Canada City Borrows Nearly $1.8M for Fleet Replacements

The City of Prince George (Britsh Columbia, Canada) will borrow around $1.78 million from the B.C. Municipal Finance Authority, which will mostly be used for city fleet equipment replacements. The Prince George City Council approved the financing agreements at a meeting earlier this month.

According to city documents, the 15-year loan will be used to purchase $1.68 million in mobile equipment replacements, $41,000 in floor scrubber replacements, and a $51,000 new bylaw SUV.

“It’s something we have to do and we need a reliable city fleet to provide the services,” City Councillor Brian Skakun said in the meeting.

The city director of finances estimated the loan would increase the city’s annual debt servicing costs by $186,833 per year, according to The Prince George Citizen. The city used an alternative approval process to approve the financing. Under that process, Prince George voters who were opposed to the financing had until the end of March to submit a counter-petition to the city. In order to defeat the proposed financing, 10% of voters in the city would have had to vote in opposition. There were not enough votes, according to a report presented to the city council.

"We're all hearing in the news about potential changes to interest rates that are coming up in the time ahead, so getting this done now [is] timely," City Councillor Garth Frizzell said.