More Prince George residents are in support of the city's proposed contract offer than are opposed to the wage increases proposed by its unionized staff, according to a survey conducted for the 2014 budget process.
The city contracted The Mustel Group to conduct a telephone survey between Nov. 6 and Nov. 11 as part of the budget consultation process.
In addition to asking about priorities and and preferred options for tax increases, respondents were also asked whether they supported the wage proposals made by the city and Canadian Union of Public Employees locals 1048 and 399.
According to the survey results presented at Wednesday's first budget meeting, 45 per cent of the 301 respondents were in favour of the city's proposal of no wage increases for the first two years of a three-year contract and a two per cent increase in the final year.
CUPE's proposal of a two per cent increase per year was met with 29 per cent support. Fifteen per cent of respondents were not in favour of either proposal and 12 per cent had no opinion or were undecided.
The B.C. Labour Relations Board is holding a vote on the city's last offer Thursday and Friday.
Survey participants were also asked for their opinion on whether the starting wage for a CUPE 399 entry level labourer wage was too high. The $26.84 hourly wage was thought to be too high by 44 per cent of respondents, while 46 per cent felt it was just right. Six per cent of respondents identified the wage as too low.
Coun. Brian Skakun expressed concern over the inclusion of the CUPE wages in the budget survey.
"I think, in my opinion, the survey has been used as a PR thing," he said. "I can appreciate we want to know what people think about our city workers, but I think the timing, in my opinion, is bad."
Coun. Frank Everitt, agreed that the city was taking a risk.
"When we have a survey, we isolate our employees who are a lot better off, in my mind, bargaining with our unions that we have here to reach an agreement rather than bargaining out in public."
CUPE 1048 president said she thought the questions were in poor taste.
"Last I heard, was you don't bargain in the media and you don't bargain with the city of Prince George residents - these are not questions that should be asked to the residents," Bigelow said. "This is something that's settled and talked about at the table with both parties, not with the whole city of Prince George."
Corporate services director Kathleen Soltis said the opportunity was ripe for asking these kinds of questions through the survey.
"Wages and benefits are about 40 per cent of our budget," she said. "So it certainly is an opportunity to find out what the community thinks about that."
The survey was initiated after complaints that online surveys residents completed weren't a statistically valid representation of public opinion.
"I'm pleased the survey has been done conducted in a different way," said Coun. Albert Koehler.
Road maintenance was cited as the most important issue facing Prince George and increasing wages for city workers the least. A quarter of respondents also indicated they were in favour of a tax increase of less than two per cent with some cuts to services. Twenty-six per cent said they could support a tax increase of up to three per cent with no cuts to services.
The survey was accurate 9.5 times out of 10, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5.8 per cent.
During the public comment section of the meeting, one person came forward to question the closing of the sani-dump at the Quinn Street transfer centre and to present a petition with more than 700 signatures asking for its reinstatement.
