The city snow removal budget always seems to have a shortfall. This annual tale of woe is specifically designed to beat the citizenery into accepting less than their tax dollar actually warrents. Also, with the annual shortfall services or lack there of can be credited to another wrong "guess" on the snow budget.

This is a "Cut and Paste" story.

Bring it up out of the archives, cut it, and paste it into today's news.

It is quick and easy to do, and it repeats itself every year thanks to the group in the City that are responsible, errr - irresponsible for budgeting.

Yet, with all the huge budget overruns our sidewalk (there is only one, on one side of the street) still has not been cleaned of accumulated snow from last week's snow! It gets plowed perhaps once every ten days or so and consequently it is basically unusable most of the time!

People stumble along on it or walk in the street!

How safe is that?

This morning a grader and a frontend loader were *pruning* the piles of snow at the street corners again!

There is no need for that! The snow gets picked up, lofted into the air and dropped back again from where it rested before!

The pile is a bit higher, nothing has been removed and nothing has been accomplished!

For drivers visibility around the corners is just as poor as before!

And, the curbstones get chewed up even faster, if there are any left.

Who is in control of this?

I am sorry but are we getting more snow than before?Whoever does this budget must be on the bonus system

Taxes will increase, again and again and again.

this is too easy. All we need is a law that says the snow will not exceed our ability to pay for its removal.

This is ridiculous. Everyone in the Prince George area, except those at City Hall and on City Council, realize that it snows every year in this area. Every year the City cries about the budget shortfall for snow removal. Anyone with any brains would realize that the budget is too small. Also, to provide more funds for snow removal there must be a reduction in other services to reduce costs and needless personnel positions (like the last two created) eliminated. Don't come back to the taxpayers for more money. The well has run dry and research has proven the incompetence of City Council and City Administration. It is time for major changes. Hopefully, the taxpayers of Prince George will now stand up and be heard.

have you guys noticed who we have in city hall?

does any of this surprise you with that motly crew in there?

from the article:

".... the City will first try to make up the shortfall through surpluses from other departments. If there isn’t enough there, then the City will take the balance from the account which holds previous surpluses from annual budgets. There is about $6 million in that account."

We realize the City has a variety of accounts that appear to be "emergency" accounts to be dipped into. We also realize the City cannot run a deficit budget.

So how do they play the budgeting game? It might be that they run tight budgets in some or all areas and then dip into some of these "emergency" accounts when there is a budget shortfall. In essence, running a deficit budget only by another name.

Once and for all, set a realistic snow clearing budget based not on an average snowfall year, or whatever they use, but on a once in 5 year snowfall level, including the fact that the worst snowfalls happen 2 or 3 one after the other, on long weekends, and at least one of them associated with freezing rain or other icing conditions.

The $6million for 2009 might be a good base figure for a 5 year occurance.

Then provide a starting snow clearing surplus account of $1 million which is never to drop below that. All figures to be increased annually based on projected labour and equipment increases, including equipment renewal costs, plus increases for increased/decreased road lengths as the city size changes.

If everything goes according to the budgeeting plan, it is the snow clearing surplus account which can then be dipped into by other "needs/wants" programs' unexpected increases rather than the reverse.

In other words, we make sure that the "needs" are covered and those things which are more closely associated with the "wants" might be able to dip into surplus accounts.

One of those "needs/wants" might actually become paying down debt as the feds and the provinces have been able to do for almost a decade until the economy changed last year.

It is all about choices, not rights.

We had a choice of who to vote for and we voted for them. We do not have a right to have the best people in there. ;-)

worth raising the property taxe a bit to get sufficient funds for snow removal.

Just do fewer needless studies, stop the funding to money-sucking organizations like IPG and Tourism PG and the shortfall will be made up.

There is no need to raise taxes yet again, although that's probably what this group will recommend.

Well maybe they wouldn't be overbudget if they stopped plowing streets that have already been plowed, and if they stopped meeting up to chit chat in the middle of the streets. I live out west and not on a bus route and my street seems to get plowed two or three times after it has already been plowed and doesn't need to be. I also often see the crews stopped in the middle of the streets chatting.
I do have to say that this not every city employee, there are some that I see work their butts off, but because of the few that slack and do the same job twice, they all look bad.

I think the city is getting bad advice about globull warming.

I think , they should be watching what they contract out, I watched a Grader and a loader the other night , do nine pass's on Edmonton st, between 3rd, and 4th,,,,,,,,,,,,,hello, we are paying for this, the city should employ the workers, not contracters.

I think , they should be watching what they contract out, I watched a Grader and a loader the other night , do nine pass's on Edmonton st, between 3rd, and 4th,,,,,,,,,,,,,hello, we are paying for this, the city should employ the workers, not contracters.

"I think the city is getting bad advice about globull warming."

As they say, you get what you pay for. Was probably a brother in law price.

do nothing but do it fast. lots of meaningless action - back and forth, back and forth. its how the west was won.

Contractors ripping of the City!!