Last Friday hundreds of Prince George residents braved the weather and honoured those who fought and died for freedom and democracy. This Saturday we have another opportunity to honour them, by voting.
A number of hot issues have emerged in this election and many people have shown that they feel very strongly about the ones that affect them directly. This really serves to illustrate the difficult job our local elected officials have trying to meet the various demands put on them with the limited resources available.
But some people are suggesting that our city council is dysfunctional and lacks leadership and that our city hall is nothing more than a bureaucratic impediment to business and development. Plus we're hearing a lot about fiscal restraint and sustainability.
I'm not buying any of this. I think our mayor and council have all worked very hard and done their jobs to the best of their abilities, sometimes under difficult circumstances. They deserve a lot of credit rather than criticism.
There's lots of new construction around town, there are new jobs, the roads have improved and our air quality is better.
It seems to me that calls by the business community for 'stream lining' city hall or making it more 'business friendly' inevitably turn out to be efforts to reduce checks and balances in the system or lower, defer or shift taxes.
As for fiscal restraint, we know that we can't keep borrowing and spending and expect to keep our tax and service fees low, not without expanding the tax base.
We have two vacancies on council this year and we are fortunate to have a variety of good candidates. One vacancy is the result of Don Bassermann leaving after many years of distinguished service. The other occurs because one councilor seems to take the view that council isn't working well, lacks leadership and is fiscally irresponsible and that city hall is a not business friendly.
t's disingenuous, however, for a candidate to vote in favour of spending increases, whether it's a downtown revitalization project, a new hockey arena or a pay increase for themselves, along with tax and service fee increases and then turn around later and champion fiscal responsibility.
I think the incumbents all deserve our thanks and our support. But above all, I encourage everyone to get out and vote!
Roy Olsen
Prince George
