be gone by then, so who cares right….
More money for the rinks. Didn’t we just spend 15 million on Kin 1? How about spending some money on the other sport venues in this town?
What our elected officials want to pawn off their duties back to the public. Did we not elect them to make the decision for us, for the best interest of the public. I don’t ask for much, ” shut up and do your job “
“…it would start on September 15, with the deadline for electors to register their opposition being 5 p.m. October 26th.”
That should probably read 5.p.m. September 26th. :-)
Last time they had one of these they made sure you couldn’t do it on line.
So expect you will have to go downtown and hopefully not get ticketed while doing so.
Council loves these they know people tend not to go to city hall to make their opinions know so they can get these things passed easily… we are to lazy, myself included.
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