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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, March 28, 2013
Volume 29 No. 13
FIRE - Pg. 11Councillor questionssafety of fire truck TURBINES - Pg. 13Anti-wind group expressesfrustration with councilSPORTS- Pg. 10Blyth Brussels Novice LLwins silver in WOAA tourneyPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
Huron East to raise taxes by nine per cent
Midgets
OMHA
champs
Taking it all off
The Brussels Optimist Club held its annual spring auction and dinner on Saturday night at the Brussels, Morris and Grey
Community Centre and there was plenty up for auction in an effort to raise money for community betterment and to battle
childhood cancer. Perhaps he was looking for a free haircut or maybe he just needed a change, but Brad Beuermann, left, put
his bountiful coiff up for auction, earning the winner the right to shave it off. Helping Beuermann get the most out of his hai r were
auctioneer Kevin McArter, centre, and Tyler Deitner. Beuermann collected $173 for charity in exchange for losing his hair for a
few weeks. The eventual winner ceded his chance to be a barber for a day to the four charter members of the club, Don Bray,
Gord Finch, Murray Cardiff and George Langlois, not pictured, who have all been members of the club since 1973. In July, the
club will celebrate its 40th anniversary. (Vicky Bremner photo)
Huron East is proceeding with a
nine per cent increase to its tax levy
for 2013.
Because of the increase in
assessment on farmland in Ontario,
Mayor Bernie MacLellan said, taxes
will increase significantly in the
municipality’s three rural wards, but
that is an increase that is out of
council’s hands.
“Farmland’s getting hit and there’s
nothing I can do about that,”
MacLellan said at council’s March
19 meeting.
Factoring in taxation from Huron
County, as well as education rates,
taxes in Huron East will rise an
average of 4.92 per cent with
minimal increases affecting the two
villages and sizable increases being
applied to the municipality’s three
rural wards.
Taxes will rise in Brussels 2.77 per
cent and in Seaforth 2.3 per cent,
while Grey taxes will rise 7.30 per
cent, Tuckersmith taxes will rise
5.81 per cent and McKillop taxes
will increase by 5.58 per cent.
Huron County taxes comprise 42
per cent of the final figure, while
municipal taxes account for 36 per
cent and education taxes are the final
22 per cent.
While Treasurer Paula Michiels
initially came to the March 19 with a
six per cent increase that council had
discussed, councillors eventually
decided to go higher in order to
contribute to the municipality’s
reserves, which have been steadily
dwindling for the last few years.
The only ward that will experience
an actual increase, based on
$100,000 of assessment will be
Brussels. Taxes in the village will
rise 1.61 per cent on $100,000 of
assessment, meaning taxes will
increase $35.38 over last year’s tax
figures.
Every other ward in Huron East
will see its taxes on $100,000 of
assessment actually go down, which
may have a lot to do with the 2012
province-wide reassessment by the
Municipal Property Assessment
Corporation (MPAC).
Taxes in Seaforth will go down
0.35 per cent on $100,000 of
assessment, down $7.74 from last
year, while Grey will go down $24,
or 1.98 per cent from last year.
Similarly McKillop will fall 1.86 per
cent, or $22.20 and Tuckersmith will
be reduced by $28.75, or 2.34 per
cent.
Total taxation on $100,000 of
assessment will be $2,226.93 in
Brussels for 2013, up from
$2,191.55 in 2012; $2,226.93 in
Seaforth in 2013, down from
$2,234.67 in 2012; $1,187.53 in
Grey in 2013, down from $1,211.53
in 2012; $1,168.64 in McKillop in
2013, down from $1,190.84 in 2012
and $1,201.96 in Tuckersmith in
2013, down from $1,230.71 in 2012.
The actual tax bill will depend on
the assessment on each property,
which may have changed under the
MPAC reassessment.
The Blyth Brussels Midget Rep
Hockey team celebrated a big win
over the weekend as they came back
from a 2-1 deficit to eliminate
Belmont 7-3 and win the Ontario
Minor Hockey Association Midget
champions.
“We were down 2-1 early in the
game and then something happened
and we played hard and came all the
way back by the end of the game,”
Assistant Coach Brian Ten Pas
explained. “The boys fought hard, it
was quite a win.”
The win was also well witnessed
according to Ten Pas, who said that
there were more fans from Blyth
and Brussels than there were fans
for the home team.
“We had great support.”
Aside from the support, Ten Pas
said the victory came because of the
focus and determination of the team
that could be summed up in their
motto.
“Our goal, our motto at the
beginning of the year was you play
with your hearts and have no
regrets,” he said. “That’s exactly
how they played during the final
game and all year. They played
through injuries, through shoulder
and knee problems, with broken
fingers, it didn’t matter. They were
battered and bruised and they kept
on going. That’s why they were the
champions.”
He said that, even after the final
buzzer went, the celebration was so
loud and raucous that the players
didn’t know what had really
With the first day of spring behind
us, Easter is just around the
corner.
The Citizen’s offices will be closed
on Good Friday, March 29, but
weekly deadlines will not be
affected.
Deadlines for the Thursday, April
4 issue of The Citizen will remain
Monday, April 1 at 2 p.m. in
Brussels and at 4 p.m. in Blyth.
The Citizen wishes all of its
readers a happy and healthy Easter
weekend.
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Holiday for ‘Citizen’
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 22