{"id":1491,"date":"2009-10-28T05:38:43","date_gmt":"2009-10-28T12:38:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/breckenridge\/?p=1491"},"modified":"2011-10-13T03:33:35","modified_gmt":"2011-10-13T10:33:35","slug":"mayor-warns-of-%e2%80%98serious%e2%80%99-financial-issues-in-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/?p=1491","title":{"rendered":"Mayor warns of \u2018serious\u2019 financial issues in 2010."},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">Mayor Peary is right that Abbotsford faces &#8216;serious\u2019 financial issues; he is however totally wrong that these &#8216;serious\u2019 financial issues are limited to 2010 or that these \u201cserious\u2019 financial issues are about revenue and expenditure and completely in error that a gas tax is either necessary or would address these \u2018serious\u2019 financial issues.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">At its core it is not a matter of dollars and cents that has put the city in its current state of financial and infrastructure problems.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">An examination of the evidence makes it clear that Abbotsford has nine serious financial issues.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">If you have driven by the Abbotsford Recreation Centre you will have seen council\u2019s latest flashy new toy, the multicoloured new electronic billboard that replaced the old, serviceable plain manual sign at a cost of many tens of thousands of taxpayer\u2019s dollars.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">I suppose that after they spent thousands of dollars for four flat, big screen televisions to display the admission rates it was simply to unsophisticated to have the old serviceable, plain manual outdoor billboard clashing with the fancy new big flat-screen TV\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">Personally I preferred the old wall signs as it made changing admission fees more noticeable; which probably goes a long way to explaining the need to spend thousands of dollars on the televisions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">Obviously with all this flashy, costly new display hardware they had to spend the hundreds of dollars they did on replacing the perfectly serviceable old lane\/lesson pool deck signs for signs with better graphics.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">After all ARC is part of Parks and Recreation, a department that felt the need to spend over a hundred thousand dollars to purchase a used jungle gym. As a kids structure it is undoubtedly brightly coloured and so impossible for council or management to resist.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">After council and management felt the need to splurge for ARC\u2019s expensive but colourful and flashy new billboard it is hardly surprising council felt the needs to spend $1.2 million more than necessary for a score clock.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">A few hundred here, a few thousand on this and tens of thousands on that; a hundred thousand on this \u2018deal\u2019, a million plus on bells, whistles and flashy bright lights for a scoreboard\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">After a while all this unnecessary spending adds up to millions of taxpayer dollars.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">Council\u2019s \u2018need\u2019 for a gas tax is no different that the \u2018need\u2019 for money any shopaholic, addict has.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">I \u2018need\u2019 a new car, a new computer, a flat screen plasma television \u2026 but as a financially responsible person I budget and set priorities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">It is council that has taken the city from being debt free a short two and a half years ago to being burdened with debt, still facing the need for major spending investments in infrastructure and with the mayor and council mounting a campaign to convince taxpayers that there is no choice but to raise taxes by $10 million a year \u2013 or more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">No it is not revenue and expenses that are the \u2018serious\u2019 financial issues that the City of Abbotsford\u00a0 must deal with. Prudent budgeting and spending will resolve the city\u2019s budget challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">The nine \u2018serious\u2019 financial issues that threaten Abbotsford are the mayor and council. Taxpayers really cannot do much about whether this state of affairs is a result of the mayor and council only caring about re-election or lack the ability for budgeting and fiscal discipline.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">What we can do is demand council do more than pay lip service to the budgeting process. It is time taxpayers and council took a hard look at what money truly needs to be spent on and items that can be postponed or even forgone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">Any reasonable, responsible and prudent person looking over the numbers published by the city as justification for the need for large revenue increases in 2010 can easily find millions of dollars that do not \u2018have\u2019 to be spent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">It is clear that as part of \u2018encouraging\u2019 council to discharge its fiduciary duties in a responsible manner it is necessary to cut off what council and city management consider a bottomless well of money.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">Taxpayers need to make it clear to Gordon Campbell, Bill Bennett and our local MLA\u2019s that it is unacceptable for them to encourage Abbotsford\u2019s councils spendthrift ways by granting them a gas tax.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"tab-stops: 333.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">Taxpayers also need to make clear to council, via e-mail or attending the budget meetings, the need for council to stop spend, spend, spend and exercise fiscal discipline as do taxpayers and other municipalities. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mayor Peary is right that Abbotsford faces &#8216;serious\u2019 financial issues; he is however totally wrong that these &#8216;serious\u2019 financial issues are limited to 2010 or that these \u201cserious\u2019 financial issues are about revenue and expenditure and completely in error that a gas tax is either necessary or would address these \u2018serious\u2019 financial issues. At its core it is not a matter of dollars and cents that has put the city in its current state of financial and infrastructure problems. An examination of the evidence makes it clear that Abbotsford has nine serious financial issues. If you have driven by the Abbotsford Recreation Centre you will have seen council\u2019s latest flashy new toy, the multicoloured new electronic billboard that replaced the old, serviceable plain manual sign at a cost of many tens of thousands of taxpayer\u2019s dollars. I suppose that after they spent thousands of dollars for four flat, big screen televisions to display the admission rates it was simply to unsophisticated to have the old serviceable, plain manual outdoor billboard clashing with the fancy new big flat-screen TV\u2019s. Personally I preferred the old wall signs as it made changing admission fees more noticeable; which probably goes a long way to explaining the need to spend thousands of dollars on the televisions. Obviously with all this flashy, costly new display hardware they had to spend the hundreds of dollars they did on replacing the perfectly serviceable old lane\/lesson pool deck signs for signs with better graphics. After all ARC is part of Parks and Recreation, a department that felt the need to spend over a hundred thousand dollars to purchase a used jungle gym. As a kids structure it is undoubtedly brightly coloured and so impossible for council or management to resist. After council and management felt the need to splurge for ARC\u2019s expensive but colourful and flashy new billboard it is hardly surprising council felt the needs to spend $1.2 million more than necessary for a score clock. A few hundred here, a few thousand on this and tens of thousands on that; a hundred thousand on this \u2018deal\u2019, a million plus on bells, whistles and flashy bright lights for a scoreboard\u2026 After a while all this unnecessary spending adds up to millions of taxpayer dollars. Council\u2019s \u2018need\u2019 for a gas tax is no different that the \u2018need\u2019 for money any shopaholic, addict has. I \u2018need\u2019 a new car, a new computer, a flat screen plasma television \u2026 but as a financially responsible person I budget and set priorities. It is council that has taken the city from being debt free a short two and a half years ago to being burdened with debt, still facing the need for major spending investments in infrastructure and with the mayor and council mounting a campaign to convince taxpayers that there is no choice but to raise taxes by $10 million a year \u2013 or more. No it is not revenue and expenses that are the \u2018serious\u2019 financial issues that the City of Abbotsford\u00a0 must deal with. Prudent budgeting and spending will resolve the city\u2019s budget challenges. The nine \u2018serious\u2019 financial issues that threaten Abbotsford are the mayor and council. Taxpayers really cannot do much about whether this state of affairs is a result of the mayor and council only caring about re-election or lack the ability for budgeting and fiscal discipline. What we can do is demand council do more than pay lip service to the budgeting process. It is time taxpayers and council took a hard look at what money truly needs to be spent on and items that can be postponed or even forgone. Any reasonable, responsible and prudent person looking over the numbers published by the city as justification for the need for large revenue increases in 2010 can easily find millions of dollars that do not \u2018have\u2019 to be spent. It is clear that as part of \u2018encouraging\u2019 council to discharge its fiduciary duties in a responsible manner it is necessary to cut off what council and city management consider a bottomless well of money. Taxpayers need to make it clear to Gordon Campbell, Bill Bennett and our local MLA\u2019s that it is unacceptable for them to encourage Abbotsford\u2019s councils spendthrift ways by granting them a gas tax. Taxpayers also need to make clear to council, via e-mail or attending the budget meetings, the need for council to stop spend, spend, spend and exercise fiscal discipline as do taxpayers and other municipalities. &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-municipal","category-snafu"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mayor warns of \u2018serious\u2019 financial issues in 2010. - James W. Breckenridge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/?p=1491\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mayor warns of \u2018serious\u2019 financial issues in 2010. - James W. Breckenridge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mayor Peary is right that Abbotsford faces &#8216;serious\u2019 financial issues; he is however totally wrong that these &#8216;serious\u2019 financial issues are limited to 2010 or that these \u201cserious\u2019 financial issues are about revenue and expenditure and completely in error that a gas tax is either necessary or would address these \u2018serious\u2019 financial issues. At its core it is not a matter of dollars and cents that has put the city in its current state of financial and infrastructure problems. An examination of the evidence makes it clear that Abbotsford has nine serious financial issues. If you have driven by the Abbotsford Recreation Centre you will have seen council\u2019s latest flashy new toy, the multicoloured new electronic billboard that replaced the old, serviceable plain manual sign at a cost of many tens of thousands of taxpayer\u2019s dollars. I suppose that after they spent thousands of dollars for four flat, big screen televisions to display the admission rates it was simply to unsophisticated to have the old serviceable, plain manual outdoor billboard clashing with the fancy new big flat-screen TV\u2019s. Personally I preferred the old wall signs as it made changing admission fees more noticeable; which probably goes a long way to explaining the need to spend thousands of dollars on the televisions. Obviously with all this flashy, costly new display hardware they had to spend the hundreds of dollars they did on replacing the perfectly serviceable old lane\/lesson pool deck signs for signs with better graphics. After all ARC is part of Parks and Recreation, a department that felt the need to spend over a hundred thousand dollars to purchase a used jungle gym. As a kids structure it is undoubtedly brightly coloured and so impossible for council or management to resist. After council and management felt the need to splurge for ARC\u2019s expensive but colourful and flashy new billboard it is hardly surprising council felt the needs to spend $1.2 million more than necessary for a score clock. A few hundred here, a few thousand on this and tens of thousands on that; a hundred thousand on this \u2018deal\u2019, a million plus on bells, whistles and flashy bright lights for a scoreboard\u2026 After a while all this unnecessary spending adds up to millions of taxpayer dollars. Council\u2019s \u2018need\u2019 for a gas tax is no different that the \u2018need\u2019 for money any shopaholic, addict has. I \u2018need\u2019 a new car, a new computer, a flat screen plasma television \u2026 but as a financially responsible person I budget and set priorities. It is council that has taken the city from being debt free a short two and a half years ago to being burdened with debt, still facing the need for major spending investments in infrastructure and with the mayor and council mounting a campaign to convince taxpayers that there is no choice but to raise taxes by $10 million a year \u2013 or more. No it is not revenue and expenses that are the \u2018serious\u2019 financial issues that the City of Abbotsford\u00a0 must deal with. Prudent budgeting and spending will resolve the city\u2019s budget challenges. The nine \u2018serious\u2019 financial issues that threaten Abbotsford are the mayor and council. Taxpayers really cannot do much about whether this state of affairs is a result of the mayor and council only caring about re-election or lack the ability for budgeting and fiscal discipline. What we can do is demand council do more than pay lip service to the budgeting process. It is time taxpayers and council took a hard look at what money truly needs to be spent on and items that can be postponed or even forgone. Any reasonable, responsible and prudent person looking over the numbers published by the city as justification for the need for large revenue increases in 2010 can easily find millions of dollars that do not \u2018have\u2019 to be spent. It is clear that as part of \u2018encouraging\u2019 council to discharge its fiduciary duties in a responsible manner it is necessary to cut off what council and city management consider a bottomless well of money. Taxpayers need to make it clear to Gordon Campbell, Bill Bennett and our local MLA\u2019s that it is unacceptable for them to encourage Abbotsford\u2019s councils spendthrift ways by granting them a gas tax. Taxpayers also need to make clear to council, via e-mail or attending the budget meetings, the need for council to stop spend, spend, spend and exercise fiscal discipline as do taxpayers and other municipalities. &nbsp;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/?p=1491\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"James W. Breckenridge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-10-28T12:38:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-10-13T10:33:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James W. Breckenridge\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James W. Breckenridge\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\\\/?p=1491#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\\\/?p=1491\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"James W. 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Breckenridge","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/?p=1491","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mayor warns of \u2018serious\u2019 financial issues in 2010. - James W. Breckenridge","og_description":"Mayor Peary is right that Abbotsford faces &#8216;serious\u2019 financial issues; he is however totally wrong that these &#8216;serious\u2019 financial issues are limited to 2010 or that these \u201cserious\u2019 financial issues are about revenue and expenditure and completely in error that a gas tax is either necessary or would address these \u2018serious\u2019 financial issues. At its core it is not a matter of dollars and cents that has put the city in its current state of financial and infrastructure problems. An examination of the evidence makes it clear that Abbotsford has nine serious financial issues. If you have driven by the Abbotsford Recreation Centre you will have seen council\u2019s latest flashy new toy, the multicoloured new electronic billboard that replaced the old, serviceable plain manual sign at a cost of many tens of thousands of taxpayer\u2019s dollars. I suppose that after they spent thousands of dollars for four flat, big screen televisions to display the admission rates it was simply to unsophisticated to have the old serviceable, plain manual outdoor billboard clashing with the fancy new big flat-screen TV\u2019s. Personally I preferred the old wall signs as it made changing admission fees more noticeable; which probably goes a long way to explaining the need to spend thousands of dollars on the televisions. Obviously with all this flashy, costly new display hardware they had to spend the hundreds of dollars they did on replacing the perfectly serviceable old lane\/lesson pool deck signs for signs with better graphics. After all ARC is part of Parks and Recreation, a department that felt the need to spend over a hundred thousand dollars to purchase a used jungle gym. As a kids structure it is undoubtedly brightly coloured and so impossible for council or management to resist. After council and management felt the need to splurge for ARC\u2019s expensive but colourful and flashy new billboard it is hardly surprising council felt the needs to spend $1.2 million more than necessary for a score clock. A few hundred here, a few thousand on this and tens of thousands on that; a hundred thousand on this \u2018deal\u2019, a million plus on bells, whistles and flashy bright lights for a scoreboard\u2026 After a while all this unnecessary spending adds up to millions of taxpayer dollars. Council\u2019s \u2018need\u2019 for a gas tax is no different that the \u2018need\u2019 for money any shopaholic, addict has. I \u2018need\u2019 a new car, a new computer, a flat screen plasma television \u2026 but as a financially responsible person I budget and set priorities. It is council that has taken the city from being debt free a short two and a half years ago to being burdened with debt, still facing the need for major spending investments in infrastructure and with the mayor and council mounting a campaign to convince taxpayers that there is no choice but to raise taxes by $10 million a year \u2013 or more. No it is not revenue and expenses that are the \u2018serious\u2019 financial issues that the City of Abbotsford\u00a0 must deal with. Prudent budgeting and spending will resolve the city\u2019s budget challenges. The nine \u2018serious\u2019 financial issues that threaten Abbotsford are the mayor and council. Taxpayers really cannot do much about whether this state of affairs is a result of the mayor and council only caring about re-election or lack the ability for budgeting and fiscal discipline. What we can do is demand council do more than pay lip service to the budgeting process. It is time taxpayers and council took a hard look at what money truly needs to be spent on and items that can be postponed or even forgone. Any reasonable, responsible and prudent person looking over the numbers published by the city as justification for the need for large revenue increases in 2010 can easily find millions of dollars that do not \u2018have\u2019 to be spent. It is clear that as part of \u2018encouraging\u2019 council to discharge its fiduciary duties in a responsible manner it is necessary to cut off what council and city management consider a bottomless well of money. Taxpayers need to make it clear to Gordon Campbell, Bill Bennett and our local MLA\u2019s that it is unacceptable for them to encourage Abbotsford\u2019s councils spendthrift ways by granting them a gas tax. Taxpayers also need to make clear to council, via e-mail or attending the budget meetings, the need for council to stop spend, spend, spend and exercise fiscal discipline as do taxpayers and other municipalities. &nbsp;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/?p=1491","og_site_name":"James W. Breckenridge","article_published_time":"2009-10-28T12:38:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-10-13T10:33:35+00:00","author":"James W. Breckenridge","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James W. 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