Anyone wanting to follow firsthand how the city budget gets built can start penciling the meetings in. They begin this week.
City budget meetings will run from Wednesday until Feb. 28, forming the basis for this year's annual city budget and the fiscal forecast from now until 2015.
"The 2011-2015 Financial Plan will be presented in service category order within each department and will provide an overview of missions, goals, performance indicators, relationship to myPG, and base budget," said city spokesman Mike Davis. "Each meeting will commence with a 15 minute opportunity for public input."
The Community Charter (provincial legislation) requires that all municipal councils adopt five-year financial and capital plans by bylaw before May 15 of each year.
Wednesday's meeting at City Hall runs from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., then a break, then a second session from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The first half will cover such topics as a budget overview, corporate management and social planning, and topics specific to mayor and council. The second half will touch on service agreements with the library and Initiatives Prince George, grants, and the full range of community services (arenas, pools, etc.).
Meeting two is Feb. 16, meeting three is Feb. 23 and meeting four is Feb. 28. For a full breakdown of each session's content, stay with The Citizen's ongoing coverage.
