HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-05-03, Page 32PAGE 32. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2012.
Central Huron budget comes under fire
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Central Huron's proposed budget
came under fire at the April 26
Committee of the Whole meeting
when a member of the public asked
to address the budget.
Carol Dutot, a regular at Central
Huron Council meetings, criticized
councillors for spending too much
over the past few years and in the
proposed budget, saying that over
the past two years spending in the
municipality has gone up 21.5 per
cent, as a result of several large
capital projects.
In addition, Dutot questioned the
`public' position that taxes were
proposed to rise by 5.4 per cent in
the municipality. When coupled with
the rise in assessment, Dutot said, an
additional 4.84 per cent increase
should also be factored in, leaving
the potential increase on this year's
tax bill over 10 per cent. Dutot also
mentioned that the Municipal
Property Assessment Corporation
(MPAC) will be reassessing the
municipality in 2013 once again,
which will likely result in another
increase.
Dutot said she agreed with
council's decision to bring in a
consultant to aid in the search for a
new Chief Administrative Officer,
but that the consultation process
shouldn't stop there.
Dutot suggested that every
municipal employee be evaluated
and their daily tasks be examined to
see if Central Huron needs all of the
staff it currently has. Citing one
example, she said, in addition to the
CAO who will be hired this summer,
the senior staff consists of a clerk, a
Central Huron eyes
nuclear waste facility
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Central Huron Council will be
taking a tour of a nuclear waste
facility near the Bruce Power plant
in the hopes that such a facility will
make its way to Central Huron
someday.
The tour will take place on June
22, but with just 12 spots, there may
have to be a draw to see who can go
on the trip. With eight councillors
and several members of senior staff
who should take the tour, there are
limited spaces for interested
members of the public, but
Councillor Brian Barnim said it's
important to have public input on
the process and to be transparent
about the whole thing.
The tour, and trip, will take
approximately 12 to 14 hours and
there is a background check required
for anyone who goes on the tour.
Clerk Brenda Maclsaac said she
would need to have a finalized list
by the May 7 council meeting.
Barnim said that if the
municipality was "lucky enough" to
be chosen to host such a facility, the
company invests heavily in the
community.
The process is in its infant stages,
Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn
said, and there is no telling where
things will go after the tour in the
summer.
Seaforth girls band
returns from trip
Continued from page 31
up, so we had to make sure we were
ready to play. That evening a group
of us went out for dinner to celebrate
a birthday. The dish I had was called
the "macho nacho" and I think it was
the most delicious thing I ate all trip!
A good rest was in order to
prepare for Friday afternoon. We
had our performance on River Street
in Savannah and it was very, very
hot out. It was a great performance.
The band did a fantastic job, and the
crowd really enjoyed our presence.
We were tired out and really warm,
but we were in good spirits.
Heading to The Pirate's House not
too long after the performance for
our farewell dinner, everyone was
ready to eat. The Pirate's House was
one of the haunted locations we
heard about on the Ghost and
Gravestones Tour, but strangely
enough, it wasn't creepy at all. It
was a very nice restaurant with very
delicious food. We enjoyed the
dinner before driving back to our
hotel on Tybee Island to pack and
get ready to leave the next morning.
On Saturday morning we were up
and ready to go by 7 a.m. We ate
some breakfast and headed back to
Savannah to line up for the St.
Patrick's Day parade which began at
10 a.m.
It was still early when we arrived
to Savannah, but it was already
getting warm. We could tell it was
going to be a hot parade. Personally,
I think the waiting for the parade to
begin was more painful than the
actual parade. When we finally got
moving, it was a great time. When
we started playing the crowds would
go wild and get excited, if we
weren't playing people would holler
at us to play for them. One person at
the parade even asked me to play a
trumpet solo. We were stopped at
this point waiting for the parade to
continue, but the parade started
moving again not long after.
Two or so hours after we began
marching, we were all relieved to be
finished the long, exhausting parade
and slightly looking forward to the
long bus ride home.
The whole trip was such an
amazing experience and I am so
happy I was able to go. I had a lot of
fun with the band as always, and I
am really hoping that we can keep
the band going.
It is really an amazing experience
to be a part of something like this
and you meet so many great people.
If there are any girls aged 12-18
interested in being a part of the
Seaforth and District All Girls
Marching Band, you can e-mail
seaforthgirlsband@hotmail.com for
more information. Keep us marching
on!
CA ; H SAVI zs
ON $6.00 THURSDAYS
Drop into either of our offices any
Thursday with your word classified
(maximum 20 words) and pay only
$6.00 + HST (paid in advance).
That's $1.00 off regular rates.
The Citizen
deputy -clerk, a director of finance
and an assistant director of
finance. Dutot suggested that
perhaps not all of those people were
needed in the municipality's front
office.
After adding up all the money
being given to the Regional Equine
and Agricultural Centre of Huron
(REACH), Dutot said council was
paying $1,400 per day to keep the
centre's doors open if all factors
were included in the bottom line.
Totalled up for the year, Dutot said
REACH accounted for 20 per cent
of the municipality's proposed
budget this year.
"I think we can all agree that
REACH is the biggest drain on the
budget," Dutot told councillors.
Dutot did offer some cost-saving
measures as she saw them, saying
that the municipality's old arena,
which is currently sitting unused,
could be used as a municipal shed,
an expense listed at $150,000 this
year to build.
Dutot also questioned the
allocation of money throughout the
municipality, saying that while
Clinton only accounts for
approximately one quarter of the
municipality as far as tax
assessment, it gets all the amenities,
saying this is historically how things
have been done in Central Huron.
"Rural residents pay the largest
share, but the majority is spent in
Clinton; and this is historic," she
said.
Central Huron Council will
officially consider the municipal
budget again at their meeting on
Monday, May 7 at REACH. The
meeting begins at 7 p.m.
A hair-raising experience
If it weren't for the fact that their hair wasn't (mostly) white, you might think that some of the
students at Blyth Public School had seen a ghost on April 25. In reality, they wanted their hair
to look the way it did for Wacky Hair Day. Shown with their crazy coifs are, from left, Zach
Walden, Kiera Henry, Jeff Walden, Kennedy Huether, Brinna Bremner and Rorie Bromley.
(Denny Scott photo).
Listowel
Wingham
HOSPITALS ALLIANCE
ELECTION OF
DIRECTORS
, , ,
(\
Nominations for the following position will be received by the C.E.0.1Board Secretary, Karl Ellis,
6
up to May 7, 2012. Elections will be held at the Annual Meeting, June 7, 2012.
Corporation of the Wingham & District Hospital
The Wingham & District Hospital is calling for nominations of individuals who are interested in serving as a director
on the Board. Term for the Directors is two years.
Elections will be held for:
• 1 Director in the Central Zone (former municipalities of the Town of Wingham, Village of Blyth
and Township of East Wawanosh)
• 1 Director in the South Eastern Zone (former municipalities of Township of Morris, Township of
Turnbeny and Village of Brussels)
• 1 Director in the North Eastern Zone (Township of Howick and the former municipalities of the Village of
Teeswater and Township of Culross)
• 1 Director at Large (a resident in the County of Huron or Bruce living within a radius of 40 km of the hospital.)
Corporation of the Listowel Memorial Hospital
The Listowel Memorial Hospital is calling for nominations of individuals who are interested in serving as a director
on the Board. Elected directors shall be residents in the County of Perth, Huron or Wellington or Region of Water-
loo and live within a radius of 40 kilometres of the hospital.
Elections will be held for:
• 1 Director for a one-year term (to complete a term left vacant)
• 4 Directors for a two-year term