Also add to the cost all the city employees who are spending time on this, whether they are in court, preparing for court or just standing around the water cooler gossipping about it.

I doubt that the people discussed in the report have a cause of action against the city, even if the city is liable for the leak, since the report clears them. Insofar as their reputations have been damaged, it is due to many of the public disagreeing with the city's decision that there was no conflict of interest. The facts are not, as far as I know, in dispute, just what to make of them. For there to be a cause of action for defamation, false factual statements would have to be at issue.

What again Ben, another post like Oct 29th? Come on Ben. I asked you to answer my comments posted on Oct29th. Can you answer those questions now?

Merry Christmas Ben.

Brian Skakun

There is certainly a cost associated with public activity, but there may not be an EXTRA cost. That is, the police would have had to be paid anyway, court officials would have had to be paid anyway, city employees would have had to be paid anyway. Unless there is some overtime associated with it, there is no more money spent than would have had to be spent anyway. To me, counting coists that had to be spent whether the activity was done or not seems pointless.

Brian, the reply that you ask for was written and sent to you on November 16th, at 7.26 pm, in reply to your e-mail earlier in the day.
It shows that you received that E-mail. The e-mail was marked personal and confidential and for a very good reason .
Would you now like me to publish that e-mail ?

Pretty sure Brian is on the hook for his own costs, isnt' he?

Brian,

How about what Ben said? I am sure we all would like to see Ben's responses, you always want the truth made public so lets see it. Of course if your hiding something....

ammorna

I agree that the city workers would have had to be paid anyways. However, I hope that the workers on the city payroll actual produce something of value to the taxpayers on a daily basis. So if they are spending time in court, etc. then they are not working on their normal job and the work we have paid them to do is not getting done. Accordingly, there is a cost to having these workers being involved in this process.

Then again, my comment is based on the assumption that the city workers produce something of value to the taxpayers with their time......

About the city employees IMO they are
way over paid and over protected.
20 years ago there were way less city
employees and much more work was done
without much complaints and budget
was not "running out" before the show
started to fall! And all that was done
with much less tax collected from
the residents of P.G.

Now, it is getting too much hostility against Mr. Skakun. It seems, P.G. has a lot of "perfect saints", who never ever
tripped or did something regrettable
in their life!
He is a human, and a good one!
He represents us and voice our concerns
in the city. His "good doing" out weigths
any mistakes he has ever done.
Time to LEAVE HIM and his loved ones
ALONE!
Have a Merry Christmas Mr.Skakun and
your family!

"was not "running out" before the show"
should be s n o w not show.
My bad.

tuatkaan,

Your right no one is perfect, and yes your right again he does represent us and voice our concerns, however it is gettig very expensive.

You say its "Time to LEAVE HIM and his loved ones ALONE!"

No one has said anything about his loved ones, the topic here is about Mr. Skakun as a councilor, and as a councilor for the city he is going to get scrutinized for the work he does.

What he has done is basically nothing. He points out the obvious and when council votes one way he is the lone guy going the other way to get press time and attention. Really think about it, what has he accomplished for the city? You could say this about the other councilors as well but they didn't waste tens of thousands of dollars of tax payers money.

He did.

Thanks to the creators of this site we have the freedom to voice our opinion and so we shall.

In a fight I would not like you in my corner.

Flyfisherman, you must missed all
the comments about him and his family.

About "a fight", who's provocating ?

Did you read "ammorna"'s comments ?
I agree with it.
There are different opinion(s) are
around and any one has the right
to "free speach" or can have an
opinion without being threaten.
By the way, do you work for the city?
Have a Merry X-mas!

Ammonra... that was great ndp like satire.

I think the flyfisherman misses the point.

When bureaucracy is out of control with their own spending, it is ludicrous for them to then be pontificating about $10,000 cost to an elected councilor that was just trying to get answers that were not forthcoming.

Look at the city manager, for hypothetical sake, that makes this much with salary and benefits (ie pension) each week. Is a weeks worth of taking the city time to hide information from the public worth its cost to the city tax payer? How about two or three, or if Ammonra is right all the time one's 'not busy' worth it to the city tax payer?

How about a gaggle of other bureaucrats all each making large on the tax payer, and all each costing money for their time... to blunt direct democracy in favor instead of the State power of unelected bureaucrats with a captive home owner revenue source.

Having someone to shine a light on how decisions are being made is worth the small relative cost to the taxpayer IMO. Relative to the largess and potential for corrupted decisions.

Prince George City Hall has already been identified as the biggest spenders in the Province.

The fact of the matter is, they actually got off easy, because not only are they the biggest spenders, but they are the biggest spenders on useless projects.

How soon we forget the $150,000.00 fiasco with Horizen Air.

The plan to tear down the Playhouse Theatre after putting in $2 Million in renovations.

The $3 Million to upgrade River Road which is rarely used.

The inability to negotiate contracts, and as a result having the highest paid staff in the Province.

The $140,000.00 to open an office to showcase Pr George in Vancouver only to close it two years later because no one showed up.

The many, many trips to China, which at the very least have to be considered as a TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY.

Six Million for the Citys portion of the Boundry Road cut-off which is nothing more than a site for a new industrial park that we dont need, considering that we already have, Dansen Industrial, BC Rail Industrial, River Road, The Ongman, and the Carter Light. This road will be great for some business's however it will just be an additonal cost for taxpayers.

IPG which costs us $1.5 Million per year, and doesnt seem to be giving us any **bang for our buck**

The CN Centre that costs us at least $300,000.00 per year to operate after all the money is collected. The mere fact that we keep the Cougers at the CN Centre costs us approx $85,000.00 per year.

The Charles Jago Northern Sports Centre that costs us $300,000.00 per year, when it was supposed to be revenue neutral.

The much vaunted **NEW** garbage system that was to save us $75000.00 per year, and is actually costing us an additional one million per year to operate.

$38 Million for a new Police Station financed over 20 years with $32 Million in interest for a total of approx $70 Million dollars, when a 5/10 Million reno would do just fine.

The things mentioned above are only the tip of the iceburg when it comes to wasting money in this town. There are plenty more examples.

Skakuns cost is the least of our worries. If we dont get control of the Citys overall spending they will drag us all into the poor house.

Too bad they couldn't have put that at the top Palopu. But city council still wouldn.t get it. Heard they got another steal of a deal on the Enterprise lot.

just renovate the cop building,people renovate old homes all the time! seems like the city just wants to spend like they won the powerball!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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