Prince George City Council worked into the night during budget deliberations on Wednesday to cut the 2022 tax levy by more than half from a previously projected 6.55 percent down to 3.0 percent. The reduction means the average home in Prince George (valued at about $341K in 2021) will see an approximately $70 increase this year over last year’s bill.
To get down to three percent, Council approved reductions totaling $882,000 in the following service and capital project areas:
- Economic Development: $82,000 reduction
- Human Resources: $150,000 reduction
- Road Rehabilitation: $450,000 reduction from proposed $5.95 Million budget to $5.5 Million
- Snow Control: $200,000 reduction from proposed $10.2 Million budget to $10 Million
During budget deliberations, Council also did not approve service enhancements to Police Protection Service (estimated cost $201,365) and did not approve the reopening the public washrooms in Canada Games Plaza (estimated cost $250,000). Council did approve a request for an additional $15,000 for the Outdoor Ice Oval Society and $60,000 for a Fire & Rescue Services Strategic Plan.
These changes brought the tax increase down to 5.84 percent. Council then voted to approve the tax increase of 3.0 percent with the balance offset by the provincially and federally funded Safe Restart grant. The amount of funds required are estimated to be roughly $3.25 Million.
$3.55 Million in operating expense reductions in past three budget cycles
Council’s operational reductions last night bring the amount of financial cuts at the City of Prince George to $3.55 Million over three budget cycles. In a report to City Council at Monday’s budget meeting, City Manager Walter Babicz provided an overview of other recent measures enacted to address the economic times brought on by the pandemic.
Prior to tonight’s budget meeting, the following measures achieved approximately $2,750,000 in annual operating expense reductions:
- In 2020, non-labour budgets were reviewed by each department head. Expenses such as training, travel, and conferences were suspended with the intention of their return when public health orders were lifted. Department heads also reviewed non-labour budgets to identify expenses that could be eliminated permanently without significant impact. This review resulted in the elimination of annual non-labour expenses in the amount of $349,440.
- The management/exempt employee group was assigned a 0% cost of living salary increase in both 2020 and 2021, resulting in approximately $500,000 of total operating expense reductions.
- In November 2020, eight management/exempt positions and four unionized positions were eliminated, resulting in a total of $1,552,246 in operating expense reductions.
- In 2021, further organizational structure changes were implemented resulting in a total of $365,592 in operating cost reductions.