Finding Solutions with a Can-do attitude to Build a Thriving City.
Business and our natural resource and secondary manufacturing sector
Trudy’s top priority is taking leadership in encouraging businesses to remain, start up and expand here in Prince George.
We have immense opportunities in our natural resource and secondary manufacturing sectors, but we have suffered from a lack of courage and vision.
Trudy will champion these causes in our city and in our region so that we become a destination for opportunity.
Every Councillor has one vote. Trudy’s vote will reflect this top priority and the following platform planks. Click on links for videos:
Downtown:
Let’s not keep repeating what’s not working.
It’s time to take responsibility to improving the situation downtown.
There are four general groups that need solutions:
The unhoused-continually re-traumatised and vulnerable, harmed by current bylaws
The business owner, faced with, for example: $50,000 taxes, $30,000 new fencing to protect property, $70,000 cleanup bill for vandalized spilled fuel
The shopper, customers who want to enjoy our downtown (and support the businesses)
Everyone is a taxpayer, and City Hall is accountable for wise spending of resources
My job as Councillor is to find solutions in everyone’s best interest
My plan:
Consult with the experts-the unhoused and their advocates/stakeholders, First Nations, CNC and UNBC.
Develop an evidence-based plan to improve the downtown for all four groups to implement short term (3-6 months??)
Establish a way to measure progress
Implement the plan
Report back weekly to Mayor and City Manager and monthly to Council
If there is no measurable success after 3 or 6 months, then we try something else.
A thriving city takes care of it’s vulnerable, keeps crime under control, and has a downtown that everyone can enjoy.
Small and Medium Sized Business and Industry
Let’s build a responsive and efficient city hall to build a thriving city.
SME (Small and Medium Sized Enterprise) owners are more vulnerable to inefficiencies at City Hall. A thriving city has a quick response time and a service-minded and “Can-do" attitude at City Hall.
We need to be an attractive place for the natural resource industry to operate as they provide opportunities for our SMEs. Welcoming them will provide opportunities for everyone.
City Projects
Every taxpayer dollar that comes out of your pocket must be responsibly spent. When project after project comes in over-budget, something is wrong.
As a former business owner, Trudy will make sure that project management is held to the same standard every good business owner abides by to avoid the cost over-runs.
Community-led senior, arts, accessibility, recreation, and sports groups are vital to a thriving city, and deserve thoughtful and responsible support from City Hall.
Budgeting
Just like families and SMEs, the City has to live within it’s means by prioritizing the basics and keeping taxes low.
Council needs more than two meetings to discuss the budget.
Senior management should not have their salary increases tied to the wages they negotiate for unionised staff. This is a massive conflict of interest.
The too-frequent use of the Alternative Approval Process to purchase shows a lack of planning.
A thriving city plans carefully and transparently, and is accountable to spend and manage wisely.
Homes
Students, families and seniors all need homes, but the slow approval process to build homes has resulted in the city falling further and further behind what we need over the last five years.
A thriving city has the homes we need to attract and keep our residents.
City Hall needs to develop a reputation of having a service attitude, a “Can-do.”
See the housing needs study here:
Liveability
The City of Prince George is surrounded by beauty and filled with innovative and active people.
Let’s not try to create a cookie-cutter city, let’s use what we have to build upon our natural features like the rivers, cutbanks, and hills.
Let’s build upon what people are already doing to build a reputation as a thriving city with an active, engaged, and enabled population.
City connecting and traversing trails, sewer and water lines that we don’t notice, safe parks, sidewalks for kids to walk to school safely, Pidherny rec Site, developing the river-front, a walkable downtown, better transit, health care, family doctors, etc, are all things we should be working toward and improving.
Every vote at Council should reflect the goal of building a thriving city that builds upon our natural beauty and and our wonderful people.
Pidherny and Groups Like It Need Help, not Barriers
$28 Million Fortis Gas Windfall
A windfall provides opportunity to do great things, but can also result in white elephants.
It will take careful planning and working with the various groups involved to use these funds to increase our City’s liveability in a sustainable way.
To build a thriving city we have to have the good management and facilities that attract the people who can help us toward that goal.
Accountability
Government is meant to serve.
Good government gets really good at serving.
Good government is willing to prune what is not producing to produce good fruit.
A vote for Trudy is a vote for accountability
Seniors
Seniors deserve our care and attention. They need appropriate housing that allows them to stay active and included.
A supporter gave me one idea that would work really well: