I am a P.G. citizen.I pay property taxes, a portion of which are targeted for snow removal from my front street, including clearing the front of my driveway.
On Saturday, Jan. 5, the city snow removal equipment arrived on my street to clear the snow that had been accumulating since Dec. 28. After the plows and loaders left, my driveway was still about 40 per cent blocked and I spent an hour clearing it with a shovel.I estimate if the loader operator had put an extra 30 seconds on the job, my back would not be as sore as it is today.
I realize that 30 seconds extra for every city household driveway adds up, and that means extra cost. On the other hand, my tax payment is essentially a contract with the city to perform a task.They simply did not hold up their end of the deal.This is a failure to effectively manage equipment and the workforce and/or to create a realistic budget structure.
Our city manager did her best to convince us that the exceptionally generous salaries granted to city management personnel were designed to "attract and retain the best talent." Why is the best available talent unable to get a handle on consistently ensuring our streets are passable?Is it possible the money required to provide better, quicker snow removal has been diverted into city management personnel paycheques? I would like to remind everyone that Prince George has never, ever had a winter without snow. Surely our highly talented city management should have a handle on how to deal with it by now.
Meanwhile, until the issue is solved, I propose a simple tax rebate program.Prince George citizens should be reimbursed the full cost of any Robaxacet type back pain type medications by submitting their receipts to city hall.The money can be sourced from the city management team salaries.
Ron Manning
Prince George
