Annual: 1. of, for, or pertaining to a year; yearly: annual salary; 2. occurring or returning once a year; 3. Recurring, done, or performed every year; yearly.

I make available the above definition of annual for the education of Abbotsford City Hall which has, on several occasions, demonstrated their lack of knowledge as to what the term annual means.

When you have an annual fee increase you raise your fees ONCE a year and no other fee increases take place until a year has passed. It does not mean you have an annual fee increase in September 2007 following a fee increase in July 2007and then another fee increase at the beginning of January 2008 – which at a 100% was definitely the steepest of the increases.

Abbotsford Recreation Centre patrons have now (I say now as I have no knowledge of how many, if any, more annual increases will occur within the year) had three fee increases in this annum (noun (Latin) year; “per annum”). Annum: year; annual: yearly. So for the education of City staff and politicians I repeat the definition of annual.

Annual: 1. of, for, or pertaining to a year; yearly: annual salary; 2. occurring or returning once a year; 3. Recurring, done, or performed every year; yearly.

While on the topic of definition or naming of City programs etc.: Should not a swim where the price doubled be renamed from a loonie swim to a twoonie swim. It just seems somewhat loony to be paying a twoonie for a loonie swim. I do not imagine taxpayers/patrons find it at all amusing to go to a loonie swim and be charged $2. To stand in front of that flat, big screen TV mockingly labelling the swim costing you $2 a loonie swim.

As a final point on paying attention to the details: With Parks and Rec having taken over the public bulletin board for the stated purpose of promoting Parks and Rec programs; why did they then have to spend all those taxpayers dollars on two big flat screen TVs to hang at the front desk? Simply because, as is the case with their multiple “annual” fee increases, they can?