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Prince Rupert Regional Information Site

April 13th

Long, boring Council meeting

Bottom line: you’ll pay > taxes and fees --- with emphasis on shifting burden to poorer segments society

Note the Fan --- to measure energy – but we’ll increase Bus fares so more can walk

 Increased user fees: Cemetery, Airport Ferry, City Transit fares, plus cuts at Civic Center

 

‘We’ll do less with less’

 

The worst part of the budget presentation was that nothing included from last year – which makes it harder to criticise/ understand ---

 

Budget --- I found the paper work opaque

And the ‘discussion’ was mind numbing --- after 2 hours ‘they’ voted as I had predicted at beginning of meeting – Thorkelson, Ashley and Kinney siding with home owners and Business clique siding with their interests --- so 4 to 3 for putting increased taxes on homeowners – using some pretty dubious rationales’

 

Here is from last years budget

Hey about 50% of it uses same words etc

 

Quick comparison

Here I have pasted 2009 Budget onto this years

 

Over all it does what was promised – minimal increases etc 

 

I will work this up later in week

 

The significance of this escaped me

Nice new drafting software gives pretty pictures – signifying?

 

A little Humor in a long boring meeting

Councillor Ashley spotted the spelling error immediately – ‘it must be the teacher in me’

 

In the background lurks Ridley and Watson

Councillor Thorkelson – always the optimist --- would like to think City might sell Ridley by this summer – thus saving Civic Center from being closed in 4 weeks of August etc --- the ‘good’ news is that present budget squeeze not being caused by Ridley as this $$ presumably coming from other funds and not the current operating funds etc

More later

 

 

Gordon Payne left the council chambers when this Development Permit being discussed

Because of its price tag had to be brought to Council according to Planner – more later

Created by LG on Feb 1, 2006

Last updated on Tuesday, April 13, 2010