The City of Prince Rupert’s budget has had a bit of a reprieve.
Whoopie! Pay raises all around!
Did somebody say land tax cuts?
I guess someone can hire another family member. Whats 100k these days.
Oh no Jesus, did not see council meeting last night? The golf course is looking to the city to pay the supervisor $90,000 to run the place. Does not include Moe’s pro shop. So the money will be available.
oops on another note, how about collecting the land taxes that are due from Chances? (Just a suggestion before it runs up too high, people lose their homes if they do not pay taxes, why some are given a grace period?)
[quote=“TheNorthernView”]The City of Prince Rupert’s budget has had a bit of a reprieve.
bclocalnews.com/bc_north/the … 67394.html[/quote]
In the an earlier article (Sept 22/23) Northern View quoted the Port as follows: “Part of our due diligence process will be completing a business opportunities analysis of the site to determine what development utility the property holds for near term and long term project development …” Translation: the Port will offer what they think Watson Island is worth from a commercial perspective.
That would be fundamentally different from the approach the city took when it advertised the property about a year ago.
Little insight has been offered into the city leadership’s thinking, but it seems clear that the $13 million upset price reflects the Mayor’s theory about “lost” tax revenue: “We have lost over 30 million in the last 10 years out there” (Town Called Podunk archives, Jan 26, 2010). That figure resurfaced in the Oct 25 video that went viral. Where those millions went to, or how money that is no longer being generated can be “lost” is not explained.
The point is that the $13 million price tag didn’t seem to reflect any assessment of market value. It might as well have been pulled out of a hat. The Port, in contrast, appears to be looking for a number that is commercially realistic; that reflects the “development utility” of the property. I doubt that the Port will be concerned about the city’s original expectation that a purchaser should pay at least $13 million.
As for the maintenance costs, Northern View’s reference to a “reprieve” seems apt. The costs have not gone away; they are more likely to have been deferred. When the Port eventually makes an offer for Watson Island, I would not be surprised if their number also takes into account what they spent on maintenance while studying the matter.
Also it will be interesting to see what the actual cost for legal bills at the expense of the taxpayers (who have very little say about their best interest of this economic situation, all the expenses).
It would also be interesting to know if the city has made further progress towards resolving outstanding legal issues with Sunwave through mediation, or whether the city will be having to appear in court. The Mayor hinted that progress was being made almost four months ago but no further information has been forthcoming (see atowncalledpodunk.blogspot.com/2 … atson.html for background).
I have heard that council is not only looking at next year’s budget but Gord Howie’s contract. The question is, should his contract be renewed? Not that Council really listens to the citizens, my vote if it matters, is NO!
The pay level of City administrators is too high - given the number of citizens. Just like the Chiefs, the remuneration should sensible.