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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2008-05-15, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 15, 2008. Close call Early Monday morning, a school bus destined for St. Anne’s Catholic Secondary School in Clinton heading southbound through Blyth was grazed by a vehicle heading out of town, northbound on Hwy. 4 according to Avon Maitland District School Board communications manager Steve Howe. Howe went on to say there were no injuries to any of the students, no significant damage to the bus and no delays, while the other vehicle that struck the bus continued on into the ditch. (Shawn Loughlin photo) Following a recom-mendation from committee ofthe whole, Huron County council approved a budget increase of 4.3 per cent at its May 7 meeting. The 2008 levy will be $31,921,620. The recommendation was actually the third at committee, with two earlier motions defeated. The first had proposed the levy be set at $31,697,514, representing a 3.57 per cent increase. This was narrowly defeated by a vote of 10-8. The second motion was fora levy of $32,105,253,representing a 4.9 per centincrease. This too had 10opposed and eight in favour. The final motion passed 12- 5. Councillor for Huron East Bernie MacLellan spoke of the committee’s down-to-the- wire decision, and asked council to consider setting a day a month for budget discussions until it’s approved. “I’m sure when we made this decision that there were people not happy with it, but we didn’t have a choice. Time had run out.”Budgets must be set by theend of April. While he supported theidea, councillor Ben VanDiepenbeek of Ashfield- Colborne-Wawanosh wondered if the end result would be any different. “What happens when we get to March and we’re still not happy. We’ve had lots of opportunity to look at this budget, and we still couldn’t all agree.” “I know it doesn’t mean everyone will agree,” said MacLellan, “but I did get some answers outside this room that might have changed the opinion of some here if there had been time for morediscussion.”Bluewater councillor BillDowson agreed. “We need a special day for budget. After council is not working.” Joe Seili of Huron Eastsuggested that discussions beheld separately for eachdepartment, rather than“jumping around.”Warden John Bezaire said that this was the way budget discussions were handled by Central Huron council and felt it worked well. “Decisions are notunanimous; they never willbe. But it’s a very smoothprocess.”MacLellan’s motion to set aside specific days for budget discussions passed unanimously. County council approves 4.3% budget hike Huron County council decided May 7 that they will not hire a consultant, at a cost of $5,000, to help settle a dispute between Goderich and Central Huron. The unresolved issues pertain to matters directed by the provincial policy statement. Decisions are required to be consistent with the PPS, which places the role of co-ordination on the county for matters which cross municipal boundaries. According to a report from the planning department the municipalities, despite concerted efforts, have reached on impasse regarding servicing and land issues. There have been appeals by Goderich to the Ontario Municipal Board over current development applications. At issue is a development application on the fringe of Goderich in Central Huron, which has been approved by the county. “A resolution to the matter is desirable for reasons of good planning, co-ordinated servicing and economic development,” the report stated. Huron East councillor Joe Seili opposed the recommendation to hire a consultant saying, “Unless both are willing to abide by the consultant’s rules and sign something to that effect, we’re just throwing money away. This battle has gone on for years.” His counterpart from Huron East Bill Siemon had objections to the county entering into a dispute. “We’ve never done it in the past. I believe we have a dispute mechanism called the OMB.” John Grace, councillor for Goderich, said he felt that it was prudent of the planning department to try to get this resolved. “Part of planning’s mandate is to circumvent matters going to the OMB, which would cost substantially more than $5,000.” “What is a consultant going to do that planning couldn’t,” said Bluewater councillor Dave Johnston. Director of planning Scott Tousaw said that planning does participate in an on- going basis. “In this case, however, I recommend a third party because there are issues here that make it seem planning is siding with one group over another. It’s not true, but because that perception of bias is there I felt better to bring in a third party.” Warden John Bezaire said that in fact his council, Central Huron, also was not in favour of the third party process. “Just reeve Dykstra and myself will be taking part.” Tousaw said that if the county decided to proceed the section saying it was in agreement with Central Huron should be changed. He noted that Central Huron has agreed it will only proceed if Goderich withdraws the two current notices of OMB appeal. “This isn’t going to work,” said Johnston. “They are already putting conditions on it. I don’t know the history but this isn’t going to work.” Goderich councillor Deb Shewfelt said the issue had been going on for decades, however it comes down to cutting a deal that would be a win/win for those involved. “We could see huge development.” Central Huron’s Tim Collyer explained his council’s position. “Part of the reason council is not completely satisfied is that we have tried to use outside people to resolve this over the years. There has been a huge effort in the past to try to come to a solution.” When Seili suggested that the parties agree to pay back the $5,000 if the issue still went to OMB, both Goderich councillors expressed agreement. However, Central Huron was less confident. “I’m not as brave as my Goderich counterparts. I’m not committing my council’s money,” said Bezaire. Bert Dykstra, councillor for Central Huron said there would be no guarantees even with a third party that the issue would be resolved. “It could cost another $5,000 after that.” In a recorded vote the motion to hire a consultant was defeated 11-9. 2008 Advance Payments Program Federal Assistance to the Livestock Sector Through the Advance Payments Program (APP), producers can get repayable cash advances to help improve their cash-fl ow. As part of a national action plan to help hog and cattle producers, improvements have been made to the APP for 2008 to give livestock producers easier access to cash advances, including: • Removing the requirement for livestock producers to use a Business Risk Management (BRM) program as security for a cash advance and allowing producers to use only inventory as security. Producers are still required to participate in an eligible BRM program to get a cash advance. • Declaring that a state of severe economic hardship exists for the cattle and hog sectors so that emergency advances of up to $400,000 are available to eligible producers for the 2008-09 production period. To apply for the 2008 APP, contact a participating producer organization by visiting agr.gc.ca/app or call 1-888-346-2511. Growing Forward A vision for a profitable, innovative, competitive, market-oriented agriculture, agri-foods and agri-based products industry. By Bonnie GroppThe Citizen County rejects request to hire a consultant By Bonnie Gropp The Citizen Slip! on clothing Slop! on sunscreen SPF 15 or higher Slap! on a hat For more information call the Canadian Cancer Society at 1 888 939-3333 or take our SunSense quiz at www.cancer.ca.