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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1993-03-31, Page 14Purchasing a vehicle is a big decision! Let us help you make the right one! GARRY WOODCOCK Quality Cars & Trucks We Can Save You Money Drive A Little - Save A Lot likoNiGorsAERY: LUCKNOW 528-2813 4111"11PiFA PAGE 14. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 1993. Huron County will take a wait and see position in what appears to be a confrontation with seven urban municipalities over a proposal to charge them $750 for severance applications. Exeter Mayor Bruce Shaw spoke to county council's Thursday meet- ing urging councillors to reconsider their decision to charge the fee. Faced with a $90,000 deficit in the planning department budget, coun- ty councillors had decided at their March 4 meeting to boost the fee for severance applications from $500 back to the $1,000 it had been before a one-year reduction last year. The controversy arose, how- ever, when council also decided to charge $750 per application to the seven municipalities which have been delegated the right to process their own severances. Those municipalities (the five towns plus Bayfield and Zurich) have been charging as little as $250 for a sev- erance. Since the county planning depart- ment still must comment on the severances, the Agriculture and Planning and Development com- mittee felt applicants in those municipalities should pay a share in the overhead of the department that is assigned to processing of sever- ances. But Mayor Shaw said the charge was unreasonable, a claim backed up by private consultants. "All the consultants we contacted were astounded at the fee being pro- posed." The cost of overhead couldn't possibly amount to $750 per application, Mayor Shaw said. A fee in the $250-$300 range would have been more in line, he said. "Something is wrong in the oper- ation of the planning department. It appears to be charging to the con- sent function things that aren't real costs. We need true cost account- ing." Rather than increase the fees, he urged council to cut the budget for the Planning and Development department. "If a full time planer is hired and the work declines, you can't just charge more." Municipalities should pay share of overhead costs, says committee But Dr. Gary Davidson, director of Planning and Development defended the fee. He said the amount of work done by his depart- ment on a severance varies greatly and it's hard to come up with a fee that is accurate in every case. Some can be done inexpensively but some can result in an appeal pro- cess that can cost thousands in legal fees and staff time. In one case in West Wawanosh he estimated the legal costs at $20,000 and staff costs adding another $10,000. As for overhead, he said there is a land division secretary hired full time and her costs, alone, would work out to $300 per application. "We don't have the option of hiring someone by the hour." Also, he said, Huron is a large county and while Mayor Shaw esti- mated travel costs involved in look- ing at a typical severance at $30, a trip to a distant corner of the county can take up three hours of time for travel and inspection, he said. But Mayor Shaw argued that the amount of work the Planning and Development Department does is not much more than the comments submitted by other agencies such at the fire chief of each community, and those comments are done at no charge. "It's not only unfair and unreasonable, it's probably illegal," he said, claiming government legis- lation prohibits charges for com- ments. Moreover, he said, if there was an appeal of a decision by one of the seven municipalities with delegated authority, it was the municipality that paid the extra costs, not the county. Bayfield Reeve Pat Carrier said the seven municipalities had been promised a year ago that if there was to be any change in the consent fee, they would be consulted. They hadn't been. Dr. Davidson answered that his understanding was that the county's fee was perfectly legal and he said the lack of consultation was due to several factors. After last year's meeting the decision was not to change the consent fee application for the seven municipalities but rather to lower it for the other 19. Huron County council, one of the strongest doubters about the disen- tanglement process, seems ready to accept the first step in the process. The first move in the disentangle- ment process, which is designed to define areas of responsibility between the provincial and munici- pal governments, would see the province take over all welfare costs (it currently pays 80 per cent) in return for the county taking over more costs of highways within the county (local municipal streets and roads are not included). Denis MenaII, Huron County's engineer who has expressed con- cern over disentanglement in the past, said there are benefits for the county. Trading roads for welfare would mean that Huron gets more At the February council meeting, a proposal had been made to re- establish the consent fee at $1,000 for 19 municipalities under county planning and hold meetings with the seven municipalities that weren't involved. That motion was referred back to the executive and so the meetings never took place. The motion to charge the $750 to the applicants from the seven -municipalities was approved at the March 4 meeting as part of the for- mation of the 1993 budget so there was no time for meetings. Dr. Davidson said there was also a dilemma of how to treat the ratepayers in all municipalities the same. If the consent fees were abol- ished and all the money for the Planning and Development depart- ment came from general tax rev- enue then costs would be shared Continued on page 15 control over its budget, he said. Highway costs are more tightly controlled than welfare costs. "You have to decide which business you want to be in, highways or wel- fare," he told councillors. Huron county is at the bottom of the province's counties in terms of the number of people on welfare. On the other hand, if disentanglement doesn't take place, Huron will be stuck picking up 20 per cent of whatever programs the province dreams up in the welfare area. Included in the transfer could be several Ministry of Transportation buildings. Many, Mr. Merrall said, may not be of great use but some might have the potential for the county to get extra revenuee-thrOugh their sale. MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS CARNATION CAMPAIGN , mrs 4 P410-- \.... tler` Watch your donation blossom into a cure. On Mother's Day week- end, make a donation and take a carnation from one of our volunteers. You'll help find a cure for the tens of thousands of Canadians with multiple sclerosis. One flower could mean so much. Multiple Sclerosis SOCIETY OF CANADA To learn more, call 1-800-268-7582. SERVICES • RESEARCH • EDUCATION SOCIAL ACTION • FUNDRAISING • VOLUNTEERS County moves to accept disentanglement process County Council News Towns balk at severance charges Which One Had Six Owners? You're faced with some very important questions when you buy a used vehicle. How many owners were there? Are any loans still owing against it? In the past, getting the answers wasn't always easy. But now, to assist people who are buying or selling a used vehicle, the Ontario Government has introduced the Used Vehicle Information Package. If you are a buyer, the Used Vehicle Information Package will tell you important facts that will help you make a better informed decision. The Used Vehicle Information Package will tell you the names of the vehicle's previous registered owners. It will also tell you if any outstanding loans or repair bills are registered against it. If you are a seller, just think what the Used Vehicle Information Package can do for you. Presenting a buyer with all the information right from the start will make the decision to buy your used vehicle a lot easier to make. And the cost for this package is just $20. The Used Vehicle Information Package can be ordered through the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations any time, day or night, by phoning 1-800-267-8847 outside Toronto, or 325-8847 in Toronto.Telephone Device for the Deaf 1-800-461-8866 or 326-8866 in Toronto. Credit cards accepted. Or after May 3rd, 1993, a package can be picked up at any Driver and Vehicle Licence Issuing Office. A brochure with tips on buying or selling a used vehicle can be ordered through the above telephone numbers, and is available at any Driver and Vehicle Licence Issuing Office. Ontario