The Vote In Dawson Creek Could Be Like H1N1

By Ben Meisner

There will be a lot of Mayors and Councillors casting an eye north this weekend as the voters in Dawson Creek go to the polls to decide on a  $9 million, 993 thousand, and 200 dollar money referendum.

Dawson Creek City Hall says it  needs  the money for roads streets and sidewalks, but only about one half of the funds will go to those projects and the taxpayers are set to stage a revolt.

They were able to collect the signatures of more than 10% of the voters in the community triggering the vote which takes place this Saturday.

You may recall the threshold used to be 5% of the voters which was achieved here in PG when the Terasen Gas deal was turned down only to have it come back a year later. The province moved the threshold to 10% at the insistence of many municipal leaders who said it would be too easy to get 5% of the voters out to force a vote on a money issue. Well we have now found out that 10% can be achieved.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business fingered Dawson Creek as the community with the highest per capita spending in the province in 2007. P.G. made their list as the highest over 25,000 people and believe it or not, the people of Dawson Creek don’t like the way their taxes are going.

There is every possibility that the residents of Dawson Creek will send a message to City Hall about their spending , and if that happens, the ripple effect in the province will be faster than the spread of the H1N1.

There are a lot of communities, including Prince George, where the taxpayers are saying we want to get back to the basics of roads, sewer and water and cut the fluff. If they see the Dawson Creek referendum hit the mark, then you will see some added interest in a reverse petition, not only in a proposed Arts Center but long before that in the new police station. $42 Million and counting for a new police station is far more than they are prepared to pay and the rumbling is just starting.

I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.  

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