It appears that the City of Abbotsford is prospecting for water –“blue gold” – and is willing to go to any length to strike it rich. The people of Abbotsford are being faced with an election where water is going to be on the slate among other civic issues. Rather, it is the major issue on taxpayers’ minds and the millions of dollars in debt to a community that it implies.
What this comes down to is that either pride or intelligence is up for grabs. A certain vain glorious civic pride gave the community Plan A, and a multi-million dollar debt for the ride.
So far we are falling into a morass of debt that is growing and is about to grow by hundreds of millions of dollars again. This is being touted in the name of development for now and tomorrow. Well, that is certainly smart thinking?
Don’t forget to add to this the existing Plan A financing for the City of Abbotsford, and its present and future taxpayers. Whatever happened to the good old days of having money in the bank?
In short, the questions are, can we afford what we are being led to believe we want and do we really need it? No, and yes, eventually. The wisdom to all this is to prepare now and build then – not to borrow now and build now!
How about a P1 Project (no one, but us). Call it The Fraser River Water Plan. We stick a big pipe in the Fraser River, clean up the water and use it. If the river runs dry the world will probably have come to an end.
That’s what the voters are going to decide on in the coming election – fiscal restraint, or damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!
Myron Neville
