A Disney+ subscription's worth of new taxes
No skateboarding at the bus stop
Well, I was wrong! Council did indeed settle on a tax rate for the coming year and the additional cost per household will be about $14.50 a month or roughly the equivelent of a standard Disney+ or Netflix subscription. But instead of ad-free content you will be subscribing to:
four new RCMP members;
Five new fire department staff;
The preservation of the Little Prince in Lheidli T’enneh Park for at least one more year.
The budget for snow removal is also going up by $500,000 to keep up with costs but the city kind of confused me by saying in its release that the snow removal budget would be reduced by $500,000. What they meant was that there was a proposal to increase the budget by $1 million but council decided to only add half that — there won’t be an actual decrease to the funding. Also, year after year we’ve been told that basically the budget is weather dependent — there’s not going to be a scenario where they simply don’t clear the streets because the money isn’t there, that’s what reserves are for. Anyways, we’ll see what happens.
On the topic of the Little Prince, this is just a solution for this year. As previously noted, council has requested staff come up with different options for a long-term plan, which will be discussed in more detail at some future date.
You can read the city’s update on their budget heree, and more details on the debate around some of these items in the Citizen and My Prince George Now from reporters who were actually watching the whole thing, though it does seem like a primary theme was Kyle Sampson drawing attention to things the city is paying for that are part of the provincial jurisdiction.
Quick news:
2023 was the deadliest year yet in B.C.’s toxic drug crisis, and on a per capita, particularly so in the north.
Neil Godbout on Chuck Chin: “In every single photograph he ever posted, Chin was reminding all of us of who we are and who we can be when we come together… Let’s not let him down.”
And UNBC prof Greg Halseth on the way forward for Fraser Lake and other small forestry communities.
‘One Warm Thing Campaign’ kicks off in PG: “If you’re looking to give your gently used boots, gloves, or winter clothing a second life this is a great opportunity to do so.”
B.C. government considering outright ban on gas heating appliances by 2030.
PG Astronomical Society Observatory Public Open House tomorrow night.
New signage at the Pine Centre bus stop via u/esfandiyar2002:
Today’s song:
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Woah..... so, an all-electric heat province? In 6 years? Wheres that power coming from, didnt an article a few days ago talk about how the hydrogen plant was going to USE all the power, and it isnt even built yet?
Have the bigwigs never heard of a power outage before? Or remote islands? Or remote anything? They cant even give basic cell service to people and now they want to take their heat sources away?
As a quick reference point for folks who don't have time to watch the CKPG interview: the One Warm Thing campaign drop off spots are: Ritual Coffee, Open Door Cafe, Books & Co, Cycle Logic, and Timberline. They're going to Council of Seniors, Family Resource Centre, New Hope, and others. Running til mid to late Feb. (I've got a pair of boots kicking around and have been wondering the best way to get them to ppl in need, so this is great!) Thanks for highlighting this Andrew!!