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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1988-04-27, Page 1Homes & Gardens '88 16 page special section included See page 15 Crusaders win Series decided by 1 goal See page 38 Good news, bad news in Bd. of Ed. budget The good news in the 1988 Huron County Board of Education budget estimate, approved by trustees at a special board meeting in Clinton Monday night, is that the overall increase over the actual cost of the county’s education in 1987 has been held at 7.3 per cent, down considerably from the 9.7 per cent increase in 1987 over 1986’s actual costs. In real terms, the total education budget for Huron County has increased to $47,269,519 ($47.3 million), up by more than $3 million over education’s actual costs of $44.5 million in 1987. However, the lower increase reflects a decision by trustees, in approving the estimate, to also approve an ammendmenttodelete$100,000in reserve for working funds in an effort to keep overall costs down, despite a warning from trustee John Elliott (Blyth, Morris and East Wawanosh) that the move could be disastrous in the face of an unexpected emergency. The decision was based on the fact that the reserve,tagged at $50,000 for both the board’s elementary and secondary panels for each of the past five years, has not been touched since 1976 was seen to be of more urgent use elsewhere. A motion to transfer the funds to cover approval of certain special projects could not find a seconder. The bad news is that the municipal share of all this is up by 12.8percent, which means that the taxpayer with the historically average assessment in Huron County of $3,110 will hand over an extra$38.57 in municipal taxes this year to pay for his child’s educa­ tion. That translates into the average property owner in the county doling out $224.70 in municipal taxes for secondary school education, up from $203.39 in 1987; and $301.83, up from $284.57, for elementary education. Director of Education Bob Allen explained that some of this in­ crease has come about because of initiatives the ministry of educa­ tion has insisted upon being put in place at the local level, without the province providing adequate in­ creases in funding to cover the costs, which then have to be met by municipal tax increases. “We’re significantly over ceil­ ing in both panels on this, and it’s going to badly hurt the taxpayer,’’ saidDon McDonald, trustee for Brussels and Grey. The good news is that the estimates may be high, according toMr. Allen, whonotedthat he had never yet seen a budget estimate approved that didn’t come in at a higher figure than actual costs later proved necessary. In addi­ tion, he said, the estimate may be high because of the county’s current shift in market value assessment of property, the out­ come of which may not be known for some time yet as county and province bargain over the system’s implementation. “If there is an emphasis on budget estimates this year it is very emphatically on the word ‘esti­ mate’,’’ Mr. Allen said. “The usual problems in preparing this document have been enormously compounded by the move to market value assessment in the county.’’ Later, Mr. Allen apolo­ gized for the lack of “tightness and cohesion’’ in the budget, espe­ cially since 1988 is an election year. The bad news is that the budget Continued on page 2 Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. VOL. 4 NO. 17 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 1988.45 CENTS Belgrave to get cable TV Bryan and Dale Walden of Kincardine County Cable attended the April 19 meeting of Morris Tow nship Council in order to ask permission to proceed with the installation of the facilities that would enable residents of Belgrave to have cable television as early as this August. The Waldens said they have met government requirements and have the necessary approval from the Canadian Radio and Telecom­ munications Commission (CRTC) for the venture, and said they would want to buy or lease land to install the towers and satellite dishes for the cable. The company also asked for permission to use Morris Twp. roadways and right of ways to install the cable, and said it would cover any expenses incurred by the municipality. After discussing the proposal, council passed a motion that the township is willing to enter into an agreement with Kincardine Coun­ try Cable for the installation, of cable TV in Belgrave, and asked the company to prepare an agree­ ment to present to council at the May 3 meeting. Much of the remainder of the three and one-half hour meeting was taken up with matters of Continued on page 42 Cranbrook gets $4835 Wintario grant The Cranbrook Hall will be of a number of Huron County projects benefiting from Wintario recreation grants announced re­ cently by Huron M.P.P. Jack Riddell on behalf of Hugh O’Neil, Ontario Minister of Tourism and Recreation. Grey Township has received a grant of $4,835 to be used in renovating the Cranbrook Hall to meet fire code standards. The grants come under the Capital Conservation Grant portion of the program. Under New Recreation Facility Capital Grants, the Town of Goderich will receive $40,000 to construct squash courts adjacent to the Community centre. In addi­ tion, the Exeter Lions Club will Continued on page 44 What’s wrong with this picture? Well, for one thing, 16-month-old boys don’t usually tower over their pet horses, but then Nicholas Campbell of Brussels knows that wee Suzy Q is no ordinary horse. The tiny foal came as a surprise to everyone on April 18, including her 38-inch tall mother, Snowflake. Nicholas’s father, Laurie, holding the act together in the picture, says the mouse-coloured filly stood 20 inches tail at birth, and weighed less than 15 pounds.