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The Citizen, 2019-04-11, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019. In light of the one-time funding from the provincial government, Huron East Council is going back to the drawing board on its budget, aiming to reduce the tax levy burden on residents. Chief Administrative Officer Brad Knight spoke to the budget at council’s April 2 meeting, relaying the staff recommendation that council reduce the proposed tax levy increase from 10 per cent down to three. That tax levy reduction would cost the municipality $303,302, just over half of the $604,816 received from the provincial government at the end of last month. The remaining funds, Knight suggested, could be invested in the working capital reserves, which were nearly depleted in this year’s budget. He told council that by losing over $180,000 in Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) money and Ontario Provincial Police costs rising over $75,000 this year, the municipality still found its financial situation improved by nearly $500,000 compared to last year thanks to the funding. Mayor Bernie MacLellan said he had a slightly different take on the situation, saying that if council were to utilize the funding in this way, it would all be gone in one year, at a time when financial pressures on municipalities are sure to continue. He compared it to winning the lottery and spending all the winnings in one year with nothing left to survive on in the subsequent years. He said that if council were to approve a tax rate increase of just three per cent, it could be setting council up for a drastic increase in 2020, assuming that OMPF funding would again decrease or be entirely eliminated, a change many have said they fear is coming. Deputy-Mayor Bob Fisher was concerned if the provincial government’s funding came with certain strings attached, wondering aloud if an audit on the municipality’s finances and how the funding was spent would be forthcoming. Fisher suggested spending the funds on capital expenditures, such as the new air system at the Vanastra Community Centre, to show that Huron East truly did need the money to improve the municipality, rather than just reducing its taxation revenue. MacLellan said he wasn’t really concerned with spending the money on capital, because council can demonstrate the need quite easily, with the budget currently taking $2 million out of reserves to help fund various items. Fisher suggested splitting the difference and raising the tax levy by five per cent, rather than the proposed three per cent. Councillor Joe Steffler agreed, saying that Huron East is often one of the municipalities with the lowest tax rates in the county and, with significant expenses on the horizon, such as the expansion and renovation of the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre, he felt Huron East could stand to raise its taxes more than three per cent. Councillor Zoellyn Onn suggested a seven per cent increase. She agreed that 10 per cent was too much, but that seven per cent would bring in the money the municipality needs without overburdening taxpayers. She echoed other councillors’ statements about the OMPF funding, saying council has no idea what the municipality will receive next year or in subsequent years to come. “Seven per cent is not that high,” she said, “but it’s a little extra to fund what we need to fund.” She added that with a five per cent increase, council would only “squeak by” in 2019. Councillor John Lowe agreed with Onn, saying that a seven per cent increase would give council the “cushion” it needed. MacLellan agreed with the councillors around the room, proposing a motion that council direct staff to prepare the next draft of the budget, which will be proposed to be the final draft, with a seven per cent tax levy increase. The motion carried. By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen HE Council to reduce levy after funding arrives Hawley earns provincial nod for work in Huron East Jan Hawley, Huron East’s economic development officer, is the first-ever recipient of the Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA) Pinnacle Award. Hawley was officially presented the award at the OBIAA’s National Achievement Awards Gala in Ottawa on April 1. The award recognizes accomplished leaders who have demonstrated skill in advocacy, innovation and comm- unity-building for their BIA, the OBIAA or the BIA community. “I am quite honoured by this recognition, and wish to extend my gratitude to the OBIAA board and administration for their continued support over the years,” Hawley wrote on her blog. Hawley says it is a tremendous honour to win the award with her success being measured against city centres like Toronto, London and Kitchener with multi-million-dollar economic development budgets. To see her work recognized, she said, is a real testament to the initiatives being implemented in Huron East, many of which compensate creativity for budget. This is the seventh OBIAA award Huron East and/or Hawley have won in recent years, she said, which is a real compliment to her team at Huron East. She says that her Win This Space competition, which she says she didn’t invent but she did elevate to another level, has been a big part of her success at the provincial level. Hawley has worked to support BIAs across the province by speaking extensively in Ontario and beyond about projects that have been adopted and continue to produce results in Huron East. By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Recognized Jan Hawley, Huron East’s Economic Development Officer, was recently recognized by the Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA) with its first-ever Pinnacle Award for her consistent efforts in driving development in Huron East. (Photo submitted) Thompson confident in plan Continued from page 1 constituents, she said that she is first and foremost Huron-Bruce’s MPP. She said that, as Minister, she works for Ontario, and that has had an impact on her availability in Huron- Bruce, but her constituency offices in Blyth and Kincardine are always open. She went on to say that she “hears and sees” everything taken to those offices and that, as a Huron- Bruce representative, she is bringing a rural lens to the education policy. Concerns about online learning are also misplaced according to Thompson, as the practice has been “incredibly well embraced” by rural and Northern Ontario, Thompson said. She said that online courses allow students to better manage their timetables, making large-scale education undertakings like co-op more feasible, while also expanding education opportunities, which will in turn expand career choices for high school students. She said that the primary focus, as far as preparing students for careers and further education, is focused on the STEM fields: science, technology, engineering and math, as well as skilled trades, an under-valued opportunity in Ontario. “One of our focuses is making sure students have an increased awareness of skilled trade opportunities,” she said. “Very few high school graduates pursue the skilled trades.” She said there are “stunning opportunities” in the field, and that sector representatives have told her there are 100,000 graduates needed to fill positions. “There are jobs without people in the field,” she said. “We need interest and apprenticeship.” She said that was especially true in Huron-Bruce and young people should realize these opportunities. When asked about the inspirations behind the protest Thompson said, in a statement echoing Premier Doug Ford, that there are “behind-the- scene powers” inspiring these protests. In previous statements, Thompson and Ford have pointed at teachers and other education professionals as such powers. “We’ve seen the posters and the buttons coming from ‘behind the scenes’,” she said. “What we hope is that education partners come to the table as committed as possible to making the new education plan work.” While Thompson’s education plan was unveiled on March 15, it has yet to be enacted, and she said consultation on the document is open to education partners until May 31. She said she wants to have all feedback possible before moving forward on the curriculum. “We need people working in good faith for student success,” she said. When asked if the protests would have any impact on changes made to the document, she said that the government needs not just quantitative information to act on, but qualitative as well. Highlighting her fall consultation for the education plan, in which she claims 72,000 people participated, she said her plan has been successful and followed “the proper path” to focus on students. Awarded Brett McCutcheon and Louis McNichol were honoured last week with the Dan Beuermann Memorial Award at the Blyth Brussels Minor Hockey Association’s annual awards gala. Joan Beuermann, left, presented the award to McCutcheon, right, for his season with the PeeWee Rep Crusaders. McNichol was also honoured on the PeeWee Local League team, but was absent. (Photo submitted) Great season Braden Radford, left, and Bradley Hummell, right, both won the Jeremy Austin Memorial Award last week as the Blyth Brussels Minor Hockey Association handed out its year-end awards. Radford was honoured for his work with the Bantam Rep Crusaders, while Hummell was the class of the Bantam Local League team. They were awarded by association President Robb Finch (Photo submitted)