Tonight's City Council session Agenda will open with a motion to request the Mayor forward a letter to the Province seeking additional financial support towards the city's needs on infrastructure.
Text to the motion as follows:
"That Council authorize the Mayor to send a letter to the Premier and Cabinet members requesting immediate action on providing funding and new/restored revenues to enable the City of Prince Rupert to respond to our critical infrastructure renewals as soon as possible."The call for the mayor's correspondence coming in the final days for the current administration with Mayor Lee Brain to step down from his post following the October 15th election of a new Mayor.
Something which would seem to suggest a second letter from the next Mayor may be required to ensure some continuity to the theme, or a at least a "ditto" to tonight's plans for the correspondence.
The focus on the need for more money comes following a month of public engagement towards a petition on the Port Tax Cap, the #ScrapthePortTaxCap narrative making for a significant amount of the attention for the current election campaign.
That campaign featured a one day blitz for signatures on Sunday, though as of 1PM today neither Mayor Lee Brain who has become the most vocal advocate for the petition, or the petition organizers themselves have yet to note of the participation rate in the door to door campaign.
The letter if approved by Council tonight, will be dispatched as the British Columbia Legislature resumes its business, with today the first day of the fall session.
That could offer MLA Jennifer Rice opportunity to perhaps share some thoughts on the discussion themes percolating in the community of late; or to take the concerns of the municipal leaders and at least some of her constituents to the Legislature.
More on today's Council session can be reviewed from our preview here.
A look at the evolution of the #ScrapthePorttTaxCap issue can be reviewed through our City Hall Financial archive page here.
There's really not much scope or even opportunity for MLAs to comment in the Legislature on Facebook comments, coffee shop chatter, Prince Rumour, and other percolating themes in the community. How does one slip something like that into Question Period or statement within the scope of Ms Rice's executive and committee responsibilities? She is far more likely to reserve comments in any venue at least until the Premier and relevant ministers to whom the letter will be written consider its contents, which based on the wording of the resolution may be rather sketchy in the way of details to respond to.
ReplyDeleteThe council's eleventh hour initiative as the clock ticks down may be more about percolating perceptions that the incumbents standing for re-election have been a bit less than proactive or impressive in the advocacy department. The letter is unlikely to herald the Great Unleashing of heavy duty negotiations with the Province. The government is more likely to say send in your applications and supporting technical reports within the parameters of existing funding programs like every other municipality.