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• Editorials • Scouts & Guides • Sports • Agriculture
The
THIS WEEK
Citizen
Huron County’s most trusted independent news source
Thursday, February 24, 2022
$1.50 GST included
Volume 38 No. 8
Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0
Budget moving forward By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen
From the (snow) up Huron Chapel in Auburn was the place to be on Monday to partake in some activities on Canada’s newest holiday Monday, Family Day. The church hosted an afternoon of fun activities for the whole family, both inside and out of the church, including toboganning, a
campfire and a snow sculpture building competition. Whether or not the adults had an advantage due to being able to carry more snow, above, has yet to be determined, though all the sculptures were determined to be winners at the end of the day. (John Stephenson photo)
Fall Fair to go ahead at Four Winds Barn By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen The Brussels Agricultural Society is moving ahead with the first inperson Brussels Fall Fair in three years set to take place on Sept. 1314 in and around the Brussels Four Winds Barn. The society membership made the decision last week during its Feb. 16 meeting, which was held virtually via Zoom. This came after a committee led by former Society President Matt Cardiff presented four options for events to be held later this year. The four options were: • Host a parade and meal on Sunday, Sept. 11 and then a full fair on Tuesday, Sept. 13 and Wednesday, Sept. 14. • Host a traditional Brussels Fall Fair with a meal on the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 13 and a parade on Wednesday, Sept. 14 with activities in and around the Brussels Four Winds Barn.
• Host a scaled-down Brussels Fall Fair in and around the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre, potentially providing tours of the ongoing construction and renovation project at the centre. (Cardiff told members this option would be a bit of a gamble, as the status of the centre project and construction would be unknown at the time, with September likely being a crucial period for the project.) • Do not host a traditional, inperson Brussels Fall Fair, instead hosting a meal and parade on Sunday, Sept. 11, as the society has done the previous two years, and plan for an in-person fair in 2023. Cardiff told those in attendance that the second option, to host a fair at the Four Winds Barn, was his committee’s preferred option. He did note, however, that option would come with a price tag of nearly $1,500 to rent the Four Winds Barn from Sunday to Wednesday.
He said that while the Sunday events have proven successful in the past two years, they may cannibalize the fair being held on the following Tuesday and Wednesday, which traditionally would host both a meal and a parade. In addition, it’s possible that hosting the weekend events might leave a bit of a hole in the weekday programming, though Cardiff said he was confident the society could be creative and fill the time in other ways. Cardiff said that, for the second option, there would also be an opportunity for expansion as well, with the meeting room at the Brussels Library being available if needed. In addition, he said the plan would be to host outdoor events/exhibits in the Four Winds parking lot, potentially employing a shuttle service for the duration of the fair. He also said that bringing back the Tuesday night would likely serve to draw more people into the fair.
In a straw vote, Society President Zoellyn Onn asked members to speak up as to their preference. Thirteen members voted in favour of the second option, to host a fair on Sept. 13-14 at the Four Winds Barn. Two members voted for the first option, with a Sept. 13-14 fair and a meal and parade on Sunday, while two others supported the fourth option for Sunday events and no fair. No one voiced their support for the third option at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre. Onn followed the straw vote with an official motion to host the Brussels Fall Fair on Sept. 13-14 at the Four Winds Barn, which the membership carried. HOMECOMING The Brussels Agricultural Society passed a motion stating its intent to host a petting zoo at the Brussels 150th Homecoming celebration, bringing on Little Tracks Petting Continued on page 3
Huron County Council is moving forward with its 2022 budget, giving staff direction to proceed with a budget that includes a 3.06 per cent tax levy increase. Treasurer Michael Blumhagen presented the most current draft of the budget to council at its Feb. 16 meeting, which was held virtually via Zoom. This came after council held an all-day special budget deliberation session on Feb. 9, also via Zoom. After the Feb. 9 meeting, council directed staff to return with further information on the 23.75 new fulltime equivalent positions being proposed in the 2022 budget, in addition to proposed cuts that would bring the tax levy increase closer to three per cent, rather than the 4.4 per cent proposed on Feb. 9. However, while some councillors were comfortable with the proposed tax levy increase of 3.06 per cent, others wanted to see a lower increase. Some councillors proposed retaining the 3.06 per cent increase, but drawing enough from reserves to cover 1.06 per cent of that increase (approximately $473,000), effectively passing on just a two per cent tax levy increase to Huron County ratepayers. Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh Deputy-Mayor Roger Watt was the first to propose a tax rate increase that is closer to two per cent, utilizing money from reserves to close the gap. Howick Reeve Doug Harding agreed and the pair put the motion forward. With the motion on the floor, however, several councillors spoke out against utilizing reserves to bring the tax levy increase down. Morris-Turnberry Mayor Jamie Heffer cautioned against the move, saying that no one knows what the future holds. He referenced North Huron Reeve Bernie Bailey’s comment from the Feb. 9 meeting about reserves being for a “rainy day”, but Heffer posited that perhaps the rainy day has yet to arrive, though he hoped he was wrong in saying that. That motion was defeated, however, as council opted to move forward with the budget with a 3.06 per cent tax levy increase, without using reserves to further decrease the burden on the ratepayer. The budget will be officially considered for adoption at a future public meeting. Blumhagen said that the projected budget, with a 3.06 per cent increase Continued on page 2