Michael HARRIS
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123 Pioneer Drive, Kitchener, ON N2P 2B4 | 519.749.8874
05 | 17 | 2014 VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 20
LINEUP EVOLVES WITH HILLSIDE TICKETS ON SALE ARTS PAGE 17
COMMENT PAGE 8
FRAMEWORK NEEDED TO DEAL WITH PUBLIC CONCERNS
Woolwich’s $430K surplus to fund reserves
Local candidates stake their positions as election heats up
Huge deficit in winter control budget offset by unexpected revenue, leaving money available for future shortfalls
Liberals and Conservatives in neckand-neck battle despite current government’s many scandals
STEVE KANNON Ending 2013 with a surplus, Woolwich will funnel most of the $430,000 into its reserve funds. Reporting to councillors Tuesday night, director of finance Richard Petherick said unexpected revenues covered off a huge shortfall in the snow-clearing budget, the result of some heavy winter conditions in 2013. That in turn allowed for a surplus at year’s end. Of the $430,000 surplus, about $223,000 came from the operating budget, while $207,000 was left over from the capital side. The latter represents scheduled work such as road repairs that wasn’t done in 2013, with the money and projects carried over for this year. Coun. Mark Bauman argued whether carrying over unspent capital dollars really amounted to a surplus at all, noting that may be the case only for accounting purposes. “That skews the numbers for me,” he said of the capital figure, adding the goal is to complete much-needed capital projects. Director of engineering and planning Dan Kennaley noted a new engiSURPLUS | 7
WILL SLOAN
After a soggy start to spring, the Elmira District Secondary School slo-pitch teams made their belated debuts at Lions Park this week. On May 13, the boys lost 13-9 to Preston High School. [WILL SLOAN / THE OBSERVER]
A I R O T C I V E L A S Y A D
It’s no accident that the provincial election feels like a race between Dalton McGuinty, Mike Harris and Bob Rae. Almost two weeks into what pundits are calling the closest race in a generation, all three major parties are coming with serious baggage, and want you to remember their rivals’ predecessors. Can voters trust the 11-year-old Liberal government to learn from the gas plant, eHealth and ORNGE spending scandals that dogged McGuinty’s waning days? Kitchener-Conestoga Liberal candidate Wayne Wright says yes. “We learned from our mistakes, and the only way we learn is by making mistakes,” said Wright. “The next government, no problem with it comes to trust.” He continued, “I kind of
like to say, ‘You’ll never see where you’re going if you spend all your time looking in the rearview mirror.’ We’ve openly admitted that there have been mistakes made, and legislation, rules and policy have been put into place to make sure that those mistakes never happen again.” Incumbent Conservative MPP Michael Harris doesn’t think sorry is good enough, but with PC leader Tim Hudak promising heavy cuts to public services, can voters expect a return to the maligned Mike Harris era? “We’re clearly in different times – this is 2014, it’s not 1995,” responded Harris. “However, Ontario’s fiscal position is bleak – a $12.5 billion deficit, half a million people out of work, $10 billion in interest payments annually. We can’t sustain that.
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