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3.96 tax hike? Scugog taxpayers can expect to pay an additional $24 on their 2012 bill, with councillors set to approve a 3.96 per cent levy increase next week - a slight reduction from the 4.24 hike proposed late last year. Councillors discussed some late developments in the budget process this week, seven days before the document returns to council chambers for its last appearance. A special meeting will be held next Monday (Feb. 13) at 3 p.m. for final budget discussions, with the document’s approval scheduled for council’s 6:30 p.m. meeting later that evening. According to treasurer Trena DeBruijn, an increase of 3.96 per cent would work out to approximately $24 more on the municipal portion of the average property tax bill, based on an assessment of $319,000. Although neither the Regional nor Durham District School Board portions of the bill have yet been determined, township staff estimate this year’s total bill to ring in between 2.5 and 2.7 per cent higher than 2011. A staff report on the budget, accompanied by several letters from residents regarding possible tax hikes, detailed a number of new developments. Although a number of last-minute expenses came in recently, such as the $3,000 replacement of a furnace for the Old Mill property, these were somewhat offset by the late announcement from the provincial government regarding Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) money, which yielded $1,355,400 for Scugog in 2012 – approximately $65,000 more than was budgeted for initially. While a number of possible cuts were proposed by staff to lower the budget even further, measures such as reducing the amount spent on the township’s gravel roads or delaying the repayment of the hydro reserve for the Old Mill purchase seemed to receive little support from councillors. “Communities that come in at a zero tax increase will find themselves in such a state of debt that they never recover, unless they increase next year’s levy to double digits,” said Mayor Chuck Mercier, defending the hike. “Reducing the budget by another per cent might look good, but that $10 saved would be better invested in the township. We have to be realistic, and we’ve promised that.”
SERVING SCUGOG, UXBRIDGE, BROCK, AND SURROUNDING AREAS
Replica gun seized
DANGEROUS TOY: Durham police checking on the wellbeing of a Scugog youth (top photo) got more than they bargained for when a search of a back-pack revealed this realistic looking pellet gun (right). Officers said that such ‘toys’ could have deadly results, should an officer be confronted with one. RIK DAVIE The Standard
Communter rail line for area is still set to debut in 2014 BLAKE WOLFE The Scugog Standard
Plans for a commuter train, which would travel between Peterborough and Toronto along the eastern edge of Scugog Township, are still on track for a July 2014 debut. Peterborough MP Dean Del Mastro, who has spearheaded the movement to revive the line as the Shining Waters Railway, told The Standard that a call for tender for design engineering was put out recently, with four responses returned as of this past January. Upon award of the contract, the winning bid will have 16 weeks to complete an engineering study. The revival of the commuter service is planned to feature stops in or near Durham Region at Pontypool, Myrtle, Claremont and Locust Hill, with two stops in Peterborough and Toronto, including
Steeles Ave. E. and Union Station. The where the latest information on the rail total trip between Peterborough and To- plan was discussed. The revival of the rail ronto is estimated at 90 minutes. line was originally discussed in the 2008 Two daily trips both eastbound and federal budget, in which $150 million was westbound would take place Monday to pledged in infrastructure funding to bring Friday, with at least one return trip sched- the commuter service back on track. The uled for Saturday, Sunday and holidays. province would match the federal contriThe first train could leave as early as July bution for a total $300 million cost. The 2014, a target date that Mr. Del Mastro plan also makes provisions for improved said is still the goal for the project. freight service along the line. “I’ve had some great discussions with According to an October 2011 report residents from across the GTA, and people from Shining Waters, the service could are quite excited about this plan,” he said. potentially create more than 2,000 con“People see the value in this, a transit ser- struction and railway jobs initially, with vice that is not currently offered. This is potential for new jobs each year as the sersomething significant - a direct link into vice continues. the GTA economy which would have a Commuter have trains travelled the profound economic impact.” route on and off over the last 50 years, In January 2011, politicians from with the service (formerly provided by VIA across the GTA were among those in at- Rail) most recently discontinued in 1990 The Scugog Standard tendance at a meeting in Peterborough, - only five years after passenger trains re-
turned to the tracks, following a previous service cancellation in 1982. According to Mr. Del Mastro, the plan’s biggest stumbling block is what he describes as “tepid support” from the provincial government, which he says has been dragging its heels on Shining Waters while it forges ahead with its own Metrolinx transit plan to connect the communities of the GTA. Recently, that plan has returned to Uxbridge Council chambers for discussion, regarding the possibility of a GO Transit hub in that North Durham municipality in the near future. “We need to get this done and running, so that we can start experiencing the benefits,” said Mr. Del Mastro. “With a project like the Pickering Airport creating something like 30,000 jobs, it’s absolutely critical that there is rail support for commuters.”
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