optimistically pessimistic

Hi there, Hope all has been well in blog land.
Things are going here. How well depends on the hour, the day and the mail. I haven't written much lately because I've been hoping that I could be more upbeat, and silver lining about all of this. I am trying. And I am usually perpetually optimistic. The past 2 years, but especially the last year has been a huge test for my optimism. So the latest development, and I'm sorry but it's not the silver lining I was hoping for, is that our city has implemented a new ordinance to comply with watershed issues, it was enacted on Jan 1st I believe and it requires all homes that are being sold to undergo a point of sale sewer inspection. We're now looking at a bill for between 6 to 10 thousand dollars to replace our entire line out to the street. I had been under the impression that this was to be a typical inspection like those in other communities looking to eliminate sewer run off and therefore eliminate the surcharges they are given by the treatment facility. In other cities it's as simple as making sure no one has illegal sump pump or drain tile hookups, in our city they are being IMHO very anal. They have hit us with a no compliance for tree roots and an old pipe that connects to NOTHING. But even if they aren't being anal and this needs to be done, the city has absolutely nothing in place to help those of us who are unable to pay. My mom wants to sell her home too, eventually, because they've raised the taxes so much and she's been disabled for the past 14 years so she cannot afford the costs of living in her nearly paid off home! What will she do!? She can't afford to take out a loan, and no one would approve her! She's not selling for profit, she'd be selling because she HAS to! Like us, we're selling because we HAVE to, we have no 401k left to borrow from (a suggestion by a council member), we can't afford to live here so we're not going to take out a home equity loan, so what then?
Ugh. Rich people. We live in a pretty well off city, but it's a city with a variety of homes and variety of people, that's why we liked it. But the council has acted as though everyone has the same income as they do and they see absolutely no problem with expecting us to foot the entire 10 grand. Oooooh, reading the minutes of the city council's meetings is infuriating! Plus, they could have signed up for a program through the Mpls council that would have reimbursed them for work done, $5,000 per private lateral line, and they could have passed that $ on to the homeowner to offset costs. But either they didn't- leaving us in the lurch, or they did- and are pocketing the rebate. They also tore up our yard and streets last year to replace them and the main sewers all the while knowing that this was coming, and they didn't even warn us! At the very least they could have voted to figure it into a home owner's street assessment(which I believe they are now thinking of doing for the last remaining few streets left). They knew this was happening for over 2 years!
Anyhow, we are most likely going to have to go to a city council meeting and speak. It's so utterly ridiculous I have no words. Except to call the council members pompous asses! Which I won't to their faces, but will gladly do under my breath.
Money, I HATE money. All of this, my life is revolving around money. It's enough to make me go be a hermit and eat tree bark.

Ahhhh at least I still have remnants of my sarcastic sense of humor.