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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1988-06-22, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 1988. Worries over regionalization aired at hearing Those making presentations to the County Government Reform Consultation Task Force at its meeting in Goderich June 15 seemed unanimous in their belief government services should be provided at the lowest possible level of government. They just couldn’t agree if proposals for county reform will help or hurt that process. The day-long session headed by task Force Chairman Charlie That- ham, M.P.P. for Oxford and John Cleary, M.P.P. for Cornwall held informal discussions with county council members in the morning, followed by a session for members of the public then presentations by municipalities in the afternoon. Main concerns running through­ out the day seemed to be fear that proposals contained in “Patterns fortheFuture’’ the report of the* Advisory Committee on County Government could lead to creeping regionalization and that small communities might lose their vote in county affairs. The worry about the county system slowly sliding into a Mayors don't want on county council Huron’s mayors do not want to sit on county council, a provincial task force examining proposals for county reform was told June 15 ata meeting in Goderich. The present three-year term plus the responsibility of mayors having to sit on county council with its day-long meetings would pre­ clude many people from running for mayor, Eileen Palmer, mayor of Goderich told Charlie Tatham and John Cleary, the two M.P.P.s who headed the Goderich hearing of the task force set up to collect public response to “Patterns for the Future, ’ ’ the report of the Advisory Committee on County Govern­ ment. The report had recommend­ ed that the heads of all municipal governments sit on county council. Bruce Shaw, mayor of Exeter agreed, saying that because he has a dayjob, he would notbe able to sit on county council. The municipali­ ty, he said, should be empowered to decide for itself who its representative to county govern­ ment would be. The reeve and deputy reeve of Exeter were doing a good job representing the town he said. Clinton Mayor John Balfour said the workload of being mayor was heavy enough without adding the responsibilities of county council on top. He attended 321 meetings in 1987 he said. While he could see the benefits of sitting on county council, he’said, the extra work v ould frighten many people away from running for office. 12 confirmed at Brussels United Church Twelve young people were confirmed June 19 at Brussels United Church. They were: David Jacklin, son of Don and Joyce Jacklin; Scott, son of Bill and Fran Bremner; Christopher, son of Jim and Cathy Bridge; Gregory, son of Keith and Rita Mulvey; Peter, son of Frank and Kathy Workman; Daniel, son of Neil and Joan Beuermann; Shawnand Sharie, children of Wayne and Bonnie Jacklin; Steve, son of Mel and Lois McCutcheon; Dawn, daughter of Barrie and Dianne Engel; Mi­ chelle, daughter of Dale and Ruth Machan and Holly, daughter of Garry and Heather Dauphin. regional government situation was over recommendation 13 in the committee’s report that proposed counties be permitted to take over any municipal function if approved by a two thirds vote of county councillors, Exeter, led by Reeve Bill Mickle, was the main opponent of the proposal. Asked by Mr. Tatham if the county should be able to take over such functions Reeve Mickle an­ swered quickly: “No, to be blunt.’’ The move would be the first step toward regionalization, he said. If municipalities want to vote to give certain functions such as solid waste management to the county they should be able to but the county should not be able to “take’ ’ the services by a vote of county councillors. Even if a service is taken over by the county, he argued, a local municipality should only have to pay for those services it approves of the county taking over. If you don’t have the right to choose which services you want to provide at the local level why should you be forced to pay for them, he said. Exeter Mayor Bruce Shaw, in the afternoon session, suggested a contractual basis for providing services from the county level to local municipalities with the con­ tracts to be renewed from time to time. Elsa Hayden, a former Goderich councillor and now a columnist on municipal affairs, supported the Exeter position against the coun­ ty’s ability to take over municipal powers, calling recomrriendation 13 the “most objectionable and offensive’’ in the report. The county government is important, she said, but any request for the county to take on more power should come from the local munici­ pality. The county should be a federation not a dictatorship, she said. Democracy can’t be a dicta­ torship of the majority. Others however, didn’t feel the recommendation 13 was a step Ca/u Ptize 1987 Pontiac 6000 4 door with air 1987 Ford Ranger pick up 1987 Dodge Colt 1986 Pontiac Bonneville, 4 door with air. 1986 Chevette Scooters, 4 door hatch-back, 2 to choose from. 1985 Chev Blazer S10 4 x 4 1984 Ford LTD, 4 door with air. 1983 Buick Park Avenue, load­ ed with options. 1982 Chev Monte Carlo, 2 door 1980 Chev1Z> ton pick-up V-8 automatic 1980 Pontiac Phoenix, 2 door Be Ready to Go In The Nice Weather! 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Tom Cunningham, Reeve of Hullett agreed, pointing to the fact that some people opt to not make use of either the public school system or the Roman Catholic school system, sending children to private schools instead but still must pay their school taxes. “In any democracy you’ll never get unanimity,’’ he said. He pointed to the controversial deci­ sion to go ahead with rebuilding of the Huron County museum. What would have happened if munici­ palities that had voted against the construction had opted out and left the other municipalities to pick up the entire cost, he asked. Using his own township and Blyth as examples, he said the two shared a waste disposal site that should be good for years and did NEW AMT 600 ■ John Deere AMT™ 600 All Materials Transport features 600 pound pay­ load capacity on level ground. ■ Adapts to many jobs. ■ Landscaping. ■ Plant maintenance. ■ Construction. ■ Hunting, trapping, fishing. ■ Grounds care operations. ■ High flotation, 5-wheel configu­ ration for low ground pressure and stability. ■ Four-wheel tandem drive for excel­ lent traction. ■ Locking differential for added pulling power. ■ 1000 pounds of towing capacity. ■ 8.5 hp (341 cc) gasoline engine. ■ Tilting 43 x 48-in. box. ■ Automatic transmission with reverse gear. ■ Shock absorbing front fork design. ■ Comfortable saddle seat with back­ rest for low fatigue operation. Nothing Runs Like a Deere® SALES DEPARTMENT 1-800-265-4220 Exeter 235-1115 Blyth 523-4244 not want to take part in the county ’ s Waste Disposal Master Plan (which will cost $300,000) but when the majority of council wanted the plan, Hullettand Blyth went along. Everyone on either side how­ ever, seemed to agree with Dave Johnston, Reeve of Bayfield who saidthatanyservice thata local government can provide should be left to the local government. This was, he said, taking a sly jab at the two M.P.P.’s, in keeping with the philosophy of the provincial government that felt local munici­ pal councils were best suited to decide on Sunday shopping. Pointingtorecreation, Reeve Johnston said that small munici­ palities get a tot of volunteer help to enable them to keep services going in their community. If the county took over recreation, volunteers would figure the work would all go on the taxes and wouldn’t help as much. Albert Wasson, Reeve of Blyth, said the same would apply to fire protection. The two village reeves were the most vocal in worries over the very first recommendation in the re­ port: “The committee recom­ mends that the Minister conduct a review of very small municipalities and separated municipalities”. Any municipality that has its own council should be represented at county council, Reeve Johnston said. Forschoolboardpurposes Bayfieldislumpedwith Stanley township, he said, and because of Bayfield’s smaller number, the representative is always from Stanley. “I don’t want the village of Huron county to lose their voice,” he said. Reeve Wasson agreed in saying in general the rural people weren’t interested in such urban ameni­ ties as Blyth’s Memorial Hall and urban people weren’t interested in rural problems like farm drains. ‘ ‘ It doesn ’ t make sense that the two should be in the same room (for land council meetings)”. Their case got support from Mayor Shaw later in the afternoon when he pointed out that although Bayfield has a population of only 700 it has more miles of roads than Exeter and pays more levy to the county than Seaforth. He felt that a village like Bayfield should be assured of a vote at county council and if larger municipalities need fairer treatment, they should be given an extra vote (but not an extra representative) for each 1000 of population. It would mean that Blyth, Brussels, Bayfield, etc. would have one vote while Exeter would have four and Goderich seven.