1. This year let council and city staff adopt a “Can Do” attitude as opposed to their current practice of coming up with a list of excuses on why they cannot do such things as get more grants from senior levels of government to reduce the burden on local taxpayers.
2. Less excuse making, more acceptance of responsibility and a willingness that instead of offering excuses taking corrective actions.
3. Adopt at least minimal ethical standards; council and senior staff had and caused so many conflicts of interest with their behaviour with Plan A that it appears council and city staff currently has no code of acceptable ethical standards. Not to forget ethical questions arising from the deal for the land the arena is to be built on.
4. Resolve to abandon their “easy come, easy go” attitude to taxpayers money and their “tax and waste” management styles. The purpose should be to get the most out of each taxpayer dollar, not to maximize spending by squandering the citizen’s money ill-conceived projects or spending.
5. Adopt sound financial, business and governance practice. Particularly with respect to day to day operations and yearly budgets/spending. If their practices on day to day matters are no better than those they apply to $85 million spending proposals it is reasonable to conclude taxpayers are taxed to cover hundreds of thousands of dollars as a result of council and staff’s spendthrift behaviour. Such things as searching our and going after any possible monies from more senior levels of government, even if it requires a change in plans or practices.
6. Resolve to be in less haste to throw away taxpayers money. They claimed to be investigating getting money from other levels of government and/or other sources to relieve the burden on local taxpayers. But if they are awarding contracts in January ’07, looking to break ground in April or May of ’07 there is no time to investigate or find such funds.
7. Resolve that council and senior staff will, in future, save the taxpayers $60,000,000.00 by doing their homework and practice due diligence when spending City funds, even if this entails a little effort. This way you spend the $15 million Langley will spend on arena and recreation complex and not the $75 million Abbotsford will spend thus saving taxpayers $60 million.
8. Resolve to attract business to Abbotsford and not to drive them away over petty matters as occurred with the Sandman. Better yet, demonstrate to the citizens exactly what benefits we get from our large expenditures on the development office at city hall. Besides Mr. Teichroeb to act as chief apologist and excuse maker for city council and staff
9. Resolve to stop making excuses for why businesses pass by Abbotsford and locate in neighbouring communities and to adopt attitudes and behaviours that welcome and encourage business investment in and relocation to our City. Get out and actively pursue investments in the City that have high tax-base advantages such as office tower/jobs relocated here from downtown Vancouver.
10. Explain to citizens, in a way that makes sense, why it was the city drove the Chiefs out of Abbotsford, and then decided to build a monster sized arena. Would the size and location of an arena for the Chiefs not have been any benefit to UVFV’s bid for University status and if the City is building the arena in support (why else beside the University with all the parking and traffic flow difficulties; why else so over sized a seating capacity) should not the University and Alumni be contributing to the cost?
11. Take at least one (preferably many) actual action with respect to homelessness, poverty, hunger and affordable housing. Words, committees, pointing fingers, making excuses, screaming from the rooftops, crying poor when proposing to spend $60 million more than necessary, none of these count as actions.
12. Actually listen to citizens and address their concerns rather than trying to avoid difficult questions by making statements in support of city staff and council positions that have nothing to do with the actual question posed. Citizens have the right to be heard and should be able to speak at any council meeting, not just those where staff and council condescend to all citizens to ask questions and raise their concerns. Citizen input – a novel concept for Abbotsford to adopt.
13. Council will cease functioning merely as a rubber stamp for the bureaucrats of city hall and begin to represent the best interests of the citizens of Abbotsford, demanding senior staff perform their jobs thoroughly and competently rather than allow them to set a standard of “good enough”. Council will remind them that as civil servants the citizens of Abbotsford are entitled to civility and service.
14. Finally stop patting themselves on the back for Plan A. They spend large amounts of citizens money to trample over citizens rights to equal representation for their position; they spent large amounts of money promoting their position while denying the free speech rights of those who did not agree with them (not allowed to put up “No” literature or materials at “public information meetings” funded by taxpayers). They disdained ethics with a total disregard for the concept of “conflict of interest. They are guilty of gross negligence in their failure to do their homework and practice due diligence meaning Abbotsford will pay $60 million more for an arena and recreation complex than Langley and Langley has a tenant for their arena.