SERVING MAPLETON AND MINTO
THE
COMMUNITY NEWS VOLUME 52 ISSUE 49
1 Year GIC - 2.37% 3 Year GIC - 2.45% 5 Year GIC - 2.50%
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2019
Daily Interest 1.20%
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Mapleton council directs staff to prepare budget with 8.9% increase in local levy By Aryn Strickland
Christmas parade - Forty entries, including fire trucks, decorated vehicles, festive floats, singers, twirlers, drummers and Clifford the Big Red Dog all combined to create a festive atmosphere for the Santa Claus Parade in Clifford on Nov. 30. TOP: Rachael Douglas enjoyed a visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus at the fire hall after the parade. ABOVE LEFT: Tripp and Kohen Matthews handed out candy during the parade. ABOVE RIGHT: St. John’s Lutheran Church had a colourful entry. Photos by Bonnie Whitehead
MAPLETON - Council here has directed staff to prepare the 2020 township budget with an 8.91 per cent tax levy increase and a 4.18% tax increase. If passed, the average homeowner will pay an additional $77.58 in 2020. As part of Mapleton’s switch to a three-year budget plan, the 2020 levy increase front loads the tax impact to allow the tax levy increase to drop in 2021 and 2022 to 2.72% and 2.31% respectively. “I’ve looked at studies from enough AMO conferences where municipalities, using this approach, have actually, over time, they’ve had their multi-year living increases less than the assessment growth,” said finance director John Morrison. He told council on Nov. 26 it was about time the township made the switch to a three-year budget. “Some of the larger municipalities have been adopting this for at least a decade,” said Morrison. “Some of the smaller municipalities are now starting to engage in this process as well.” Morrison also presented council with other options, including placing the tax
levy increase at 2.89% as previously discussed and 2.88% and 2.44% in the subsequent years. However, Morrison suggested that option would not generate enough funding to meet a $9.6-million need in road reconstruction that extends beyond 2030. In a third option, Morrison outlined placing the 2020 tax levy increase at 4.82% and a consistent 4.6% and 4.8% for 2021 and 2022 respectively. The option would result in a slight tax increase of 0.26% in 2020 and would maintain discretionary reserves at the existing level, but it would also mean losing about $2.5 million in reserve funds. Councillors Paul Douglas and Michael Martin said they struggled to see the benefit of a three-year budget. “What does that look like, say a year from now, if we do have substantial cuts in provincial funding?” asked Douglas. According to Morrison, the three-year budget does not prevent council from increasing tax rates in any given year of their term. “Again, it’s a planning tool that we would engage in an ongoing conversation between ourselves,” said Morrison. While Martin said he
liked that the three-year plan would allow tenders to be sent out more quickly, he questioned whether council should introduce a three-year budget before the outcome of the water and wastewater project. “For this year I would probably prefer to see a oneyear budget, just until we get this RFP thing figured out,” said Martin. “It’s such a monetary value that it’s certainly nothing that I’ve had to make a decision on before in my term here on council.” He asked if council could continue with a single-year budget and then introduce a multi-year budget next year. Martin then reiterated the benefits of the 2.89% levy increase. “The number on the growth assessment [2.89%] for this year, I’m uncomfortable with that ... That kind of gives us a respite year and then we get the nice picture of where we’re at after this RFP process,” he added. Currently, the draft budget has $2 million set aside for next year to pay for the first phase of updates to the water and wastewater systems if the RFP process does not see a consortium take over the project. “I would caution lowering SEE MAPLETON » 3
Harriston setting for independent horror/thriller film HARRISTON – This community became a sort of Hollywood North Wellington for a few weeks last month, as an independent film crew featured the town and some area residents in an upcoming movie. Tailored Films and Makama Films were busy shooting scenes for a horror/thriller film in the area between Nov. 7 and 26. Godforsaken, written and directed by Ali Akbar Akbar Kamal, features locations in the town of Harriston and village of Clifford, several local residents in supporting roles, and a large crew of local extras. The film stars Harriston native Chad Tailor, a graduate and current faculty member of the Toronto Film School, who has collaborat-
ed with Kamal and Mariah MacDonald on several independent productions. Other productions filmed locally include A Done Deal (2013), and the short films The White Samurai (2014) and Arkham’s Journal (2015). The town of Minto approved a number of permits and “several individuals graciously opened up their doors” to facilitate the production, notes Tailor. “We’re filming here because the director has been with me on a couple of other projects here before and he loved Harriston when he was here and he actually wrote Harriston in when he was thinking of this film,” said Tailor in a Nov. 17 interview. “The town has opened up the doors and the response from the community has been amazing with all of the extras and the supporting
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roles and all of the locations. It’s what I love about this small town and this community is that they’re so open and so willing to help out on things like this.” Tailor credits Kamal as “the reason we are all here. “He has worked tirelessly on the script, character direction and his vision to make this all come together,” said Tailor. “Working with him has given me the ability to act at my best and discover things in the moment, and as a producing partner, he and his partner Mariah MacDonald have been dreams to work with.” In addition to main cast members, largely Toronto Film School alumni, Tailor said the film involves about 40 local residents as extras, and several members of the SEE MOVIE » 5
Local film shoot - Tailored Films and Makama Films were busy shooting scenes for a horror/thriller film in the Town of Minto between Nov. 7 and 26. Director Ali Akbar Akbar Kamal second from left, filming a scene in the basement of a Harriston home. Photo by Patrick Raftis
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