4 • Editorials 8 • Sports 10 • Scouts/Guides 13 • Horse Racing
The
THIS WEEK
Citizen
Huron County’s most trusted independent news source
Friday, February 21, 2025
$1.50 GST included
Volume 41 No. 8
Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, ON N0M 1H0
Election now set in H-B By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen
He scores... The U11 Rep Blyth Brussels Crusaders are the only local team with any playoff games under its belt thus far this post-season and they have made the most of it, beating the Saugeen Shores Storm by a score of 3-2 on Saturday in Brussels. This came after the team lost the
team’s first playoff game this month by a score of 3-2 to the Kincardine Kinucks, so it must have - clearly - felt nice to get back in the win column, as evidenced by Blyth Brussels goal scorer Jack Gahan, left, a U9 player who has been known to lace them up for the U11 team. (John Stephenson photo)
Lower tax rate increase wanted in HC By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen The Huron County budget process for 2025 is in full swing after a special budget meeting for Huron County Council during which most councillors expressed the desire for a tax rate increase of between three and five per cent. The meeting was held virtually on Wednesday, Feb. 12 due to winter driving concerns and it was a special session focused entirely on the budget. It included several presentations on staffing levels and recruitment and retention pressures, a report on the use of pricey agency staff at the homes for the aged and a number of other “parking lot” budget items that had been flagged for further discussion at past meetings, such as court security costs being borne by the Town of Goderich, a proposal for paved shoulders in Dashwood and more. Treasurer Michael Blumhagen opened the meeting with a handful of minor adjustments to the accepted current version of the budget, which resulted in a reduction of the proposed spending. First, he pointed out a $122,000 error in the home for the aged
budget connected to grant funding, meaning that amount will be counted as additional revenue in the budget. Second, there was $91,000 in revenue in the Planning and Development Department budget that was counted twice, meaning that money would be deducted from the proposed budget. Third, there was $170,000 connected to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation that will be included in this year’s budget, but originally thought to be in the 2024 budget. So, that will count as revenue for 2025, but decrease the reported overall surplus from 2024. As a result of those adjustments, the proposed increase to the budget of 8.39 per cent had been reduced to 8.01 per cent. He also noted that, thanks to about 1.5 per cent in assessment growth over the past year, the proposed tax rate increase would be approximately 6.5 per cent. However, Blumhagen teased some good news coming later in the meeting that would shave a further one per cent off that figure, saying that, personally, he felt that Huron County was off to a “pretty good start” to its budget process for 2025. The good news to which
Blumhagen referred was a contract renegotiation on agency staff usage at the homes that resulted in savings for the county to the tune of about one full per cent of the proposed tax levy increase. As a result, Huron County Council began the Feb. 12 discussion with about a 5.5 per cent proposed increase to the tax rate. Interim Director of Homes for the Aged Dana Mellor was also happy to report to council that, as a result of those aforementioned negotiations, by April, the county should be using professionals from just three different agencies when
necessary, as opposed to the six it had been using. Later in the meeting, Blumhagen said that, as a result of that renegotiation, the county’s discrepancy between in-house staff and agency staff of about $536,000 would essentially be eliminated, which was also good news, as soaring agency staff use, and the associated costs, were a growing concern for councillors. Later in the meeting, Warden Jamie Heffer asked each councillor where they would like to see the tax rate increase as the budget process Continued on page 20
The deadline to register as a candidate for this month’s provincial election has come and gone and six people have put their names forward in Huron-Bruce, perhaps the most agriculturally-rich riding in Ontario. Nominations closed on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 2 p.m. Incumbent Progressive Conservative MPP Lisa Thompson, Ian Burbidge of the Ontario Liberal Party, Nick McGregor of the New Democratic Party, Matthew Van Ankum of the Green Party, Zack Weiler of the New Blue Party and Bruce Eisen of the Ontario Alliance will all be challenging for the position that Thompson has held for almost 14 years. Thompson, who has served as the Minister of Education, Minister of Government and Consumer Services, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and, most recently, the Minister of Rural Affairs, was first elected in 2011, upsetting long-time local representative Carol Mitchell. She has since been re-elected in 2014, 2018 and 2022. This will be her fifth election. Burbidge, who represents the riding for the Liberal Party, grew up in Simcoe and Port Dover, but moved to Kincardine in the early 1980s to teach math and music. He now lives near Port Elgin with his wife Sandy and their pets. The Green Party has selected a familiar face, Matthew Van Ankum, as its candidate for this election. A second-generation farmer in Howick Township, Van Ankum ran for the Green Party in the last election, garnering the support of nearly 2,000 voters, which equates to just over four per cent of the total votes cast in Huron-Bruce. Van Ankum is a member of the Saugeen Valley Conservation Continued on page 2
‘Citizen’ honoured provincially Last Friday, the Ontario Community Newspapers Association (OCNA) announced the shortlist for its annual Better Newspapers Competition and The Citizen is recognized in three categories, including general excellence in its circulation class. Being shortlisted for an award means that The Citizen has placed in the top three in that particular class. The rankings of those shortlisted - whether they have
placed first, second or third - will be announced on Friday, April 11 at the OCNA’s Better Newspapers Competition and Hall of Fame Awards dinner at the Queen’s Landing Hotel in Niagara-on-theLake. The Citizen is shortlisted for general excellence in the class for newspapers with a circulation between 1,500 and 8,000 alongside The Eganville Leader and The New Liskeard Temiskaming Speaker. The
Haldimand Press received an honorable mention in that class. Reporter Scott Stephenson is nominated for Best Business and Finance Story for his feature on St. Brigid’s Creamery near Brussels for last year’s Farms to Tables section. He is joined by stories by Rob Perry for The Aylmer Express and Ken Kellar for The Fort Frances Times. The third award comes in the Community Service class for Continued on page 2