Select Committee on Business co-chairperson Janine North and Mayor Shari Green dismissed union concerns about increased public-private partnerships on Monday.
On Friday the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) locals 1048 and 399 expressed concerns about the Prince George Select Committee on Business' report to city council last week. The union, which represents the city's employees, was concerned the report's recommendation to consider, "innovative procurement options," would result in increased privatization of public services.
North said public-private partnerships was not something discussed at the committee's meetings. Instead, the recommendation was around considering alternatives to the traditional tender process.
"Sometimes when projects come in with higher bids than [the city] thought ... [you have to] look at alternative organizations to make the project more manageable," North said.
Sometimes breaking down a large contract into smaller contracts would allow more competition and reduce the cost of projects, she said.
Green said introduction of public-private partnerships was not part of the conversation around at the committee.
"It's really just talking about things like the district energy system," she said.
An initial tender for the district energy system attracted bids which were substantially higher than the city's projected costs, Green said. Instead of hiring a single contractor to manage the project, the city broke the contract down into pieces and oversaw the project itself.
Green said she believed the committee's recommendation was to remain open to similar opportunities in the future.
