But this time I'm a bit cheesed off. I don't want to get a second job just so I can pay for my rate rises. Besides, at my age there's not a lot going. Selling my body apparently won't do it. Mrs P has had the calculator out and we'd still be short a few bucks even if I did a full eight hour shift.
Anyway.
It's a pain in the proverbial we are in this situation but, let's be fair, it was us who decided we wanted all these nice shiny things called capital works to play with. We all knew they would come at a cost.
We also decided we wanted that muffin with our coffee every morning at Starbucks and didn't want to pay too much in rates.
"She'll be right," we said by the water cooler. "Our rates will cover the capital works".
Besides, we knew those councillors we elected would keep an eye on things for us.
Hmm, sounds like we might have mucked up a bit. Perhaps it's all our fault.
But if that's the case why are we seeing councillors scurrying for cover and claiming not to have known what was happening?
Long-serving Charles Sturt says without detailed information he was not aware of the looming financial debt. Councillor Janet Wepa said she was not aware operational costs were being paid for by debt.
The former chief executive, Peter Guerin, says it's a mystery to him that they didn't know. Presumably there is paperwork to back up this assertion. There must be. It's the council. It is built of paperwork. When it rains the building gets all soggy.
All this makes me think there's a job for me walking round the room at those "behind closed doors" meetings the council has. Every time I see a councillor falling asleep I could slap them across the head. After all, there's enough of them and that's the only explanation for them not knowing what was going on isn't it?
Worse still Charles now says Janet was mean to him at a council meeting and wouldn't let him speak. Janet was very friendly with Kevin the mayor, he says, and they ganged up on him.
Outrageous! Perhaps they need to stay behind after class and work on their maths.
And what about Kevin?
He said during the election campaign that debt was within acceptable levels and there was nothing to worry about. Then, he lost, and went fishing. I hope he didn't leave a mess behind. Haven't seen him in a while. I guess it's possible he's still all at sea.
So, to recap.
We're in the poo. Charles says he didn't know, and Janet says she wasn't in the know. Peter says he thought they knew. Kevin apparently knew and by the sounds of it thought everyone knew. Then he lost and went fishing. I know.
Does your head in doesn't it? Ah well, I'm sure there'll be a second job out there for me to help me pay for all this for the next 16 years. Maybe I could help write some resignation letters.
Kevin Page has been a journalist for 34 years. He hasn't made enough money to retire after writing about serious topics for years so he's giving humour a shot instead.
