What is needed is levelheaded clear governance and leadership, that of which we are not getting from Prince George city hall.
Delegated authority is not working when we have issues like 4500 Ospika Blvd. What was sold to council and the public was on the outside a great idea for a student housing project that would service not only UNBC but CNC students. Then it all started to change once the land was cleared and word was going around that the land was not listed publicly for sale as it should have been.
Covenants are safeguards to ensure a project is living up to its claims. They are placed there for reasons to protect not only the public, but the city as a whole.
We have seen where delegated authority has been abused and misused in the past. Maybe we have been making a critical error in who we are granting this authority to. We all hear the phrase transparency time and again, but when it comes to some aspects of city operations, transparency is the last thing you will ever see. Councillors are the voice of the people of the City of Prince George, they are the public watchdogs, to ensure we are moving is a good direction. If they are not kept up to speed and able to be asked for opinions and decisions, why do we have them?
Given the errors of the past and the numerous times the city has been before the courts, it’s high time that our civic leaders take control of our city. The job isn’t all about photo ops, ribbon cuttings, being at social functions, hob knobbing the public and other government officials. Maybe we need a hard reset and re-evaluate how our city administration is operating and who’s really in charge of the city.
Too many patronage positions have been granted within the city and folks who shouldn’t be handling files are doing a great job at getting us into court time and again for one reason or another. From the rock quarry issue to the encampment bulldozing, clearly someone is taking liberties they shouldn’t be and when the public is made aware of it, it’s an outrage time and again.
This seems to happen every time someone who’s not qualified to make decisions is granted the power to do just that, and we as taxpayers are left holding the bill.
John Zukowski
Prince George
