INSIDE THIS WEEK:
SPORTS - Pg. 2
AWARDS - Pg. 9
4-H - Pg. 13
Seaforth Centenaires begin a new winning streak
Huron-Bruce MPP honours nearly 40 local volunteers
4-H members, leaders honoured with awards
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The
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Volume 36 No. 3
Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County
Thursday, January 16, 2020
Munro’s Nobel coming to Wingham By Denny Scott The Citizen
Shutting them out The Huron Bantam C Heat were in action on Sunday at the Central Huron Community Complex against their Highway 8 rivals from Mitchell, the Meteors. The Heat had a good day on home ice, beating the Meteors by a score of 5-0.
The Heat were next in action on Wednesday night against the Tillsonburg Lightning on the road and then again over the weekend at home against the Lambton Attack, looking for a win in Seaforth. (Denny Scott photo)
Alice Munro’s Nobel Prize for Literature will soon have a place in her hometown of Wingham when the community’s museum is relocated. Verna Steffler, as part of a presentation regarding support for the annual Alice Munro Festival of the Short Story, explained that, with the sale of Munro’s house in Clinton, she had reached out to Munro’s daughters and asked if artifacts could be relocated to Wingham. Steffler explained that, after a visit with Munro and her daughters, she returned home with a vehicle full of Munro’s things, including her desk, chair, trunk and a “massive” amount of awards won, including the Nobel Prize. “There are more things to come yet,” Steffler said. “It could probably fill my vehicle again.” The museum was already on council’s agenda for that night with a work plan to help move the museum, however council is yet to approve either moving, reopening or renovating the existing building. MUSEUM PLAN Doug Kuyvenhoven, a member of the committee hoping to move the Continued on page 3
Huron County budget could reach $45.3 mil. in 2020 By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Huron County Treasurer Michael Blumhagen has presented his first draft of the 2020 Huron County budget with a levy increase of 8.84 per cent. With the proposed levy increase, the total budget will reach $45.3 million at a time when, as Blumhagen highlighted for councillors, the county is under significant budget pressure due to ongoing provincial funding cuts, infrastructure costs and rising labour pressures. Blumhagen presented the consolidated draft budget to council at its Jan. 8 meeting. He also presented the corporate department budget, while Director of Planning and Development Sandra Weber presented the budget for her department and Lara Vanstone presented the Human Resources budget. With the increased assessment in
the county, accounting for an increase of over $1.2 billion over the previous year, Blumhagen said if the county were to maintain the same tax rate as 2019, it would equate to a 6.66 per cent increase to the levy. To fund the proposed draft budget increase, the county would see a practical tax rate increase of just over two per cent. Blumhagen told council that the average impact of the draft budget increase on $100,000 of residential assessment is an increase of $21.92. On the median residential Huron County property, valued at $213,000, the annual proposed increase would be $38.81. For farmland, the increase would be $17.76 per $100,000 of assessment, meaning that for the median farm property, valued at $1,020,300, the annual increase would be $157.54. He told council there will be significant taxation shifts in the 2020 budget due to changes in the market. For example, he said, the current market value of farmland in Huron
County has risen nearly 15 per cent. Blumhagen told council that the operational details for the Health Unit, which was merged with the Perth County Health Unit at the beginning of the year, and the entity’s budget request of nearly $3.1 million has been included in Huron County’s consolidation budget. Council has expressed a desire to limit staff salary increases, so Blumhagen set non-union salary increases at 1.5 per cent for 2020 with the hope that future union settlements will fall in line with that amount. He said that union salaries continue to cause pressures because many settlements are based on arbitrated figures. Blumhagen also highlighted the county’s ongoing grant commitments. Though the county established a moratorium on any new grants several years ago, there are still some grant commitments Huron County Council made before
then, including a 2020 contribution to the Huron County Food Bank Distribution Centre at $66,000, $100,000 for the Wingham and District Hospital, $33,000 to the Regional Equine and Agricultural Centre of Huron (REACH) and $150,000 to the Alexandra Marine and General Hospital in Goderich, all of which will be funded from the county’s reserves. Capital expenditures will rise again in 2020, Blumhagen said, and will continue to do so annually due to aging infrastructure. Blumhagen said that while declining provincial funding and
steadily rising labour costs continue to worry staff, he estimates a goforward surplus from the 2019 budget in the neighbourhood of $1.75 million, which have been incorporated to reduce the overall estimated levy increase. He said the surplus is based on year-end budget estimates and the final figure will be confirmed and included in the budget at a later date. Department heads will present further budget figures at council’s Jan. 15 meeting and the budget will then be discussed at a special, daylong meeting scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 23.
Ag. Society looks ahead The Brussels Agricultural Society welcomed a nearly entirely new slate of officers to its ranks on Friday at its annual general meeting at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre. Huron East Councillor Zoellyn
Onn, who is also a member of the Brussels Horticultural Society and Brussels Lions Club, became president of the Brussels Agricultural Society after stepping up shortly after last year’s annual Continued on page 3