A long two days were spent by Prince George City Council tonight (Wednesday) and Monday this week in budget talks.
A 3% increase in taxes was decided upon, but not without utilizing the Safe Restart Fund, and pushing some problems on to next year.
Without the Safe Restart Fund, Council cut the potential 6.55% tax increase down to 5.84%:
- $450,000 was cut from the Road Rehabilitation budget
- $200,000 was cut from the Snow Control budget
- $82,000 was cut from Economic Development
- $150,000 was cut from Human Resources
- $60,000 was added for a Fire and Rescue consultant
- $15,000 was added to the Ice Oval for a Capital fund and maintenance
Over $3 million from the Safe Restart Fund was needed to bring it to 3%, but not without some debate.
Many Councillors tried to get the tax rate around 3.8% or 3.5% to try and mitigate how difficult budget talks will be in 2023.
“Each year we do the budget it is the most budget cycle we’ve ever done. And it’ll be the most tough budget cycle the next council ever does, question is, are we going to add on to the toughness next year, or are we going swallow some of it this year,” said Councillor Garth Frizzell.
Councillor Cori Ramsay said that the extra 0.8% taken off the taxes would just come back in 2023.
Director of Finance Kris Dalio noted that some things could be coming next year that would need to be addressed and could make things more difficult next year, pointing to areas like Transit, and capital needs for infrastructure, like the potential Stormwater Management Plan.
Other Councillors felt that something needed to be done right now, as many people were struggling as is.
“I don’t want to push it forward, but I think it’s important to acknowledge we are still in the thick of covid, and lots of people are still unemployed, and haven’t been called back to work. And so I’m looking at a lower figure for a tax levy as well,” said Councillor Murry Krause.
Dalio estimated that for each percent of a tax increase would be around $23 for the representative household in PG, but he wasn’t sure how much businesses would be paying.
“You know, we talk about 20 something dollars for every percent increase for homeowners, but the business class will pay substantially more,” said Councillor Brian Skakun.
The vote was decided 8-1, with Councillor Kyle Sampson disagreeing, noting that if more cuts that he proposed were passed, they’d be at a much lower rate.
No cuts or enhancements were made to the RCMP, but Superintendent Shaun Wright will be back on February 7th’s Council meeting to bring more information to the table.
A motion was also passed to invite the Crown to come talk to Council and work on creating a better relationship between City Council, RCMP, and the Crown.
The potential re-opening of the Canada Game Plaza washrooms was also shut down.