The thought of an alternate financial reality that exists only for our current city councillors crossed my mind at the UFV all-candidates meeting.

First it was one current councillor telling me I did not need to spend any money on filing Freedom of Information requests to find out what the actual costs of Plan A are. I could save my money because he could tell me the total cost for Plan A and that was $85 million. City Hall has already admitted to additional costs of $23 million for Plan A. Information leaking out of City Hall indicates that the costs have soared beyond the admitted to cost over budget.

Sorry, I still want to know the actual monies spent on Plan A since clearly, by the city’s own admission, the costs exceed $85 million. What does it say about the openness and veracity of financial claims by councillors that one is still sticking to the original $85 million claimed cost – even when we know it is at a minimum $23 million higher and have realistic reasons to believe it is higher than that?

Just as an aside: what does it say that citizen’s best hope for accurate and timely financial information is leaks and rumours?

Then there was the councillor insisting that Abbotsford’s property taxes are 4th lowest in BC and waving a piece of paper as proof of this. My typing “the moon is made on green cheese” and waving it around does not make the moon made of green cheese.

I say this because when I go to the websites cited by Vince Dimanno president of the ratepayers association (Provincial Government, InvestBC, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, and numbers created by the City Finance Manager from the Township of Langley) I find that the numbers show Abbotsford having not only the highest taxes in the region but the highest by to many percentage points.

Obviously there is evidence which raises reasonable doubt about the claim by council concerning how Abbotsford compares to other communities in the region.

Given this kind of behaviour and record when it comes to the accuracy of statements made on financial matters by council and/or councillors is it any reason so many have no trust for statements and claims made by council?

How could any reasonable citizen, given this type of behaviour, not be demanding more transparency, openness, information and input on financial matters?

Citizens have the need and the right to be given a detailed report on how their money was budgeted to be spent compared to how it was spent. That way citizens can clearly determine what effect large unbudgeted expenditures such as the $500,000+ on the cement puddle at the library aka friendship garden have on other city services. In choosing to spend that $500,000+ on the cement puddle what did not get done that was suppose to be done in order to build the cement puddle.

Another aside: does anyone else find it a little strange to be building a 6 foot high fence around something called a “friendship garden”? Still I suppose the wall will provide privacy for the homeless who can certainly us a tub (pond) and shower (artificial waterfall) to improve personal hygiene.

As to costs associated with determining this information for a Freedom of Information request it should be $0.

The city should know what it has spent to date on Plan A and when finished should what the total expenditures were.

The city should know, should be keeping track of, how the money it has spent to date or the totals of monies spent in the fiscal year compare to how it was budgeted to be spent.

If the city does not know these basic facts about how it is spending or has spent taxpayers money then we as taxpayers have a serious problem and need to undertake a thorough housecleaning and hire competent financial people.

Further taxpayers should not have to be filing Freedom of Information requests to get this information. Taxpayers are paying the bills, they have the right to know how their money is being spent or how it is being misspent.