City council approved a three per cent tax increase for 2022 on Wednesday night.
The approved tax increase came in below the potential 6.55 per cent the city was facing to maintain the status quo. Council approved a series of budget cuts to get the tax increase to 5.84 per cent, and then authorized using roughly $3.2 million from the provincial Safe Restart Fund the city received in 2020.
The budget was approved 8-1, with Coun. Kyle Sampson voting against the motion. Sampson said if council had approved the budget cuts he’d proposed in 2021 and this year, the tax levy would have been down to 2.77 per cent without using any Safe Restart funding. The city has $6.11 million of the Safe Restart funding available, as money authorized to reduce the tax increase to zero per cent last year didn’t need to be used.
“I respect the will of council,” Sampson said, prior to the final vote. “If it passes, I am certainly grateful it has come down from 6.55 per cent to three (per cent).”
In 2021, the city’s portion of property taxes on an average Prince George home – appraised at $341,075 in 2021 – was $2,270, according to a report to city council. The three per cent increase will see taxes on an average home in the city rise by roughly $68. Had council approved the 6.55 per cent tax increase, the average home would have seen a roughly $149 tax increase in 2022.
Keeping the tax increase down to three per cent will make a bigger difference for local business owners, Coun. Brian Skakun said.
Coun. Cori Ramsay estimated that using the Safe Restart funding to achieve a 3.8 per cent tax increase this year would offset the lost events and entertainment revenue which may return to post-COVID levels in 2023. That means that city council is simply putting off a 0.8 per cent tax increase to 2023, she said.
“It is still putting something forward to next year,” she said. “(But) I think we’re in a pretty safe position. We survived dealing with 2.7 (per cent being brought forward) from last year.”
After lengthy debate on Monday, city council approved the 2022 RCMP as presented, maintaining service levels at status quo from 2021. The City of Prince George is looking at a $2.4 million increase in its policing cost this year, due to a labour contract negotiated between the federal government and the RCMP union.
“We’re not happy with the way salary was negotiated,” Coun. Murry Krause said. “(But) if they received that much of an increase, they probably have been underpaid for years.”
Ramsay said she still wants answers about discrepancies in RCMP contract costs between Prince George and other B.C. municipalities.
“I would like us to dig a little deeper,” Ramsay said. “It is a $30 million contract – that is a lot of money.”
Ramsay brought forward a motion, asking for a report comparing the city’s policing costs to other municipalities. However, the motion was deferred to the Feb. 7 meeting of city council, when Prince George RCMP Supt. Shaun Wright would be back before city council.
City director of public safety Adam Davey said he spoke with Wright, and both the city administration and RCMP are in support of a more in-depth look at comparing Prince George’s policing contract to other municiaplities.
On Wednesday night, city council approved a net decrease of $807,000 to the 2022 budget.
Council approved a motion to trim $450,000 from the city’s road rehabilitation levy for 2022, to $5.5 million instead of the proposed $5.95 million.
City director of finance Kris Dalio said estimates done by the city in 2019 showed the city should be spending roughly $10 million per year to maintain the city’s road network.
Coun. Cori Ramsay opposed the move, saying she’d rather see money taken from the provincial Safe Restart Fund rather than reduce spending on the city’s street infrastructure. That money will likely need to be restored next year to maintain the city’s road network, she added.
In addition, the city cut $200,000 from the city’s snow removal budget.
“I think it is great way to look for savings in the budget,” Ramsay said.
Council also cut $82,000 from the city’s economic development budget.
“From my perspective, we can afford to do this right now. Eighty-two thousand is a small cut,” Coun. Brian Skakun said.
Coun. Garth Frizzell said he was initially hesitant to cut the city’s economic development functions, but “this is a reasonable amount.”
“This is backstopped by the Safe Restart Fund, if we need it later this year,” Frizzell added.
A further $150,000 was cut from the city’s human resources department.
City council approved two small service enhancements – one-time funding of $60,000 for the fire department to hire a consultant to do some long-term strategic planning and a $15,000 increase to the annual funding for the Prince George Ice Oval Society.
With the city budget approved, city staff will prepare a tax rate bylaw to set the property tax rates for the different property classes later this year.
“It’s not zero, but it meets the needs of a lot of people on fixed income,” Krause said.
