The Citizen, 2019-04-25, Page 1CitizenTh
e
$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, April 25, 2019
Volume 35 No. 17
CAR CARE - Pg. 13
‘The Citizen’ presents
annual spring section
CULTURE - Pg. 27
County seeks input on
new Cultural Plan
WINE - Pg. 2
Blyth native’s family poised to
open county’s third winery
Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0
INSIDE
THIS WEEK:
HE Council approves six per cent levy increase
Councils
wary of
reviews
Huron East Council has approved
its 2019 budget with a 6.12 per cent
municipal levy increase. The overall
levy increase, when taking into
account county and school board
taxes, is 6.09 per cent.
Though the tax levy is increasing
for the year, tax rates are actually
decreasing slightly due to the
increase in assessment values.
Council approved the final draft of
the budget at its April 16 meeting.
Taxation by ward fluctuates
drastically in Huron East for the
overall increase of 6.09 per cent. In
Brussels there is a 2.13 per cent
reduction, while there is a small
increase in Seaforth of 1.87 per cent.
In Tuckersmith, there is an increase
of 5.28 per cent, while the increases
in Grey and McKillop are 9.66 per
cent and 11.01 per cent, respectively.
Taxes in 2019 for a house valued
at the municipality’s average
assessment of $210,315 would be
$1,507 in Seaforth, $1,453 in
Brussels, $1,122 in Tuckersmith,
$916 in McKillop and $958 in Grey.
Treasurer Paula Michiels told
council that while the Huron East
budget has increased just under 19
per cent since 2016, the
municipality’s Ontario Municipal
Partnership Fund (OMPF) allotment
has decreased by 33.6 per cent. She
told councillors that while Huron
East has had to increase its budget in
recent years, the municipality has
still not increased the budget
enough to cover the lost provincial
funding over the last three years.
Michiels’ job was made a little
easier at the 11th hour by over
$600,000 in one-time provincial
funding, which could be injected
right into the budget. While council
Huron County and its lower-tier
municipalities are currently in “wait
and see” mode in regards to 24
reviews that are ongoing at the
provincial level.
Huron East Mayor Bernie
MacLellan, a member of the
Association of Municipalities of
Ontario (AMO) Health Task Force,
spoke to the reviews first at the April
16 meeting of Huron East Council
and then the next day at Huron
County Council.
MacLellan had attended a
task force meeting earlier in
the week that was derailed by
several announcements by the
provincial government concerning
amalgamation of local health
agencies and emergency service
stations throughout the province.
He said the day’s agenda was
thrown into disarray with the
announcement, adding that much of
what was to be discussed had been
fundamentally changed by the
provincial government.
This led to a discussion about the
potential for a municipal governance
review and its current status. It was
then that members were informed
that while a municipal governance
review, which may lead to further
amalgamation, is still in the works,
it was just one of 24 ongoing
reviews that could affect the way
municipalities and counties operate.
In a document provided to the
members by AMO, the 24 reviews
are listed, all of which are either
For its 10th anniversary, the Huron
Arts and Heritage Network (HAHN)
will be celebrating some of the last
decade’s greatest contributors to the
arts, culture and heritage landscape
in Huron County.
The network will be presenting its
annual Cultural Awards this Friday
night at the Goderich Legion. Unlike
most years, this year HAHN asked
people not to nominate new
contributors, but vote on past
winners in the hopes of ranking
them.
Several local past winners have
made the list and will be honoured
on Friday night, including former
Citizen Publisher and Blyth Festival
co-founder Keith Roulston, the
Blyth Festival, the Huron Pioneer
Thresher and Hobby Association,
Blyth’s Duncan McGregor and 2017
International Plowing Match Chair
Jacquie Bishop. Others to be
honoured that night as part of the
10th anniversary top 10 are the St.
Joseph’s Kingsbridge Community
(now the Kingsbridge Centre),
Iceculture in Hensall, local historian
David Yates, the Alice Munro
Festival of the Short Story and
Goderich’s FauxPop Station.
The awards will be handed out on
Friday, April 26, beginning at 6 p.m.
at the Goderich Legion. The evening
will include live music, a silent
auction and a cash bar. Tickets,
which include dinner catered by Bon
Vivant, are $37.50 each and are
available at eventbrite.com.
If you have any questions, e-mail
Huron County Cultural Develop-
ment Officer Rick Sickinger at
rsickinger@huroncounty.ca.
Roulston, Festival honoured by HAHN
The mad dash
As part of an initiative to both celebrate Easter in Blyth and
increase awareness and usership of the Blyth Greenway
Trail, which is part of the Goderich-to-Guelph Rail Trail, the
Friends of the Village of Blyth held a special Easter on the
Trail event on Saturday. The morning included a special
Easter egg hunt, for which 1,000 eggs were hidden along the trail,
and a special visit from the Easter Bunny. Once the more-than 50
youngsters collected their eggs, they traded them in for special
Easter treats before they left. Though it was wet and cold that day,
everyone bundled up and enjoyed the event. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 3
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 28