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I'm sure many of you saw the big splashy stories in both of the local newspapers on the big Press Tour of the Plan A facilities. Mark Taylor, Director of Parks, Recreation and Culture proudly hailed the projects on time and on budget.

This is ironic.

It was Mark Taylor who released to the Press that the Plan A budget was at $108 million or $23 million over budget almost 6 months ago.

It was also Mark Taylor who stated that the City was delaying the start of construction of the Entertainment Complex so they could find a hockey team...which they have not.

I don't mind the City trying to whip up enthusiasm for these projects. They have to in order to make them succeed. But don't lie about it.

Mr. Taylor, the public would be much more receptive if you had simply said, we are over budget and behind schedule, but we are getting our money's worth. The facilities are turning out above our expectations.

Or are you unable to say that too?

The fact is the City of Abbotsford had better stop force feeding us lies about Plan A. The first Councilor to step forward and take responsibility for the mismanagement that has occured here may very well get my vote.

I can deal with mistakes...we all make them. I can't deal with a liar though. Can you?

On June 30, 2008 the Abbotsford News published on its front page an article featuring the headline that Abbotsford has the lowest property tax rates in the region. This is simply NOT true.

In the article, it is stated that statistics from the Ministry of Community Services were used to compile the data. If you go to the Ministry web site and click on “Civic Info” and then “Surveys and Statistics” you are able to generate a report on all the Municipal Tax Rates. I have done so and the table is below:

Abbotsford City                          4.64255 (3)
Burnaby City                              2.929
Chilliwack City                           4.8418 (2)
Coquitlam City                           3.2431
Delta District                              3.7032
Langley City                              4.3
Langley Township                      3.4018
Maple Ridge District                    4.0308
Mission District                           4.8909 (1)
New Westminster City                4.3587 (4)
North Vancouver City                  2.73835
North Vancouver District              2.74553
Pitt Meadows City                      3.8551
Port Coquitlam City                     3.8305
Port Moody City                         3.492
Richmond City                            2.8618
Surrey City                                 2.70972
Vancouver City                           2.66174
West Vancouver District              2.5937
White Rock City                        4.10337 (5)

It is plain that Abbotsford is the 3^rd highest tax rate in the Region. In fact, these numbers are based on 2006 data and no other municipality incurred a 17% increase in 2007 like Abbotsford undertook with Plan A. These numbers are further substantiated by a report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business which can be found at http://www.fcei.ca/legis/bc/pdf/bc9501.pdf and on the Provincial Government’s web site or Investment at http://www.investbc.com/. There is no lack of reputable, government generated data showing our true tax rate.

It is upsetting to see that our own City Hall would release information like this to the public that is so plainly flawed. They have access to the same data that you and I do and when they take the raw data and create numbers that suit their needs, it is called “spin”. It is also upsetting that no checking of these facts was done. The Abbotsford Ratepayers Association spends countless hours researching and confirming our statistics. Frankly, if we were truly among the lowest property tax rates in the region our membership would not continue to grow as it does.

The simple fact is that Abbotsford is an expensive place to live. City Hall spends almost twice the national average per tax payer and yet we lag behind in facilities and infrastructure. City Hall justifies tax increases stating the very same thing. However, infrastructure, service and facilities are the things we want our tax dollars spent on and we want them spent responsibly. Having the highest tax rates in the Lower Mainland while we are running out of water, the paint on our roads has faded away and we spend $700,000 on a garden that is co-funded by our  income tax is simply not acceptable.

On behalf of the Abbotsford Ratepayers Association, I implore the people of Abbotsford and the local media to do your own homework. We want you to vote in the municipal election in November and we hope you do so as thoughtful, well-informed citizens.

I attended the public meeting on the issue of the construction of incinerators in the Greater Vancouver area last night. The purpose of the meeting was to give us information on what these facilities might mean to our airshed.

I'm going to keep away from the science of whether or not plasma arc incinerators will add to our pollution or reduce it. In fact, it doesn't matter. These facilities are not the root cause of pollution. Their intentions are well placed, albeit with a profit in mind.

What I'd rather point out is the $1.5Billion it will take to build them. This is tax money. It is not Abbotsford citizen tax dollars, but you can bet that some Provincial money will go into them and THAT is your money.

Here's my beef....

Why do politicians always choose the hardest thing to do instead of the easiest?

...or maybe they just like to choose the most expensive way.

Don't pass a law that says your packaging can only exceed the volume of what is inside it by 10%. Don't pass a law that says if you want to sell a car in Canada it must zero emit by 2020. Don't pass a law that says if you want to dispense gasoline in Canada then you must also dispense an alternative fuel.

Instead, just get the taxpayers to fund your schemes. Carbon Tax, Incinerators...heck even Sky Train. For the same price as the 2KM route down Broadway to UBC, we can build 175KM of light rail.

Our politicians don't really want us out of our cars. It would cost them too much money. There are no tax increases in true efficiency.