Mayor Peary’s statement “We are truly, truly scrounging around for any money we can find …” teases Abbotsford’s beleaguered and impoverished taxpayers with the possibility the world wide economic meltdown may finally bring Abbotsford City Council to the realization that money does not grow on trees.

Unfortunately Mayor Peary’s statement “Here is the hard reality: we cannot support the city alone on property taxes anymore” makes it clear that City Council still views the citizens as having bottomless pockets to feed City Hall’s insatiable appetite for spending as if money does grow on trees.

Mayor Peary, here is the hard reality: It was city council’s spendthrift financially irresponsible spend, spend, spend ways that put Abbotsford in it current financial bind, so forgive me if I am not feeling terribly sympathetic.

It is hard to be anything but apprehensive when the Mayor’s statements underscore that City Council’s heedlessly reckless financial thinking and behaviours still have not been forced into line with economic reality.

When you are short of funds you economize, cutback and/or reduce expenses to the level of one’s income.

Unless that is you are Abbotsford City Council, who just keeps feeding their addiction for wildly ungoverned spending; whining “…we cannot support the city alone on property taxes anymore.”

So it is that City Council is looking for new and better methods to destitute its citizens by plundering them of their cash.

Cities surrounding Abbotsford set priorities and make the necessary hard choices and spending reductions to bring their spending into line with the money raised by property taxes.

Citizens need to tell council: “NO! Most emphatically NO! You were the ones who set the property tax increase at 5.5% deal with that reality.” Otherwise taxpayers will suffer the consequences as year after year City Council finds new ways to introduce numerous new taxes so they can continue to waste dollars and spend, spend, spend

When it is no longer the muggers and thieves you need to protect your wallet from but Abbotsford City Council – it is time City Council learned to live within its means, not continue to spend as if they were children run amuck with their parents (taxpayers) credit card.