Vol. 10 No. 3
THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2013
YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER COVERING NORTH DURHAM
Shorelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Showcase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
JULIE COLBY* Assistant
Scugog tax hike 3.6?
Uxbridge Headline budget turns to parks
BLAKE WOLFE The Standard
DARRYL KNIGHT The Standard
SCUGOG: Residents could now be looking at a possible tax increase of 3.6 per cent in the coming year, after the latest draft of the township’s 2013 budget was presented to councillors this week. The tax increase proposed in the latest version of the budget is down more than one per cent from when the document was last presented, after staff proposed a tax hike of 4.7 per cent last month. That figure was trimmed from an initial jump of 5.25 per cent projected a week earlier. The latest levy increase was achieved in part through omission of a number of items across all departments, which the latest budget report state adds up to $2,500,500, including $1,450,000 in public works and parks alone. The most recent cuts to the budget include removal of $25,000 for post-employment benefits liability (deferred to future years), the deferral of a $40,000 financial sustainability review and the removal of a $40,000 business retention study, which the report states will now be carried out by the Region. The levy increase will be further decreased by $180,000 from the township’s rate stabilization fund and $472,600 in Ontario-Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) dollars. “We’ve gone from a taking care of business budget to a rolling out the business model,” said Mayor Chuck Mericer of the budget process over the last three years. “This year’s budget was more business like and we had a greater understanding and all of our conversations focused on the plan and achieving a very balanced budget.” Councillors also voted on a number of individual items in the budget this week, specifically the removal of an annual vehicle allowance for councillors and the use of $450,000 to repair several roads instead of just one as originally intended. Mayor Mercier and Councillors
UXBRIDGE: Councillors turned their attention to parks, recreation and culture this week as 2013 municipal budget discussions continued at Town Hall. On Wednesday, Jan. 9, Bob Ferguson, the township’s Manager of Recreation facilities and Parks appeared before councillors outlining his plans for the department in 2013. After being informed of Mr. Ferguson’s plans to add new bleachers to Elgin Park as well as completing maintenance on the craft building and red barn, councillors turned their attention to park users for major events. During discussions surrounding the events in early 2012, councillors decided that the organizers of Ribfest and the Highland Games would be responsible for providing the township with full financial reports from the events in exchange for use of the park. After several months without having received these statements, Mayor Gerri Lynn O’Connor had frank words for the promoters of the events, threatening that the events may not proceed this year without that commitment being fulfilled. “I don’t think, in fairness, that they should be planning for this year if they haven’t provided us with the information we requested from them last year,” said Mayor O’Connor. After Ward 4 Councillor Jacob Mantle protested that Ribfest and the Highland Games were being singled out, council turned its attention to all organizers of large events at Elgin Park. Council would ultimately pass a motion requiring the Fair Board, Art in the Park, Everything Equine, Ribfest and the Highland Games be advised that there will be no further use of Elgin Park if full financial reports are not received and approved by March 1. Council was delighted earlier this year when the Rotary Skate Park opened on the Kennedy House lands, but some members of councillors questioned the cost of maintenance at the new facility. “There is extra money for sodding as well as the purchase of additional garbage cans and other expenses including waste removal, graffiti removal and parking lot maintenance,” replied Mr. Ferguson. Ward 4 Councillor Jacob Mantle, who is also a member of the Skate Park Committee, urged members of the community to stay engaged with the ongoing maintenance of the facility. Ultimately, $5,000 of the maintenance budget for the skate park was moved out of the operating budget and into the 2013 capital budget for the purchase of sod and garbage cans for the facility.
PORT VS. UXBRIDGE: Alex Teunissen (right) joins the fray as Eric Sheridan battles Todd Winder for the puck during a recent Lakeshore League MIdget game in Uxbridge. DARRYL KNIGHT The Standard Wilma Wotten and Larry Corrigan (who deemed the expenditure as “sending the wrong message” to the public) voted in favour of removing a $3,600 car allowance for council members, which would have been in lieu of the township’s current per-kilometre reimbursement model. A majority of council – Councillors Corrigan, Wotten and John Hancock - also voted in favour of dividing approximately $450,000 in federal gas tax money earmarked for the reconstruction of Spring Blvd., opting to divide it between five other municipal roads in need of repair. Those projects include gravel resurfacing on Cragg Rd., asphalt resurfacing to stretches of Maple St., Bruce Rd. and Meadow Green Ct. and the application of slurry seal to portions of Medd Rd. and Head Rd. Although Public Works Director Ian Roger cautioned that the decision to delay work on Spring Blvd. could impact plans by a housing develop-
er looking to build along the Scugog Island road (and has raised flooding concerns by residents should building occur prior to reconstruction, as acknowledged by Mayor Mercier), he told council that the road is among the lowest-priority infrastructure repair projects in the township. The current draft of the budget will be presented to the public during an open house on Jan. 22, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Scugog Memorial Public Library. The budget is scheduled to receive final approval from Scugog Council on Feb. 11 at that evening’s 6:30 p.m. council meeting, following a discussion on the document during that afternoon’s committees meeting beginning at 1:30 p.m. The draft 2013 budget is available to the public on the township’s web site at www.scugog.ca. Comments and feedback are welcomed at 2013budgetcomments@scugog.ca.
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