a response

While I agree that greed and corruption by the bankers and the buyers were a major factor in inflating property values to unrealistic levels, it does not alter the fact that property values have taken a MAJOR hit. Also, the spending by the Mayor and Council for the past five years or so were based on those artificially inflated values and there were little and NO moves made to prepare for these hard times. To me this shows a lack of vision and fiscal responsibility by the Mayor and the Council, that has resulted in tax increases, along with fee increases, that would probably NOT be necessary had proper planning and preparations been done. We are in a global economic crisis and you are saying some realization and acknowledgement of that fact is not in order? NOT recognizing that fact or doing anything to prepare for it by the Mayor or Council is what has caused the local crisis, and has to change. We cannot continue to take the " Everybody ELSE is affected, but not US" approach, as it has NO basis in reality. Only NOW they are starting to see a "falloff in revenues"? 14 months after the recession started ? They had NO CLUE before that? What planet are the Council and Mayor living on? (cue the Twilight Zone music..). Dr. Mel P. Johnson