P R I N CE G EO R G E C IUNVEILS TIZEN DANNY BELL SOME NEW SONGS FOR THE TOWNNEWS – PAGE 8 SENIORS ADVOCATE FINDS LONG-TERM CARE DEMAND STILL GROWING – PAGE 18
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Thursday, December 17, 2020
A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT A holiday light display brightens the night at 2750 Upland Street.
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CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE/LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE
AVOID RAISING TAXES, SURVEY URGES ARTHUR WILLIAMS Citizen staff
A majority of local taxpayers want the City of Prince George to do just about anything other than raising taxes to cover budget shortfalls, according to the city’s budget consultation survey.
A record amount of participants - 1,020 people - took part in the online survey, which ran from Oct. 21 to Nov. 8, according to a report prepared by city director of external relations Rob van Adrichem for the city’s standing committee on finance and audit. Over the previous four years, an average of 170 people took part in the city’s budget survey, van Adrichem said.
When it came to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, 45 per cent of survey respondents said their personal or business income had decreased or significantly decreased. Fourteen per cent reported an increase in income, while seven per cent reported a significant increase in income. The remaining third reported no change. Sixty-one per cent had less or significantly less confidence in Prince George and its economy, while 20 per cent had more confidence. Fifty-four per cent reported they were getting outside more than before the pandemic, while 21 per cent were staying in more.
In terms of what survey respondents thought the city should do to offset lost revenue during the pandemic, the majority supported seeking funds from higher levels of government, keeping facilities closed, selling off city land and increasing user fees. Only about a third of respondents supported the city dipping into its reserve funds, reducing service levels or closing additional facilities. Only 18 per cent were in favour of the city raising taxes to offset the losses. In terms of budget priorities, 53 per cent favoured increasing the budget for snow and ice control by five to 15 per cent. Twenty-six per cent of respondents said
to leave the budget the same, while 21 per cent said to decrease it. A small majority of respondents (51 per cent) also called for similar increases to the city’s road and sidewalk maintenance, while 25 per cent said to leave it the same and 24 per cent suggested reducing spending. On the other side, 87 per cent said to cut spending on corporate services, 55 per cent to cut spending on public transit, 54 per cent urged cuts to economic development, 51 per cent wanted cuts to environmental management and climate action, and 51 per cent said to cut spending on bylaw enforcement. See SOME on page 4