Raise taxes more more more, we like it. Pretty soon that's all we will be working for, taxes for those that still have a job.

4 years in a row now!! The regional district will do the same so 7% every year. People are leaving Prince George and this is one of the reasons. Prince George has one of the highest taxes in BC not including the lower mainland. The myor is the highest paid in the province as well. They just refuse to work under their budget and STOP SPENDING. This has got to stop people! What makes me even madder is that THEY GAVE THEMSELVES A RAISE!!! This is crap and I feel like I am the only one who cares! This city STINKS in more ways than one.

to mayor and council,

fiscal restraint, think about it for a change, you need to think about the want to haves versus the must haves for once. i think i am going to move outside of city limits now, this is getting absurd.

A wise person once told me that the best way to save money was to not spend it.
It seems to me that if they must increase tax revenues to meet new funding requests, deny those requests.

I think city council needs to do a complete audit of all funding that city hall is doing. I am sure they will find line items that are no longer valid, duplications, and plain waste.

As challenging as it is to get funding, once on the books, they go unnoticed and stale.

Cleanup the stale items, take the position that there is no additional money available for any new items, and complete past projects.

What we need is basic infrastructure: clean water, efficient sewage that returns only clean water, properly constructed and maintained roads, stable power grid, and a well managed school system.

We don't need the city to build a new police station, PAC, or support with any funding any new structures. If the builder is not able to secure the funding from private sources, maybe the project cannot stand on its own merits.

"you need to think about the want to haves versus the must haves for once" - problem is, council doesn't see the same as most people in what constitutes a "must have" as opposed to a "want to have".

I agree with "who?" However I live just outside of the city limits, no stink unless I drive into town by the jail and sometimes my eyes will start to burn. Sunshine up the hill and smog in the bowl. Also I am not subjected to the ever increasing of one tax or another. My kids live in College Height and they have been trying to convince me to move there. I said no thank you, can't afford the taxes.

A few years back an accountanting student told me she was bidding on a job at the city that paid $80,000.00 a year. I remarked that didn't need a professional designation for that i.e. CGA CA CMA - she said oh no, this wasn't considered a professional position.

How can you have a 4.5% increase in a year where inflation is 0? I'm all for increasing snow budget, road repair budgets - all items that make the city more livable. But this is why the Colin Kinsley Olympic jaunts and trips to China jaunts are so frustrating. Core services go wanting so politicians can go playing and civil servants can get paid more than those in industry.

Take a look at how many people make more than a $100,000 a year a city hall and it will make your head spin. Over 2-dozen city employees make over a $100,000 a year and over a 100 city employees make over $80,000 per year.

vancouversun.com/news/public-sector-salaries/advanced-search.html#

Very few professionals outside of government make that kind of income over $70,000 max per year much less salaried employees with pensions to go with it.

I figure anyone making more than the mayor should have their contract voted on in council every 3-years after each municipal election, or find a job in the private sector. We need accountability for those kinds of incomes when basic services are not being met, the cities population is in decline, and the tax burden way outstrips inflation year after year.

If they aren't looking at salaries they aren't serious about the budget IMO.

Look at Colorado Springs for an example in budget cutting. Councilors and mayor in Colorado Springs all make under $9000 a year for a city five times the size of PG and they generate most all their revenue from sales taxes shared by all the voters, rather than property taxes on home owners.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_14303473

"Very few professionals outside of government make that kind of income over $70,000 max per year much less salaried employees with pensions to go with it"

Are you saying that very few professionals outside of government make over 70K? If so, I'd suggest you really haven't a clue what you are talking about, LOL. Truth be told, most of the professionals I know that work in the private sector wonder why people in their respective field would choose to work in the government given the wages they are giving up by not working in the private sector. For professional positions, the private sector generally pays more for an equivalent position, WAY WAY more in some cases. For jobs that don't require a high level of education or skill, it's the opposite. Now the City of PG may be a bit of an exception, but generally speaking, you'll make way more in the private sector if you have skills that are in high demand.

As for Colorado Springs, who cares? Do you really think it's relevant? Not only is it a completely different country, it's also a completely different political system, a different way of securing funding, etc. As an aside, do you really want a $9K a year mayor? We have a hard enough time attracting suitable candidates for a $80K a year mayor.

So what are we going to do about it? Do you go and just give yourself a raise? What would your boss think of this? This is what the people we trust with running our affairs do. Over and over again this city council has given themselves a raise and then a month later sob that they need to raise the taxes ...yet again. Hey if you need to raise taxes then you DONT GET A FRIGGING RAISE!!! But all levels of government do this and we just let it go. How long has it been since you got a raise? To me, this is the biggest disrespectful slap in the face of the tax payers. We really need to start taking control before we lose everything.

Municca, who gave them a raise? Did they actually get a raise? I don't recall seeing anything about that - have I had my blinders on? Let's do this: they won't raise taxes, we won't get garbage collection but every two weeks, the snow won't be removed off city roads until their is an accumulation of, let's say 8 inches, they won't do any maintenance of any kind unless it's mandatory for safety and so on and then all the bitching will be about how crappy our city representatives are doing about all the above - give it a rest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.opinion250.com/blog/view/15225/7/oh+!+did+we+forget+to+tell+you+we+are+taking+a+raise

Here is your answer and if you search on this site there is another post to this topic. THEY GAVE THEMSELVES A RAISE LESS THAN A MONTH AGO!

And to answer your question "have I had my blinders on?" YES YOU HAVE!