The structure of Prince George city departments has undergone a major overhaul as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact its budget.
A lot of changes have been made to city hall and the 18th Avenue Yard as departments have been amalgamated and eliminated, consequently resulting in the loss of many senior staff positions.
Information regarding the department changes was sent in a memo to staff by Acting City Manager Walter Babicz, which was obtained and reported by CKPG News.
The city has confirmed it's changed the following departments:
- Transportation and Technical Services is being moved to the Public Works Department
- Asset Management and the Infrastructure Planning and Engineering Divisions are being transferred to the recently renamed Planning, Development & Infrastructure Services department
- There are staff reductions in Environmental Services, which is being transferred to the Utilities and Development Services
- Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships is moving over to the Planning, Development and Infrastructure department
- The transfer of Bylaw Services from Planning and Development to Community Services and Public Safety
These changes have resulted in the departure of Director of Public Works Gina Layte-Liston, Director of Infrastructure Services Adam Holmes, Manager of Environmental Services Barbara Oke and Deputy Fire Chief Paul Knudsgaard.
Earlier in the year, the city also saw the departure of CN Centre Manager Glen Mikkelsen and Civic Centre Manager Myles Tycholis, and more recently City Manager Kathleen Soltis.
“We are looking at facing unprecedented financial challenges and financial gaps as a result of the pandemic,” said Mayor Lyn Hall in an interview with PrinceGeorgeMatters.
“It has impacted our revenue stream in many areas and that has had a real financial hit on the city. When we took a look at over the last number of months how we could reduce the gap and streamline our efficiencies, that resulted in the moves that were made last week.”
Hall says the primary focus of administration, when they made these amalgamations, was that they didn’t impact service levels and that the city was able to continue with the services it already provides.
“When we realigned those various departments, many of the departments were brought into one overall department,” adds Hall.
The city is currently facing a budget shortfall somewhere between $7 million and $8 million as the city heads into 2021 budget deliberations in the new year.
“We are going to see significant challenges in 2021 and in 2022 as a result of the pandemic,” says Hall.
“We have had to react and change our operations and move to realign ourselves with the impact of the pandemic, sometimes on an hourly basis, and I don’t see much of that changing for the next few months.”
Hall says the city will have to make major decisions when budget deliberations begin on Jan. 25 and Jan. 27 as to how the city can bridge the budget gap with its current lack of revenue sources.
“Not to paint a dire picture, but I think it’s important for the public to know that this particular budget cycle that we are going to be dealing with, our 2021 budget, is going to be one of the most important ones the city has had to deal with for many, many years.”
Mayor Hall is thanking the more than 1,000 people who participated in this year’s Citizen Budget Survey, which was specific to service levels and allocation of budget dollars.
