Discretionary spending at City Hall scaled back significantly

PRINCE GEORGE – Come the new year, the new City Manager will have significantly less discretionary spending. Currently, the City’s Sustainable Finance Guideline 14.1 reads: “Cumulative budget amendments in a calendar year of up to 5% of the total operating budget may be approved by the City Manager. If the cumulative budget amendments in a calendar year total 5% of the operating budget, subsequent budget amendments must be approved by Council.” That works out to roughly $7.5 million over the course of the year.

Council has been noting through the course of last year and this the number of projects that have gone well over budget. The new Fire Hall and the parkade below the Park House complex. It prompted Council, at the June 15th meeting, to ask the Finance and Audit Committee to review that section of the Guideline, and another, within the Sustainable Finance Guideline.

In a report to Council tonight, The Committee came back with a recommendation to reign in that spending authority. As of January 1st, should a capital project overrun exceeds five percent of the capital project to a maximum of $100,000, it must come back to Council.