> Niagara West’s Best Moms as told by their kids/ Pg 12 > Grimsby GO Secondary Plan gets green light Pg. 2 > Raptorfest on Saturday Pg. 6 > Robert Slessor Sr. dead at 92 Pg. 19 Thursday, May 10, 2018 Vol. 7 Issue 1
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The crew behind the scenes of Saturday’s McNally House Walk for Hospice were out bright and early Sunday to ensure everything was set for
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registrants when they arrived. The event was a great success with participants generating more than $105,000 for the facility. Williscraft - Photo
With budget approved, Grimsby in great shape: mayor By Mike Williscraft NewsNow The passing of a 4.35 per cent tax increase came with a bit of a history lesson at Grimsby Town Council Monday night. Ald. Carolyn Mullins, chair of the Administration and Finance Committee, read a detailed accounting of the 2018 budget ins and outs. “It was quite a process,” Mullins summarized after explaining how town officials worked down from an initially projected increase just under 30 per cent. Similar to the 2017 budget, several items were either put off or implementation was delayed slightly to as to keep the current year’s tax impact to a mimimum. Mayor Bob Bentley said it is important for taxpayers to understand the history not only of how this year was managed, but previous years, going back to 2015 and the Peach King Arena debenture.
That year, a 5.04 per cent decrease was put through at the last deliberation when a 0.7 per cent decrease was initially tabled. Bentley said pushing that back to a five per cent decrease was an example of fiscal responsibility, adding the municipality is in good shape overall. “We are highly rated in a number of areas,” said Bentley. Ald. Steve Berry took that a step further when explaining what was coming down the pipe from Grimsby Energy. Noting that money is being returned to the municipality as dividends on top of promissory note payments, Berry said the local newspaper that repeatedly states negative information about the hydro utility should not “leave half the story off the page”. “Because you say something
10 times, doesn’t make it fact.” Refuting previous information published in NewsNow, Berry said, “the biodigester is now at 100 per cent of its capacity.” With all going so well at hydro, Berry stated a major payment will be coming to the Town right after the utility’s annual general meeting in June. He said to expect a payment in excess of $800,000. He did not break down how that money was generated. As part of her presentation, Mullins noted the operating budget included several key points, including: • New revenues: developmentbased fees & interest on Grimsby Energy note • Continued investment in IT • New positions: business system analyst, manager-human resources, fire inspector, parks maintenance, and fleet technician
As well, she noted some highlights in the capital budget: • North Service Road reconstruction completion • Operations Centre expansion • Peach King Centre & Pump House pier improvements • Rehabilitation of various roads and water mains, and; • Several new parks in the west end. SHORELINE ISSUES Director of finance, Steve Gruninger attended the meeting and noted $5,000-$10,000 needs to be spent for an assessment on Grimsby’s pier at the pumphouse, which has an $80,000 upgrade included in the budget. Bentley noted an application could be made to Niagara Region for a shoreline protection grant, adding the east end has already seen serious damage. “If we don’t do it now, it’ll be gone,” said Bentley.