RD begins budget discussions

PRINCE GEORGE – The City of Prince George has just wrapped up its budget. It’s relatively simple: operating and capital. The Regional District of Fraser Fort George’s budget, however, is vastly different, with three tiers, starting with a more universal tier.

“Things like solid waste and 911 and everybody benefits from those,” explains Board Chair Lara Beckett. “And then we have a set of services that are called subregional, and those are usually rural areas. Sometimes it includes the smaller municipalities and those are those services like planning for the rural areas or building inspection in the rural areas. And then we have local service areas which are things like fire and volunteer fire departments. And basically only the people within the boundaries of that fire department will pay for that service.”

With Prince George holding the lion’s share of the population in the regional district, it makes up a larger portion of the regional district’s budget.