There's sNOw Control Decision

Thursday, February 18, 2010 04:11 AM

Prince George, B.C. - Prince George City Council has put off making a decision on whether to increase the snow control budget for the coming year, until its final budget meeting next Wednesday.

Councillors are considering a proposed $250-thousand dollar hike in the budget, bringing it to $5.25-million dollars...and adding about $5-dollars extra to the average homeowners' bill.

Mayor Dan Rogers says the two issues councillors are pondering are how best to finance the snow removal services, and whether city residents want the current level of service to be maintained.

As the City strives to make Prince George as accessible to all citizens, many councillors expressed the need to consider the aging population when making changes to snow control services.

The Mayor also drew attention to the impact climate change will have on the city's roads, stating that, although there may be less snow, an increase in rain will mean a host of new challenges that will ultimately have to be taken into account when preparing budgets in years ahead.

They will come too late for this budget, but Rogers says city officials will be having some discussions with the people who actually pay for snow control -- the taxpayers -- in the coming months to determine whether changes need to be made to the service level.

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Posted on Thursday, February 18, 2010 04:11 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: moretaxesplease on February 18 2010 6:24 AM

Our taxes are supposed to be paying for snow removal, they raised our taxes already this year, garbage is also up and then now they want us to pay another $5 for snow removal. People do not have that kind of money unless you work in CITY HALL.
If there was a way for us to take on city hall and Dan Rogers I would be there to help. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH already, they are not allowing people to just try and live in a decent way with the little bit of money we have. Everyone at city hall just disgust me already, they cannot even open their mouths without asking for money. I hope that Mayor Rogers and his wonderful counsellors sleep very well at night, because their pockets are full from the crap from the night before.

Posted by: moretaxesplease on February 18 2010 7:33 AM

It used to be manditory for the city to plough and keep the school bus and dangerous goods roads clean and safe, not so now. The P.G. Pulp Mill rd is rarely ploughed when it snows and not safe to drive when it snows, we went by Austin Rd, school the other day when it snowed and it was not done. YRB does a better job than the city. They should go back to the city ploughing themselves like before, not contracting out for bigger dollars, that is where most of the money goes for a poor job. The city workers are getting paid a very good wage and should be doing it. What happened to that expensive snow removal machine the city bought some years ago, don't see it out working, total waste of our money.

Posted by: Free Enterprise on February 18 2010 7:42 AM

Cut snow removal in half and mandate everyone use true snow tires.

Posted by: yellow shovel on February 18 2010 7:54 AM

Good tires are the answer for sure but what happens after a heavy snow fall on the side streets is that the lower vehicals with very little clearance get high centered. Then you be stuck.

Posted by: wavoes on February 18 2010 7:56 AM

if council only knew anything about making a budget, just because it is budgeted doesnt mean you have to spend it.

One question....how does Mayor Rogers expect to host the Canadian Winter Games here, if the althetes and spectators cant drive our streets because there is either to much snow and ice on the streets or they will lose their vehicle in a pot hole.

Wasnt Councilor Stoltz's whole platform for getting elected to council to fix our streets? I give him a failing grade so far

Posted by: faxman on February 18 2010 8:33 AM

I don't actually live in city limits my comment is a tad unrelated to the story. However, it is about snow removal so I figured I'd share.

My road was plowed three times last night after 8:00 pm. There was no more than an inch of compact snow left on the road but YRB felt the need to run the grader up and down the road three times. It rarely gets plowed when it needs it but for some strange reason they like to move the snow around the occasional evening.

Posted by: metalman on February 18 2010 8:57 AM

Hey faxman, same experience here. When the snow piles up, YRB forgets where our road is. Three days or more, after a major snowfall, I mean after, when the main routes have been clear for days, the side roads finally get a truck. The truck guys stick close to the middle of the road I guess they are afrais of the ditches, so we end up with 1.5 lanes on a two way road. Up to a week after that, the grader arrives to do the job properly. What the hay, that's why we get drive four x fours eh?
metalman.

Posted by: kidar on February 18 2010 9:07 AM

Politicians at all levels think that taxpayers have a never ending supply of money. "THEY DON'T"! If it's not one thing it's another, cannot council get their act together. We used to have excellent snow removal and it's still pretty good but pass a by-law forcing the citizens to have winter tires and NOT "all seasonal" or summer tires. This will help tremendously and it will coincide with the Provincial statute for winter tires. NO MORE TAXES and manage what you have properly.

Posted by: frankgeorgeson on February 18 2010 9:46 AM

I drive a Toyota Echo.

I moved to more fuel efficent - eviormental friendly vehilce - to say nothing of cost efficent. Then snow removal policies make it difficult to get around.

If we cut snow removal, I will be back in a truck or SUV. There is more to this issue than the simple cost of snow removal. There is the cost of not removing the snow and that includes me the aging baby boomer's life style due to mobility issues.

Frank

Posted by: seamutt on February 18 2010 10:16 AM

Climate change, Danny boy where are you getting your information from. Here in BC we are seeing the effects of an El Nino, warmer winter, which is a good but short term thing. Lets see what next year brings. Now check the news and see the record cold and snow falls in the rest of the world for the last couple of years.

As for climate change, the four main sources of data for promoting man caused claimate change are all under investigation for data manipulation. The earth is well into a cooling phase, not warming.

http://climateaudit.org/ http://icecap.us/ http://wattsupwiththat.com/ http://www.climatescience.org.nz/ http://www.friendsofscience.org/ http://noconsensus.wordpress.com/ http://www.co2science.org/ http://www.junkscience.com/

Posted by: Municca on February 18 2010 11:08 AM

Why is it that the answer for everything is MORE TAXES ON THE TAX PAYER? My God! Give us a freaking break already. This is tiresome....every frigging year it’s the same story with these SPENDERS. People of Prince George, when is it going to be enough before we get together and put a stop to this bull? Four years straight now they have raised our taxes. FOUR YEARS IN A ROW!!! Our provincial government needs to put a cap on municipalities because they just won’t stop on their own. The city needs to reduce its work force. I see one guy on the shovel and three watching in most cases. And I bet on the office side it is just as bad. Clean house! Get rid of the useless workers. Then we can discuss your budget that you seem to forget throughout the year. Live within the budget and stop spending on non essentials. NO MORE STUDIES!!!!!!!!

Posted by: downnotout on February 18 2010 12:08 PM

Please put some of the blame where it should be. The provincial government has cut funding to municpalties so they have to come up with some money to cover those progroms that used to be funded. We will pay for the Olympics one way or another.

Posted by: IMO on February 18 2010 3:53 PM

That is a crock! This city council was over spending their budget before the Olympics happened. Prince George city council has been on a spending spree for over 10 years and they are not slowing down even now. Big city plans with an every decreasing population to pay for it is the problem. We have lost over 5 thousand people or more in the last decade. Studies for this and that and design fees for Art Centre and new Police Station in the hundreds of thousands of dollars if not near millions. We need to rein these people in and now. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

Posted by: acrider54 on February 18 2010 6:28 PM

We haven't had any snow for their (our)fiscal year so far.Are they just spending budget now because it's there?

Posted by: Harbinger on February 18 2010 7:59 PM

It is called "putting the hours on". Sand trucks sanding the intersections the day before it snows. Or just trucks driving aimlessly around. My logical explanation is when it comes to government budgets is that if they don't spend all their budgeted dough this year, they get less the following year. That is why all government departments at every level "go stupid" near the end of every fiscal year just to get rid of any excess funds they save during that fiscal year. Prove me wrong.

Posted by: supertech on February 18 2010 9:49 PM

We have to hire a consultant first--for whatever decision. Next, we will hire a consultant for making a decision.

Posted by: yellow shovel on February 19 2010 8:41 AM

Was watching the city crew do my street for the first time in a long time yesterday. Usally when they get round to it after a real heavy snowfall they do it pretty quick and efficient, up one side and back down the other. The loader, sometimes 2 of them, clear the ridge left in the drive real quick....sometimes to quick leaving me wonder if they would leave their own driveway like that. There was not enough snow on the street yesterday to worry about plowing but the care and the time they took to do it was real noticeable. Yup they were doggin er for sure. I agree with Harbinger...gotta spinder.

Posted by: metalman on February 19 2010 2:15 PM

A consultant should be consulted before we even have the questions, to make sure we ask the right questions. Another study.
metalman.

Posted by: Mr. PG on February 19 2010 8:32 PM

"Mayor Dan Rogers is pondering"?

He should try to improve the efficiency of the City snow clearing crews and ensure that he and the rest of the City Council gang can LOWER OUR TAXES!!!!

Posted by: greatmysticbushape on February 20 2010 1:47 PM

lets put a snow blade on everyones vehicle and we'd run that snow out of town and have money left over to hit the casino - big time.