Same old-same old-making no waves-makes me think of those kissing babies politicians-all sweetness and light, complimentary, due to all those successes attributed to the Mayor and councils stellar decision making, about"blowing his mind."
Now what could he come up with to challenge council? This perfection personified group will be a challenge for him, but have no fear, Colin will whip him into shape and we will have a smiling "Yes" man at the helm of this city.
He will not rock this boat.
Spending time to get things done will remain the norm!
Gotta' have "vision", folks--lotsa' vision.
Oh, did I not mention patience?

Ok trusted - you're 'King for a Day'.

What's your 'vision'??

What would be YOUR first priority as City Manager of an 80,000 +/- person community?

Open mike time....

The City is in good finiancal shape? I guess it is if you consider approx $100 Million in debt being **good**.

The City is in good shape politically?? What does this mean??

The City is in good shape administrativaly?? Maybe, however it seems to me that we have way to many Managers and Staff. We need a comparison with other Cities of this size.


So far this Council has been a tax and spend Council. I have yet to hear anyone talk of reducing costs or taxes. Lets see what comes out of the budget. My guess is Millions in additional spending.

Jeth ... how about you first?

Finances, such as Palopu brings up all the time ... let's get to try to do what the feds have been doing for some 10 years now ... pay down the debt, not increase it ...and what Lethbridge has done, albeit they may have had some provincial help ....

potholes .... get roads paved properly, and get machinery that can patch the hoels properly .. it is available and has been the topic before on here ..

police that is accountable and open such as the what appears to be the case with Timmins (one finds out about these things by accident) ..

downtown .... don't keep approving projects which continue to put nails in the coffin of downtown ...

gambling .. don't get the city hooked on gambling ...

fighting court battles ... don't keep fighting ridiculous court battles which you can't win ....

snow clearing ... remember we are in the north and it snows here still .... how come I drive down streets in the Carter light industrial area a full 24 hours after the last snow has hit the ground and the street has not been cleared yet but every single one of the parking lots of businesses which depend on customers has been cleared? ... It is sureal, to say the least.

How about creating a traffic plan for the city with truck routes identified including dangerous goods routes? It speaks about the fact that it has not been done in the OCP of 2001 and it still is not done.

I could go on ....

The key to all this? Participation by people in the community is lousy .. and the city does not make it easier .... I participate considerably outside of this forum. Other than two people I know on here, I do not know to what extent others do.

It is time to get the heads out of the sand. Seeing what our successes are is fine. That has to be coupled with identifying what does not work that well and finding out why the successes have been successes. In other words, what can we learn from those that can be applied to the other areas.

Learn from successes, and learn from failures.

BTW ... you want some solutions ...

If we have private snowclearing contractors working for the city using their own equipment and private contractors doing the same for businesses, would it not make sense to at least discuss the work areas with the contractors property owners and get the same contractor to do all the businesses plus the streets at the same time in a particular area?

How come parking lots at the pool and the back parking lots at the multiplex are cleared when the industrial streets accross Ospika are not cleared?

Come on, Jeth!
After 18 years with the Regional District and the majority of us had no idea who he was or a record of his accomplishments!
Does this not speak for itself?
I fear Palopu is correct. Wait until that new mill rate is calculated, see where we all stand, and we will have a general idea re the situation of the city's financial status.
All departments should undergo an audit. I would think that would be a prerequisite on the slate for a new city manager.
I would expect the information re audits be made public knowledge-poste haste.
It is easy to make payments on debt if capable of picking the pockets of the taxpayers.
Bates recognizes the successes of this city. He must also recognize the failures.
Does not sound like he is prepared to do battle if required. Kind of silly to want to challenge the city by recognizing the successes. Taking too much time to "get things done" hardly encourages investment.
And get it right-no 80,000 plus pop. in this city. 77,000 is more like it- We lost ground-not gained.
King for a day-hey-I rather like that!
Oh well, as I said--same old-same old!

trusted - maybe you haven't heard of him becaused hes not been the focus of media stories about regional district screw ups.

You don't get coverage for doing a good job (boring headline) and publicity seekers aren't the type of people you want in this kind of a position.

He should get a chance to do his job before the criticism starts.

"..... its also important for the Council and the Citizens of Prince George to recognize the value that this organization brings to their communities."

This sounds like what he is really saying is that there is a "failure to communicate".

Not only the Citizens, but also the Council does not recognize the value "this organization" brings to the community.

I am having a hard time understanding what he means by "this organization".

- City Administration and staff? That would not include Council and the Citizens.

- City Hall? That would include Council. So Council would not know the value they bring to their own community? Wow! .... taking that literally could ruffle a few feathers.

- The City - that would include all of us. I do not think he means that, because that would also make little sense.

So, whatever he means, it appears we have a communication problem in that we, the citizens, do not recognize the value some unknown organization is to the community of PG. That is rather pretentious, isn't it. Sort of like saying that the customer does not know what she is getting. The taking it from there, sort of like saying that the customer is stupid.

I think if one believes in democracy and that everyone has a vote and that the voters are always right, no matter how individual voters make an important decision, then one also has to buy into the notion that citizens know when they are getting good service and when they are getting bad service and who it is that is responsible for getting them the one or the other.

So, what he is saying, could be viewed as being very condescending. It could be that we ought to get information via words and pictures from a spin doctor paid for with our dollars rather than by experiencing actions.

Watch for those pamphlets in the mail telling us all about the positive things that "this organization" does for the City of PG.

As they say, actions speak louder than words. Don't tell us, just do. We can figure it out ourselves.

Jimmi ... you are right, he should be given a chance ...

The way the first public information from him, that I have seen, comes across here does not sound very good though. So, I do not know whether that is him, or whether it was the reporting .....

--------------------

Doing a good job is a boring headline?

- Vancouver wins Olympics bid! ... boring....

- Housing starts up!! ... boring

- Province says new construction values off the charts!!!! ... boring

- Gateway Retirement Home moves ahead .... boring!!!

- PG in good shape says Mayor! ... boring!!

- Pattison parks his money where his mouth is!!! . boring ...

I suspect most people would accept that those headlines, mostly from this site from the last few days, are as a result of something going right or someone or some organization doing a good job.

So, I would think that what is really the case is that good news stories are not boring, it is just that so many cannot be attributed to one specific action or one specific person or organization.

Sure hope Hizzonner the mayor doesn't introduce this new guy to his travel agent. Betcha they both take a trip sometime before September. Betcha!

You got it Owl…

As ‘City Manager for a Day’, I would:

1. Politely acknowledge, but ignore, the chorus of boo-birds who complain about everything in this town, but do absolutely nothing in terms of individual civic engagement.

2. Respectfully acknowledge, but be privately cautious about the abilities of City Council to make good decisions – they’re elected people after all, and however well intentioned, they have no more (or less) planning skill than the average citizen.

3. Read all the headlines in the local and regional newspapers, but believe almost none of them – headlines are designed to sell newspapers, not communicate accurate information.

4. Take a deep breath in… exhale… and realize that this town has the same problems (no more and no less) as every other community of its size in North America. The identification of those problems may be different (bug kill vs. auto parts manufacturing decline, etc.) but they are identical nevertheless.

5. Take another deep breath in… exhale… and realize that this town has the same aptitude and enthusiasm to solve those problems as every other community of its size in North America. Day in, day out, month by month, year by year – this town gets better and better because people work to make it better, in spite of the problems, and the boo-birds.

How utterly childish-calling people "boo birds."
I especially appreciated the second paragraph.
They're elected people,after all,and however well intentioned, they have no more (or less) planning skill than the average citizen.
That certainly restores my faith in permitting them to act and speak for 77,000 citizens.
Why cannot we appeal to some with a bit of advanced knowledge. How about owl, palopu, diplomat, ben, and leave brian, and maybe pick a couple ladies to dress the place up?
I just wager that there would be some interesting action at city hall.
I wouldn't mind hanging around to see some of those department heads squirm.
I might add, I did not receive a calender.
I thought one might arrive with my business licence-but no way! Shucks!

'Why cannot we appeal to some with a bit of advanced knowledge. How about owl, palopu, diplomat, ben, and leave brian, and maybe pick a couple ladies to dress the place up?'

Now THAT'S hilarious - good one Trusty!

Sometimes I think you're serious!

Jeth ... have you got any idea of how many who post on here have been on City Council? I know of two at least.

How about how many have been on standing Council Committees and Commissions?

How about how many give of their time to volunteer to build facilities used by the community that make this a better place to be? Or those who provide volunteer time to provide free "professional" advice in their area of expertise? Or those who give of their time to assist individual members of the community to find their way through bureaucracy they are not able to dealk with.

The one single aspect of this community that stands out to virtually everyone one speaks to is the friendliness and honesty of the people who call PG their home.

This is a free community. People should be free to critique what is still not going so well in this community or, what I am seeing more and more, what is getting worse about this community. In my books, some are things which are not only getting worse here, but are getting worse in many other places as well.

So, remember that when we no longer let others speak their mind, or disuade others from speaking their mind, or mock them when they speak their mind by using such words as you choose, a key part of freedom and democracy is lost.

So Jeth, you have a lot to learn. Any arrogance I may display in this medium, on those occasions when I get frustrated with the system, is far superseded by yours.

‘So, remember that when we no longer let others speak their mind, or disuade others from speaking their mind, or mock them when they speak their mind by using such words as you choose, a key part of freedom and democracy is lost.’


What a pompous pile of rubbish Owl.

Trusty says: ‘Same old-same old-making no waves’…’ but have no fear, Colin will whip him into shape and we will have a smiling "Yes" man at the helm of this city.’…’He will not rock this boat.’…

I challenge him to defend the gratuitous negative comments he makes about someone THREE DAYS into his new (senior) position at the City, and he says, among other things: ‘…and maybe pick a couple ladies to dress the place up?'

Comments like that from retired ‘professional’ fossils, in this medium or any other, make me and other Prince George ‘citizens’ cringe with embarrassment.

Mocking those comments certainly doesn’t make me arrogant, and reminding someone that they’re being stupid doesn’t undermine ‘freedom and democracy’.

Oops-ruffled some feathers!
Now I am a retired professional fossil?
I wish!
Maybe Jeth is a young upstart-so calling others "stupid" is a way for him to retaliate against what he believes to be fossils.
Must be one of those "above average" citizens, decidedly better skilled than those elected planners who contol our destiny as a city.
Best to re read Bates comments before passing judgement on my determination.
Praise, praise and more praise, for the major downturn this city experienced for a good many years. And who was at the helm?
I like success, not only for my own endeavors, but also for those of others.
Time to get with the program, and the realization constructive criticism is not harmful, but simply opens ones eyes as to the areas which are in dire need of improvement.
As I have stated previously, I, personally have no axe to grind. I survived the "bad' years, but am well aware of others who did not fare so well.
Why would I not want the city to become vibrant and viable? Certainly would improve my situation as well.I am not quite such a "fossil" as intimated.
Is it possible I am responding to a Boo-bird?
Or a has been-or a wannabee?

"Mocking those comments certainly doesn’t make me arrogant, and reminding someone that they’re being stupid doesn’t undermine ‘freedom and democracy’."

For each single one of us one here in VT and in our RT world, there is the world and the view of others in it as we see it and there is the world as and the view of others in it as others see it.

You, Jeth, fall into that same world. You are not outside of that reality. So, go on feeling and acting as you do, since there is little I or others can do about it or even wish to do about it. I, and probably others, will continue to feel and act as we do for similar reasons.

So, let's move on and leave poor Mr. Bates alone and help him understand what ails this city and provide some input of how we think those problems would be solved.

"but its also important for the Council and the Citizens of Prince Geoprge to recognize the value that this organization brings to their communities"

I am wondering what those of us on here think about what value "the organization" (I assume that that is City Hall, but am not sure) brings to the community. I know what we pay into it in terms of dollars. So, are we getting value for our money? What are our expectations? What is our role as citizens? What is Council's role as directors? What is staff's role as activators? Is there a communication gap between citizens, staff, Councillors?

Since we have not hasd a recent quality of life survey here, nor a recent internal evaluation of city operations, we could do a mini one here which would, of course, exclude Mr. Bates since he was not the author of anything that is excellent, good or needs some improvement.

Again, keep in mind we are the "clients". We are the ones footing the bill. We are the ones having an expectation. We are the ones who decide whether expectations are being met. A simple vote every three years for a slate of candidates simply does not cut it from mey point of view. State of the City reports need to be prepared not only by the Mayor, but also by the citizens of the community.

In fact, that is the key part of my recommendation of how to improve the situation. An ongoing annual evaluation process which we have some control of and is done regularly.

'For each single one of us one here in VT and in our RT world, there is the world and the view of others in it as we see it and there is the world as and the view of others in it as others see it.'

Well put.