CityWest comes back from its 'holiday', to help out with the house renovations

In recent weeks, Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond has taken to using the metaphor of House renovations to outline the scope of the work ahead on civic infrastructure, with the City chipping away at the many items on the to do list that have accumulated over a decade or more of inattention.

So it seems fitting to use that theme to reflect on some recent news on the reduction to the proposed tax hike; that through some cash to be provided by the City owned communication company CityWest.

The tale of CityWest's contribution to this years Taxation relief for the City of Prince Rupert gained a new chapter on Tuesday evening, that as City Manager outlined some background towards the one million dollars to be delivered by CityWest to the City over two years, that contribution directed towards some tax relief for residents.

"It is the same source of funding, what's different here is that  they have a two year holiday because  of heavy capital expenditures,  But in the light of our fiscal situation, they revisited that and they found a way to send over a sizeable sum outside of their financial plan -- Doctor Robert Buchan, City Manager

So in effect, to use Mayor Pond's homespun renovation angle, CityWest cut short its holiday plan, to put some cash towards the renovations for Mom and Dad's house, which is certainly generous. 

Though it does highlight a few things that should lead to some additional questions for whomever is designated to speak on CityWest's behalf.

Beyond the fact, that one million dollars over two years, is quite a bit less than the annual distribution payments to the City, (a 600,000 dollar savings for CityWest over two years compared to the last distribution payment of $800,000 from 2021) the revelation of a holiday from payments at all should be something up for discussion.

A CityWest cheque presentation from 2022 when the return
for civc investment was a little bit higher than this year

That holiday declaration does explain the  lack of the traditional Giant novelty cheque of December, but it's really something that city residents should have been notified about back when the distribution payment was due and the date on the calendar passed us by. 

City councillors who may be thankful for the money towards budget requirements should probably be asking questions about the larger focus of an investment that isn't really returning  to the City in the way it should be.

If the city's taxpayers have say, taken on some 'additional expenses around their capital needs', can they declare a holiday period as well towards their property taxes? 

If so, we hope that deferral option makes it to the annual tax bill due in July.

When it comes to CityWest, Council members are quite deferential to the Crown Jewel of what has become a growing stable of stand alone companies of Prince Rupert Incorporated, all of them featuring the same level of limited information delivery to their shareholders.  

The City's elected officials, when they bother to mention CityWest at all seem to accept whatever explanations are offered up on any topic, usually by noting of the volume of employment that the company provides to the community.

For the most part, Council seems content to represent the company back to the community, as opposed to the other way around, which is where the focus should be, that of a body of oversight of an investment. 

There hasn't been a public presentation to Council by CityWest officials in over a decade, the last expansive one coming in the summer of 2013, when Don Holkestad was the CEO and Jack Mussallem the Mayor.

That session one which saw the then CEO (Now a member of the Board of Directors) deliver a Fact vs Rumour tutorial about elements of the municipally owned communication company. Held in the pre expansion days for the company, it hailed a new project called Fibre to the Home, a rollout that has yet to fully make it to all areas of the city some ten years later.

Then, like today, CityWest was finding it challenging to deliver what were then called dividends to the City, with the Council of 2013 hearing that there would be no dividend to the community that year owing to some day to day challenges that then required a 'balancing act'.

Unlike the annual listings for the City of Prince Rupert. There is no SOFI declaration presented each summer by CityWest towards salaries, company expenses or the status of repayment to their sole shareholder.

So, considering it's been just under ten years now,  it would seem long overdue for some form of forum to explain where CityWest's new focus is and if it's ambitious blueprint of expansion far beyond Prince Rupert,  suits the more urgent needs of the City of Prince Rupert that has been supporting it over the decades. 

Residents and owners as we are, probably should be offered up some explanation towards the reduced expectations of distribution payments, loan repayments or whatever term will make for the new lexicon from City Hall for an investment that doesn't seem to deliver a reliable flow of revenue back to its owners.

More notes on Monday's Council Session can be reviewed here.

The background to the 2023 Budget can be found here.

While our past notes on CityWest themes can be explored here.