Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1988-03-09, Page 1Huron County accepts assessment 27-5 Some Huron County taxpayers will save money and some will see higher education and county taxes after Huron County Council voted 27 to 5 Thursday to accept tax reform proposals. Near-perfect weather over the weekend brought out hordes of nature lovers, bent on enjoying the final weeks of winter weather throughout the region. Stacey Hunter of RR 2, Bluevale, left, and her sister Krista, skied through sunshine and shadow on the trails at the MNR’s Agreement Forest on Morris Twp.’s Centre Sideroad, just north of County Road 16on Sunday. The girls’ dad, Stewart, follows well back. Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. - - __________________________________________•___________________ ________________________„___________ _________ ________ ___________■ ■ VOL. 4 NO. 10 WEDNESDAY. MARCH 9, 1988.45 CENTS Blyth to host Opportunity Tour stop The village of Blyth will be one of five Huron County municipalities to be included in the foreign investment Opportunity Tour be­ ing organ izedbytheMinistry of Industry, Trade and Technology for September, 1988. Confirmation was given last week by Wayne Caldwell, senior plannerwith the Huron County County reform proposal opposed by Exeter A move to give Huron County approval to recommendations for county reform contained in the Report of the Advisory Committee on County Government was stalled at Thursday’s meeting of county council with the vote deferred until next month’s meeting. After studying the 132-page report, the executive committee of council recommended that all but one of the 36 recommendations in the report be approved and the Minister of Municipal Affairs, John Eakins be asked to implement the measures as quickly as poss­ ible. But Exeter Reeve Bill Mickle In a recorded vote counciIlors first agreed to accepting a reform­ ed tax system, then voted to accept Section 70 over Section 63, a policy that means 1984 market value assessments will be used in Planning Department, that two investment opportunities had been identified by the Blyth Business and Tourism Committee by the tour’s January 29 deadline, along with one opportunity in Wingham, nine in Seaforth, two in Goderich and five in Tuckersmith Twp., including four in Vanastra. “A lot of credit has to go to the was quickly on his feet saying he had hoped there would be more discussion on the matter before it cametoa vote. Copies of the report had only been received by council­ lors at their February meeting. In an impassioned reading of a written speech he said the docu­ ment, which seeks to update the county government system first set out in the Baldwin Act of 1849, is a blueprint for the takeover of local government functions by the coun­ ty and he said “we can't have that.’’ He said he could not support Continued on page 24 calculation of all taxes in the county. Currently the 1984 market value assessments are used for municipal taxes but a complicated factoring system is used for county and school taxes which means two people on the committees in those places,’’ Mr. Caldwell said Mon­ day adding that Huron County had identified 19 of the 36 investment opportunities put forward in total by the five counties to be included on the tour, a feat which he called “a remarkable achievement.” Besides Huron, the counties of Perth, Middlesex, Grey and Bruce w ill participate in the tour, which is expected to attract 20 to 30 potential investors to the area next fall. The ministry is now involved in selecting participants through several offices in the United States as well as in London (England) and in Bohn, individuals who would be willing to relocate to Canada, with a minimum of 5250,000 each for investment purposes. County council last week ratified the organization of a committee to plan the details of the Huron County portion of the tour, sche­ duled for September 13 - 15. Committee members will include HuronCounty warden Robert Bell, Jim Robinson of the Huron County Planning Committee, and a repre­ sentative of each of the communi­ ties to be included on the tour. Bev Elliott, a Blyth councillor and the properties ofthe same assessed value can pay dramatically differ- enttaxes depending on where they are in the county. The new system means all properties assessed at the same value will pay the same chairman of the Blyth Business and Tourism Committee, will repre­ sent the village. Mr. Caldwell said that members ofthe County planning depart me nt would be available as consultants Continued on page 3 Brussels threatens snowmobile ban Unless snowmobile operators in Brussels become more aware of the rights of others they may find themselves banned from driving in the village, Brussels councillors warned at their March meeting Monday night. Councillors were upset by the lack of what Councillor Neil McDonald called “common courtesy’’ by snowmobilers in the village. Council had placed an advertisement in The Citizen last month asking for courteous use of snowmobiles but councillors were unhappy with the response from machine operators. Reeve Gordon Workman suggested that another ad be put in the paper telling snowmobilers that they’ve been asked to co-operate and “if they don’t co-operate, we’ll ban them." Councillor McDonald worried that with the ground getting softer it is the time of year when more damage than ever can be done to lawns and shrubs. He said he had lost one shrub to damage by snowmobilers. Snowmobilers don’t need to be on other people’s property, he said. Council agreed to make another plea through the paper then consider stiffer action if there is no compliance. county and school taxes no matter if they are in Brussels or McKillop township. Blyth or WestWawa- nosh. North-Huron municipalities were prominent among those voting against the tax reform proposal. Voting to stick for the old system were reeves Doug Fraser of Morris, Marie Hicknell of McKil­ lop, Brian McBurney of Turnberry and Ernie Snell of East Wawanosh alongwithGerry Prout of Usborne. It required a majority of county council plus a majority of support from municipal councils in the county to bring the change about. Earlier the same five municipali­ ties had voted against tax reform at the local council level. The five were among those that would be hardest hit by the adjustment the tax reform will bring. Although the net effect will be to raise the same amount of money across the cou nty for county and school purposes, it will mean a shifting of the amount of tax paid from some municipalities to oth­ ers. In general, residential taxes in urban areas (with the exception of Bayfield) will be lower while rural residential taxes will increase. The picture is notsoclear in farm taxes. McKillop township faces the heaviestburden pickingupa 12 per cent increase in both residential and farm taxes, (calculations based on a “typical” home assessed at $50,000 and a "typi­ cal” farmassessedat $90,000.) Morris residential property own­ erswill be hit with an increase of 22 per cent but the farm rate will drop marginally by less than one per cent. East Wawanosh faces an 11 percent increase in residential rates but a drop of five per cent in the farm tax rate. Turnberry will have a 12 per cent increase in residential rates but a drop of five per cent in the farm tax rate. Turnberry will have a 12 per cent increase in residential taxes but a 12 per cent decrease in farm taxes. Usborne will have a 10 per cent increase in residential taxes and a drop of .5 per cent in farm taxes. Some municipalities which will be hit hard by the tax increases still voted for the new system. West Wawanosh, for instance, faces a 45 percent increase in residential taxes and a decrease of less than one per cent in farm taxes, but still supported the reform. Some areas with heavy cottage populations such as Colborne, Goderich and Ashfield still suppor­ ted the reform despite concerns over a backlash from cottage owners. Colborne, for instance, will have a 36 per cent increase in residential (including cottage) rates while Goderich will see an increase of 29 per cent and Ashfield, 59 per cent. Once councillors had voted to accept tax reform the decision was which system to accept. Section 63 would still have some factoring Continued on page 24