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| City of PR CFO Corinne Bomben |
With COVID-19 once again lurking the background as one key factor towards revenues from the last year, how the city plans to navigate their financials for the year ahead and whether Prince Rupert residents will be asked to dig a bit to help out, could be one of the themes for the night ahead.
If she follows past precedents, tonight's presentation will provide a review of the services offered by the City of Prince Rupert, challenges facing the city, Budget requirements for the year ahead and how those requirements may impact on the city's taxpayers.
Last year despite some strong impacts of the coronavirus, the city announced that it was still on track for a balanced budget by years end, tonight the CFO may outline just what measures may be required to ensure for the required balanced budget status for 2021.
The 2020 version of the budget relied a bit on financial contributions from the City's Legacy fund and revenues from Watson Island that may be a resource that the CFO taps this evening as she charts the path ahead towards finalizing the financial plans for the year ahead.
Last year, Council was pleased to receive word that there would be no increase to the residential mill rates for 2020, residents of the city will be waiting for word if that history will repeat itself, or if the need to increase the rates will required as the city looks to introduce new measures and continue with its vision planning into the future.
With the City still operating with COVID measures in place, residents may also learn how any consultation process will move forward.
As it currently is, there is no allowance for public attendance at City Council sessions, which in the past has allowed for the public to comment on the budget process.
And to this point, City Council has still not been able to work out how they would like to move forward with community engagement options during this unusual period for municipal governments coping with the pandemic.
It's indicated on the City's Agenda for tonight, that Ms. Bomben's Budget planning notes and additional information, will be added to the Agenda Package following the 7PM session.
For more notes related to this evenings City Council session see our Council Preview here.
As the 2021 Budget Process moves forward, the notes we accumulate along the way will be archived here.
A wider overview of past Council Discussion themes is available here.
Council members are able to ask questions. Some councilors will ask questions on behalf of the citizens. If the budget proposal is not on the agenda I have lost my chance of getting a bit of an answer. The city is not doing things the way they are supposed to work.
ReplyDeleteBased on what I could find, CoPR 2020 residential rate was $9.21/$1000 of taxable value. (CoT 2020 residential rate was $5.62/$1000 of taxable value) apples to oranges from what we've been told.......
ReplyDeleteHere is my laundry list of budget related questions,
Landfill operation & Residential waste pick up questions;
1) Will residents see a zero percent increase to implement proposed curb side recycling programs?
2) Could you explain why operating the landfill as a municipality versus a regional district is good value value for taxpaying
residents of CoPR?
Water utility – provision and network maintenance questions
1) Why has our dam project taken longer to build than the Hoover Dam?
2) Can you provide a full timeline of this project up until completion in 2023 so taxpayers can hold city leadership accountable?
Protective Services – policing and fire response
1) When can we expect our new RCMP detachment? Month and year please.
Recreation – building and field management
1) How under budget was CoPR on recreation due to closures, and how does that translate into taxpayer value/savings?
Parks and Roads – maintenance of and repaving projects
1) How under budget was CoPR on park maintenance due to closures, and how does that translate into taxpayer value/savings?
Airport Access – ferry infrastructure operation
1) How under budget was CoPR on airport related costs due to closures, and how does that translate into taxpayer value/savings?
(granted revenues were reduced, but how quickly did CoPR Finance adjust)
Transit – rider sales and cost sharing
1) Has Sunday transit service been discussed, if so what would be the cost impact to CoPR residents?
BC Assessment Authority Tax Rate
1) Are there any planned provincial changes that would reduce this rate?
School Levy -
1) What is its purpose? This is not a line item in other communities tax rates for a school levy.
Old Port Tax Cap versus New Port Tax Cap
1) Explain the difference between the two
2) How is it applied to current and future port infrastructure?
3) How close is the CoPR tax rate to the provincial ports property tax cap?
all of these are great questions that all taxpayers should care about - you are obviously a person able to do good research. So why have you posted them to an anonymous blogspot instead of submitting them to the city? I'd like answers here too not just griping into the abyss. can I copy/paste these and send to the finance dept?
ReplyDeleteI appreciate this site and the discussions on it. I feel it is generating momentum in its coverage of municipal issues versus other media sources.
DeleteFeel free to forward the above to the city hall email bucket for feedback.