“Frankly we are bleeding revenues right now,” City Council looks to amend budget

It appears the property tax levy in Prince George will be held in limbo; at least for the time being.

In a special Finance and Audit Committee meeting today (Monday) several amendments to this year’s budget were discussed to offset the city’s declining revenues due to the pandemic.

It was originally proposed the tax levy be decreased from 3.44 percent down to 2.22, however many councilors prefer that the number be lower.

“We want to drive that tax increase as close as we can to zero. From my perspective that was the biggest thing, ” said Councilor Brian Skakun.

Committee Chair Garth Frizzell explained staff will now look at a couple of scenarios for the levy increase.

“Frankly we are bleeding revenues right now,” he said.

“We still want to get the tax levy down at the same time. We didn’t get a final number today, but instead of 3.44 it will be below two and possibly below one, but we have to make sure the essential services are maintained during the crisis and after,” Frizell added.

That discussion will be at the next City Council meeting scheduled for Monday, April 27.

Subsequently, during the May 11 meeting, Council will be able to formally adopt any changes to the City budget and the tax levy, before the final budget deadline on May 15.

The City of Prince George says it is losing about $1.3 million a month.

$225,000 a month is being lost from the closure of the Treasure Cove Casino and another $580,000 from the closure of Civic facilities.

No off-street parking is costing PG $160,000 per month, and the City’s investments are anticipated to drop by approximately $100,000 a month.

On the other hand, this is alleviated by part-time workers not being scheduled for $165,000, cancellation of non-essential travel for $72,670, less fuel consumption for $100k, as well as a hiring freeze for $142,434 per month, bringing the monthly loss total down to $912,479.

The Committee also recommended the deferral of $25 million in capital projects.

This includes $8.5 million for upgrades to the Aquatics Centre, $1.8 million for upgrades to the 18th Avenue City Yards and $925,000 for improvements to the Heritage River Trail system.