With Monday's decision to keep open the Pine Valley Golf Course, city council struck another item off of the list of cost-saving or revenue-generating opportunities identified in the core services review process.
The narrow 5-4 vote to not sell off the par-3 course puts the idea in the round file, the same place as more than half of the 40 KPMG-identified recommendations.
The decision to keep Pine Valley makes for 22 opportunities that have come through the select committee on the core review, to the committee of the whole and then to council being being dismissed as not worthwhile or being already in place.
Whether the figures are an accurate reflection or not, the consultants estimated a potential maximum of $19.3 million to be realized from these ideas:
n Sell Pine Valley: A maximum of $17 million was thought to be available by developing the municipally owned golf course.
n Reducing the size of council: A potential $72,000 was identified from cutting two councillors from the chamber. Those who were not in favour of the idea argued there would be a larger workload for a smaller group to share as well as a reduction in the diversity of ideas around the table. Had the issue gone forward, a referendum on the idea would have been included in the 2014 municipal ballot.
n Outsourcing parking enforcement: A potential $150,000 was identified through calling on a group such as the Commissionaires to take over keeping an eye on parking offenders. Councillors against the idea cited philosophical reasons as well as a desire not to break agreements with the city's own employees.
n Reduce the level of snow and ice clearing at civic facilities to match those in the rest of the city: A potential $20,000 wasn't worth it for council who didn't want to take the risk of potential injuries and liability resulting from such an action.
n Establish a fee for putting extra garbage at the curb: The potential maximum of $460,000 seemed unrealistic, but council was a vote away from establishing a bylaw for a $3 per tag pilot program. A year-long trial run was sidelined after taking another look at potential employee injuries and staff overtime stemming from the practice.
n Charge a fee for removal of snow windrows across driveways: A half-million dollars in savings wasn't worth it for anyone to stop the practice of clearing the snow left behind after plows pass through the streets.
n Provide fleet maintenance for RCMP vehicles outside of the local jurisdiction, as well as for non-police vehicles such as ambulances: KPMG identified a possible $100,000, but council dismissed the idea after staff said it would be cost-prohibitive. According to fleet services manager Scott Bone, the department is already at capacity. Another idea to stop investing in green vehicles was also dismissed with the overall life cycle costs said to be cheaper.
n Reduce BC Transit costs by reducing service levels, adjusting routes, using smaller vehicles: A potential $700,000 was cast aside as Prince George ridership is increasing.
n Reduce the frequency of streetsweeping operations: A $13,000 saving by switching to bi-weekly summer sweeping downtown didn't fit with the city's air quality objectives.
There weren't any savings or revenues immediately identified from these ideas, but council decided not to explore them further:
n Start discussions with the B.C. government around meshing Prince George Fire Rescue dispatch with B.C. Ambulance Service dispatch: The consultants didn't identify any monetary value with the opportunity and council saw it as useless to follow up on. "Hell will freeze over before we succeed," said Coun. Dave Wilbur.
n Reduce hours of operation for local arenas: Offering less ice time to the community didn't seem like a useful way forward.
n Contract out grass-cutting for parks and boulevards: Only defeated by the narrowest of margins, a lack of a clear benefit and the desire to be able to control the way the work was done eventually won out.
n Collect revenue from banner advertising on transit: Dismissed as not having much potential.
n Create inclusion programs: If the city goes ahead with raising user rates for local sports fields and parks, KPMG suggested a $383,000 investment in creating a fund to subsidize those who couldn't afford the activities. Council decided they weren't interested in something that was going to add costs.
As Mayor Shari Green has stated previously, the core review exercise also highlighted and reinforced practice that were already in place. A handful of opportunities council considered were dismissed because of work already completed or in place:
n Restructure bylaw enforcement working hours: KPMG saw a potential $150,000 in reviewing when bylaw complaints come in and rescheduling officers accordingly. Public safety head Rob Whitwham said hours are already changed as required.
n Consider holding towed vehicles until fines are paid: A $100,000 idea, but a summer of 2012 bylaw was already in motion to speed up the impound process and the finance and audit committee was also looking at extra charges for impounded vehicles with unpaid parking tickets. According to Coun. Cameron Stolz, there's no provincial legislation in place that would allow a city to hold a car until fines are paid.
n Aggressively enforce on-street paid parking: KPMG saw another $10,000 in ticking and towing cars left on the road during snow clearing operations. Council saw the idea as a reinforcement of existing regulations and were more amenable to moving towards the education aspect as opposed to "aggressive" enforcement.
n Remove funding for steam train: The final report highlighted $25,000 in savings if the city stopped giving money to the operation of the Little Prince. That funding is now enshrined in the city's annual budget.
n Review fleet services usage: A $30,000 opportunity would look at the rate of usage for all city vehicles and equipment and ensure the right tool is used for the job. According to staff, this was done in the past few years, and identified six units that could be shared and five that could be removed from the fleet altogether.
n Reform Initiatives Prince George governance: A review of the economic development arm's governance policy was already underway and was finalized in March.
The remaining 18 are a mixture of items that council is awaiting further information on, in the form of staff reports, or can't be decided until a future date, such as the 2014 referendum on fluoridating the city's water.
