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.
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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