The Rural Voice, 1998-08, Page 66BRUCE
44610th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1 P9
Email: bruce@ola.on.ca 519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551
CountyFederation o Agriculture NEWSLETTER 'The RuralCCoVunty
isprovided to Bruce
f 9 County Farmers by the BCFA.
Change demands involvement
I just caught a bit of the Calgary
Stampede. Watching what the
cowboys go through to make a few
extra bucks — it doesn't make
farming in Bruce seem quite so
extreme. The rams here may knock
me down if I'm not paying attention,
but they don't try to impale me on
their horns and stomp me into the
ground. Which brings me to
amalgamation in Bruce County.
Shotgun wedding or strategic
administrative downsizing?
In our case, Kincardine,
Kincardine Twp., and Bruce Twp. are
slated to amalgamate. Bruce Twp.
doesn't seem to be pleased with this
scenario as they have applied to the
courts to halt this process. As it
stands on the existing councils there
are 19 elected representatives with a
combined staff of 18 administrative
and 40 road and outside maintenance.
The proposed council will have seven
councillors with an unknown number
or location of administrative and
other staff. This amalgamation will
make a municipality encompassing a
lakeshore town, and two
predominantly agricultural townships
which have lakeshore residential
development. One township contains
a major industrial development at the
BNPD site and associated enterprises,
an industrial park, and a village just
recently amalgamated.
It is possible that after the next
municipal election there could be no
rural representation or full-time
farmers in this new council. Will the
dramatic drop in councillor numbers
translate into a bigger time
commitment, and stop some from
running for these positions? (We
have been a bit of a thorn in the side
of our council lately over a local
issue and are aware of the scope of
their workload.)
If this does happen, will changes
in policy, by-laws and new initiatives
be staff driven rather than being the
prerogative of the council? Will this
council and staff be more interested
in what goes on in the "big industry"
in the area rather than in what
happens to all the functions and
factors that make this area a
community?
Agriculture has always paid its
way in the form of property taxes in
our township, but will this record be
remembered by a council or staff who
may not understand the economic
impact and localized spending and
job creation that agriculture provides
to the community?
The BCFA hopes to avoid any
negative scenarios for agriculture and
rural business with upcoming
amalgamations by encouraging
adequate rural representation on the
new councils. The federation will not
endorse candidates or call for their
nominations. I believe our duty is to
make sure people are aware of the
situation and encourage people who
have the skills necessary to consider
running for municipal positions.
The results of the elections may
prompt further action from the
BCFA. In the past, we have had a
member of the ATP committee as a
WANTED
Training Course Requests
will be accepted by August 15
for OATI and OMAFRA Winter '99 Courses
Call Walkerton OMAFRA 1-800-265-3023 or 881-3301
or Markdale OMAFRA 1-800-265-9152 or 986-2040
Regarding Farm Business Registration —
please see Grey County Page — also ad on Page 3
62 THE RURAL VOICE
member of our board. We have not
had this appointment for a couple of
years now and are starting to lose
(due to the county cutting back on its
expenditures) track of the county
policies toward agriculture and
planning.
Perhaps we need to look into
serving on this committee in an
advisory or information transfer
aspect, after all it is the agriculture,
tourism and planning committee and
if we don't speak for agriculture, who
will be left to do it?
If you don't think your hide is
quite thick enough for municipal
politics and you want to find a user-
friendly training ground consider
becoming a BCFA director.0
Murray Clark
1st Vice President, BCFA
NOTICE
If you have concerns about dry
conditions in Bruce and Grey
counties, or if you have rainfall
records, please contact our office.
IMPORTANT
NOTICE?
Deadline for
Farm Business Registration is
AUGUST 31, 1998 .
in order to be eligible for the
Class 6 Farmland Designation and
the 25% Property Tax Rate in 1999.
BRUCE COUNTY
FEDERATION OF
AGRICULTURE
Directors' Meeting
Monday, August 24, 1998
8:00 p.m.
OMAFRA Boardroom, Walkerton
Members are welcome to attend