Three more years of not asking and for citizens to have to pay for, deal with or just live with the consequences of council’s conduct.

I am not speaking of the $$$ millions Abbotsford taxpayers are out of pocket because city council could not bather to ask our federal MP Ed Fast to get federal funds to lower the cost to taxpayers of Plan A. Nor the $$$ millions more taxpayers were forced to shell out because city council could not be bothered to listen to those who opposed Plan A and secure provincial funding before finalizing full funding for Plan A.

Obviously citizens approve paying the higher costs and property taxes associated with these council actions since they endorsed them in the city’s recent municipal election.

Similarly the tens of $millions$ of dollars of cost overruns were signed off on and stamped approved by the vote. As was the continuation of council’s profligate spending and the resulting large tax increases or the deferment of needed infrastructure and maintenance.

Clearly citizen’s claims of concern with crime and safety issues were overstated. Why else would they choose to elect a retired school principal rather than an experienced police officer who retired from the local police force?

I do find citizens endorsement of council’s doing nothing to endeavor to address the afflictions of homelessness, addiction, mental illness, the growing numbers depending on the food bank for their daily food and survival, poverty and affordable housing hypocritical in light claim to being Christian.

Still they have the right to choose harsh indifference over compassion; to stamp their approval on the theft/confiscation of the meager belongings of the homeless and the leaving them facing the task of surviving the night and the weather with only the clothes on their backs.

Nonetheless it would have been nice if council would have bothered to ask the library for their input before locating their pond in front of the library’s downstairs/basement entrance – much nicer for the current and future children of Abbotsford.

With the grassy swale and large old shade trees that use to be outside the exterior entrance to the downstairs it had been the plan to move the current upstairs children’s area to more spacious and open accommodations downstairs.

That plan is now gone since the librarians are responsible people and will not be locating a children’s area downstairs with the presence of an unfenced pond and bridges just outside the door.

Unfortunate loss for the children of Abbotsford, but this kind of can of worms is business as usual for city council. On the other hand perhaps it is best that the children of Abbotsford learn early that they will long be paying for the choices their parents and grandparents made.