The city's finance and audit committee has let slide a plan to conduct a review in 2010 of Initiatives Prince George (IPG) and how the city's economic development services are delivered.
The finance and audit committee, which includes Mayor Dan Rogers and councillors Cameron Stolz and Garth Frizzell, decided unanimously nine months ago to put the review on the committee's 2010 work plan.
The idea was to have the review finished before Initiatives Prince George's three-year service contract elapsed at the end of the year. IPG is requesting $1.024 million from the city for 2011 annual funding, the same amount allotted in 2010.
With just weeks left in 2010, that's not likely to happen.
Initially the finance and audit committee hoped to hammer out the scope and scale of the review, including whether to use an outside consultant, put their recommendation before council and see a review undertaken in the fall.
However, the committee is still working on the scope and design.
Councillor Murry Krause, chair of the finance and audit committee, acknowledged the review may have slipped by in a busy year.
"We're going to put a little bit of a fire under it," he said.
Krause said he would like to see the review well under way first thing in the new year.
Krause stressed it was not sparked by dissatisfaction with services IPG is providing, but rather that it is timely and prudent - a matter of due diligence.
Stolz, a member of the finance and audit committee, maintains there is still time even though IPG's three-year service contract is ending this month.
City council decided last week during its regular Monday council meeting to send the three-year service agreement, which is up for renewal, to the finance and audit committee. The committee will bring back its recommendations to city council.
Stolz said the service contract won't receive final approval until the 2011 budget is approved at the end of February, giving time for the city to undertake a simultaneous review laid out in the work plan last March.
City council also decided last week to approve in-principle IPG's three-year strategic plan.
IPG's strategic plan has five key thrusts, including providing strategic leadership, partnerships and marketing.
Also on the list is downtown development. Other priorities are connecting the city to the world and promoting a resource-based and knowledge-based economy.
In its strategic plan, IPG says it will spend 20 per cent of the requested $1.024 million funding on downtown development, a key priority of city council.
A senior staff member of IPG in co-ordination with a senior staffer from the city is responsible for implementing recommendations from the mayor's task force on improving the downtown.
In voting in favour of accepting IPG's strategic plan in principle last week, Coun. Shari Green said she liked the plan because it was more focused and because downtown development was the No. 2 priority.
Rogers, who also voted in favour of accepting the strategic plan in principle, expressed some concern that the city was paying for economic development activity that had a regional perspective.
Among IPG's action items in its new three-year strategic plan are fostering the growth of Canada's Northern Pacific Gateway, including the expansion of the Port of Prince Rupert. Provincial and federal governments, and business interests hope the transportation corridor, which includes a CN container-handling facility in Prince George and the Prince George Airport, will bring economic benefits to the region.
IPG president and CEO Tim McEwan said the economy that impacts Prince George radiates beyond its borders.
"As goes the North, so goes Prince George," said McEwan.
