Does anyone have any insight into why the SQRD is now looking to hire a “Deputy Chief Administrative Officer - Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District” reportign to the Chief Administrative Officer? This seems more than a bit odd given Jack’s recent pronounchements on how tight the city’s budget is.
I can’t recall there being an assistant admin there for a long time and are far as I know the SQRD doesn’t seem to be expanding it’s role…
they must have bought too many chairs for table . much easier to hire someone else instead of getting rid of the chair. 
LOL, jeez there must be an oil well under that Regional District Building, if they think that more staff is the answer to the regions problems.
Of course, with the Mayor trying to sell the building out from under them I guess there probably isn’t any oil there, hope the new hire (if it ever comes to pass) likes to work out of the home, since they may not be in their present location for long…
I’ve sent the following Note to our Mayor and Council and hopefully we will receive the rationale for this anticipated hire;
G’day Mayor and Council
I read with some interest the recent newspaper article on the city’s financial woes and it seems obvious that more than the sale of a few surplus lower value properties may be required to deal with the infrastructure backlog.
While not in the same million dollar category, I was somewhat surprised to see the SQCRD is advertising to hire another senior admin position presumably with a good salary. civicinfo.bc.ca/161.asp?jobpostingId=9163 . Given I’m unaware of any increased volumes or new initiatives at the SQCRD and the city is on the hook for a goodly portion of the SCQRD, would you enlighten me as to why this new position of a Deputy Chief Administrative Officer is being created ? As far as I’m aware the district has operated for at least eight years without the necessity of this type of position. With the current economic climate, this seems on the face of things to be a bit of a luxury.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to your reply.
Hope you get a reply, complete with a bit of background on why this position is needed.
What is it that Regional District does anyways? Near as I can tell it’s just yet another layer of bureaucracy that seems to take on a life of its own from time to time.
It’s interesting that at the same time they advertise for a new bureaucrat for RD, the Mayor has floated the idea of reducing the rolling stock of the Fire Department, selling the only fire engine with a ladder on it that can elevate to some of the taller buildings in town.
It’s all about the priorities I guess.
should sell off the regional district 
. the lot the recycle depot is on is worth lots. selling the ladder truck is a rediculous idea. why not sell the house on 3rd that the guy died in first off and knock down all the other derelict buildings .you think tourists want to see all the run down buildings ? clean up the downtown by getting building owners to paint or spruce up where needed. jack moustache needs to figure out priorites.
First, the regional district regional service role is one that is often misunderstood. The Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District is not a department of the City of Prince Rupert. In fact it is only one of many communities represented within the regional district. Our city appoints a member, usually the mayor, while others are elected. Our regional district, like others, was created to provide a political forum for all residents and communities within its mandated area (Masset, Queen Charlotte City, Oona River, Dodge Cove…,and Prince Rupert) More practically, it provides a vehicle for the delivery of typical region-wide services like economic development, archives, community planning, fire department services for small communities, waste management, recycling services or any number of issues that are regional in scope.
If you want to learn more check out the following link.
cd.gov.bc.ca/lgd/gov_structu … _in_BC.pdf
Well it’s doing a bang up job on the ole economic development front then… 
Up to their old tricks again… how many remember the BIG fight over the R.D. wanting to buy the old C.B.C./now Pizza Hut building…R.D.is an unaccountable body set up to deflect away from the province and local government.
[quote=“saltybear”]
Up to their old tricks again… how many remember the BIG fight over the R.D. wanting to buy the old C.B.C./now Pizza Hut building…R.D.is an unaccountable body set up to deflect away from the province and local government. [/quote]
I remember them realizing that they are paying high rent when they could be paying into their own equity - same reason so many other people buy vs. rent.
I also remember that it was a “BIG fight” because the City owned (still owns?) the building that they currently use - so the City’s vote to not move may have presented a conflict of interest (i.e. they would be losing a renter).
As for “RD is an unaccountable body” - do you actually know how RDs are set up? Perhaps you ought to take a closer look at the link provided by NorthCoast.
[quote=“NorthCoast”]
First, the regional district regional service role is one that is often misunderstood. The Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District is not a department of the City of Prince Rupert. [/quote]
Exactly, for residents of Prince Rupert, they need to approach the Prince Rupert representatives on the SQCRD when they have questions or concerns. Council has currently appointed Mayor Mussallem and Councillor Kinney to be Council’s, representatives. I seem to recall Councillor Garon is the backup rep.
At the end of the day, Rupert has two of ten votes corporate votes on the board and I’ve registered my concern on the additional position with my representatives.
Both Mayor Mussalem and Councillor Ashley were prompt and quite straightforward in their responses which was refreshing to say the least.
I don’t know, it has always seemed like just an unecessary level of government to me. It’s more useful in large urban areas where the decisions probably affect most of the communities due to proximity.
Most of the decisions for funding that they seek out could most likely be handled through the provincial government without this layer of bureaucracy, in an era of declining revenues and a need for belt tightening I would think that this form of governance could be exorcised.
Allowing the elected councils of the region to seek out whatever funds and entitlements that the RD currently works on.
From some of the comments made here,it would seem most do not understand the workings of regional districts.The city of Prince Rupert is by far the largest financial contributor to the SQRD and as such has weighted voting on monetary matters.The RD wanted to spend over half a million dollars of money(which they did not have)to buy the building and then how much to reno?The city charges the RD rent but is paying 3/4 of it because of the funding formula.
I agree,the RD is a waste of money and we already have elected reps to voice our concerns to,both provincial and municipal.Take a look at what they actually do.
Does anyone have an update on this?All has gone quiet.People I have talked to are NOT in favour of hiring for any new positions as we in P.R. pay the lions share of the districts budget.
[quote=“ThePodunkian”]
I don’t know, it has always seemed like just an unecessary level of government to me. It’s more useful in large urban areas where the decisions probably affect most of the communities due to proximity. [/quote]
Without the RDs - how would the many UNincorporated communities get representation and services? I would argue that RDs are more useful to those smaller communities that don’t already have a mayor and council.
If you take a look at what our regional district actually does - I don’t think it does anything DISTRICT-WIDE - yet spends a relatively large amount for 10 directors to get together once a month - for the directors from the QCIs and the other areas outside PR this involves much travel, overnight stays, meals, etc - all so they can have a one hour meeting and decide virtually nothing of any importance. And for their efforts, some of the directors are collecting in the neighbourhood of $10,000 a year, and I think the chair is getting even more. Huge waste of tax dollars. The biggest thing the SQCRD does is operate the garbage system on the QCIs. And it’s not efficient to operate it from PR… There is no reason for these areas to be together in a regional district. The QCIs should have their own RD - and the city of PR could easily take over anything the RD now does for PR like the recycling centre and archives.
[quote=“kittie”]
The biggest thing the SQCRD does is operate the garbage system on the QCIs. And it’s not efficient to operate it from PR… There is no reason for these areas to be together in a regional district. The QCIs should have their own RD - and the city of PR could easily take over anything the RD now does for PR like the recycling centre and archives. [/quote]
If this recommendation were followed - who would provide utilities to Oona River and Dodge Cove?
Kittie - have you ever actually attended an RD meeting?
The major problem that our RD has (IMHO) is that they seem to have a hard time actually thinking ‘regionally’ - with the larger (incorporated) communities having more than their fair share of influence.
I see the RD as actually MORE useful than municipalities - as they have authority to apply for and run projects on a regional level. We need regional thinking to address the critical infrastructure gaps across ALL SQCRD communities.
Yes, I have actually attended a regional district meeting. More than one.
Perhaps Oona River and Dodge Cove could stay in a Prince Rupert-area RD.
Another weakness of the RD as currently configured - where is the First Nations representation? A couple of the communities have huge FN populations - yet usually represented by a non-FN person.
enough of the first nation representation . just live life and enjoy and try to prosper like everyone else.
take offence to this if you want but just live and grow with the rest of us.
[quote=“kittie”]
Perhaps Oona River and Dodge Cove could stay in a Prince Rupert-area RD. [/quote]
I think you may find more than a little resistance to that idea from the outlying communities. Not to mention the fact that PR can’t support itself - never mind communities that are not connected by road.
[quote=“kittie”]
Another weakness of the RD as currently configured - where is the First Nations representation? A couple of the communities have huge FN populations - yet usually represented by a non-FN person. [/quote]
I certainly agree that it would be wonderful to see more First Nations people get involved in municipal and regional politics. First Nations living off reserve could, possibly, be better represented that way.
However, First Nations people living on reserve have their own “mayor and council” (elected band council) who are suppose to ensure on-reserve needs are met – and they have Federal dollars to use.