PRINCE GEORGE – It was a lengthy budget discussion, taking several hours over two days. But in the end, Council settled on a tax hike of 6.21 percent.
Here is a break down of the conversation:
Snow control:
A motion to reduce the snow removal budget by $500,000 was presented by Councillor Ron Polillo.
“This is a calculated risk.”
But an unfriendly amendment was introduced by Councillor Trudy Klassen to cut the budget by a million dollars instead, effectively reducing the budget to $10 million rather than the recommended budget of $11 million.
However, it was repeatedly noted that the budget reduction does not impact service levels, but the reserve budget, which currently sits at roughly $2.3 million. A million-dollar reduction, bringing the budget to $10 million could draw the reserve.
Council approved the million-dollar reduction the the snow budget.
In a separate motion put forward By Councillor Kyle Sampson, there will be a review of the policies around snow removal levels, likely sometime in the spring.
Road Rehab:
The road rehabilitation budget in 2024 was $6.7 million and Administration suggested an increase of $300,000 for a total budget of $7 million.
There was a motion to keep the road rehabilitation budget at the same rate as the 2024 level, but there was argument made that the road ratings in some neighbourhoods were poor and the consistent freeze-thaw weather patterns exacerbate the incidents of potholes.
Ultimately it was decided to improve the budget to $7 million.
Emergency Services:
A motion was put forward by Councillor Kyle Sampson to reduce the budget by $123,000, citing much of the work done by the department as the preview of the Province.
“I don’t think we can afford to keep going above and beyond,” with Councillor Cori Ramsay referring to the department as “bloated.”
“We don’t know what’s going to happen. If we want to save money, do it where it may not have such an impact on human health and safety,” said Brian Skakun.
Fire Chief noted that it is a small, but mighty department that manages to do a yeoman’s job.
“Kamloops operates on a very different model than we do,” he said, adding they have other communities, such as Kelowna to draw on but Prince George is the sole regional centre for response. “We do a lot with a little in this program.”
The motion to reduce the budget failed.
Bylaw Services:
Another motion was put forward by Councillor Sampson to cut the budget by $210,000 to eliminate the outreach division of which there is only one staff member.
“We have an MOU with the Province that they have not fulfilled,” said Sampson.
Council noted that when the MOU was initially signed with the Province, funding was provided for that outreach position, which has subsequently gone unfunded.
“Municipalities aren’t built to support social services. The [Bylaw Services] division is built for enforcement, not here for outreach,” said Councillor Sampson.
Ultimately, the budget reduction was passed.
Enhancements:
The local RCMP detachment asked for two additional funding allocations to the Protective Services budget line.
The first was the addition of four officers who would be dedicated to school liaison, freeing up general duty officers at a cost of $906,064.
The second request with respect to support staff, specifically a new assistant manager of Operations at $140,093, one victim services coordinator at $96,785 and a new jail guard at $114,000.
With respect to the four additional officers and their designation, Councillor Cori Ramsay noted she couldn’t support the designation, wanting the officers designated to general duty. However, Council opted instead to two bring two officers on board at a cost of $453,000 this budget cycle and two officers in the next budget cycle, being the 2026 budget.
Council also approved the addition of the assistant manager of Operations and the jail guard for RCMP cells.
The local Fire Rescue department sought five additional firefighters.
“This would equal half a percent to the tax levy,” said Councillor Ron Polillo. “[The City] just can’t afford it.”
Again, there was a lot of discussion around the fire department’s high rate of medical calls.
“That is some kind of downloading,” noted Mayor Simon Yu, who also pointed to other BC municipalities sending invoices to the Province.
“I just can’t support it this year,” said Councillor Trudy Klassen, referring to the enhancement request.
Bylaw Services was looking at adding four more officers to the fold, who would be responsible for transitioning homeless encampments into permanent housing.
Ultimately, Council voted against this additional request.
