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The Citizen, 1994-04-13, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 1994. The North Huron itizene p.o. Box 152, Publisher, Keith Roulston “»clS 0" Editor, Bonnie Gropp Phone 887-9114 Sales Representatives, fax 887-9021 Jeannette McNeil and Julie Mitchell The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $20.50/year ($19.16 plus $1.34 G.S.T.) for local; $31.03/year ($29.00 plus $2.03 G.S.T.) for local letter carrier in Goderich, Hanover, Listowel, etc. and out-of-area (40 miles from Brussels); $60.00/year for U.S.A, and Foreign. Advertising is accepted on the condition that In the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited. Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth. Wo are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright. Publications Mall Registration No. 6968 E ditorial I ' '• I Letters to the editor Messy, but only, alternative Huron County councillors' decision last week to change county council voting based on Section 28 of the Municipal Act is the best alternative council was given, even if it’s an exceedingly messy one. The new voting structure which gives each of the county's 26 municipalities one represent­ ative at council, will reduce the numbers of councillors and should save money. It will be, however, an administrative nightmare when it comes to recorded votes. Each councillor will have a varying number of votes depending on the population of the municipality. While the reeves of Blyth and Brussels will have only one vote, the reeve of Goderich will have four. Reeves of municipalities in between will have varying numbers from three for Howick to two for HulletL Counting the vote under this system may take about as long as those interminable votes at party leadership conventions. But the only alternative, in the short run, to this confusing system is the status quo which isn’t a status quo. Because municipalities with 2,500 electors are eligible for a second representative at council, three more municipalities would have grown enough by this fall's election to have their deputy reeves go to county council. By the next election several more would be sending their deputy reeves. There had seemed to be an agreement last year for each municipality to have one member with one vote but larger municipalities like Exeter, Goderich and Wingham began to see this as unfair to their voters. What's more, the Minister of Municipal Affairs wants to see more representation by population in the structure of councils. There was no way of getting the private member’s bill passed in the Ontario Legislature to allow the one representative, one vole system to be adopted. The long term solution may be another one that nobody wants except the provincial government: amalgamations. That dirty word was raised by two councillors at Friday's strategic planning day in Benmiller. Nearly everyone in Huron County likes our municipal set up just the way it is but the pressure from the provincial government is unrelenting. As Tom Tomes, past warden and reeve of Stephen Twp. pointed out, it would be better to choose your own partners than have the provincial bureaucrats choose for you. Like it or not, the days of our 26 small municipalities may be numbered. If so, let's try to find our own solutions. — KR It’s about time How long would the rule of law last if you have policeofficers who were afraid to arrest anyone? How long can international peace be kept if the peacekeepers are afraid to enforce their orders? The United Nations, with the help of NATO fighter-bombers, this week demonstrated for the first time that it has the resolve to enforce peace. NATO aircraft in Bosnia attacked Serb positions about the besieged Muslim town of Gorazde to try to stop the shelling of the town. The United Nations had declared the town a "safe" area for refugees from the vicious ethnic war in which Bosnian Serbs have driven Muslims and Croats from their homes. Canada, with a long history of peacekeeping, had argued against this kind of attack for months. But the kind of peacekeeping Canadians have performed nobly for nearly 40 years works only when the two sides, like tired fighters in a hockey game, just want a referee to call an end to the fighting. In a situation like Bosnia, where one side is bent on totally obliterating the other, just standing between the combatants is not enough. There must be a threat of punishment before the Serbs will stop their atrocities. The United Nations policy of being there has probably saved many lives, but it has also allowed the Serbs to gain what they want. Using force, they have captured a huge piece of the country. They have driven Muslims and Croats from their homes. A peace based on the current battle lines rewards this brutality and lawlessness. The passive stance of the United Nations allows the war to go on and the Serbs to gain even more territory. If there is ever to be a hope of peace in the world, there must be an international police force that not only is willing to police a peace settlement, but is also willing to force the warring parties to stop their killing. It will mean risks to innocent soldiers from non-involved countries but those risks must be taken. As long as we accept a passive United Nations presence in war zones, bullies like the Bosnian Serbs will be ready to take advantage of the situation. For the first time the United Nations has shown some teeth. Let's hope it's not the last— KR THE EDITOR, At the April 5 Brussels council meeting, a decision was made which could affect many, if not all taxpayers of the village in the * future. A new storm drain is to be constructed in Morris Township at the end of Frederick Street in the southwest comer of the village. The purpose of this drain is to intercept surface water from Frederick Street and private properties which slope towards the new drain, before it runs onto the adjoining farmland. This drain will be paid for by the Township of Morris who in turn will assess the village for a portion of the cost of construction and maintenance. This assessment to the village is unavoidable because water naturally runs downhill, from the street and properties and into the field. According to the terms of the Ontario Drainage Act, the village then has the option to either spread the assessment over the entire tax roll or assess only those property owners whose properties slope towards the drain. In a 3-2 recorded vote, council chose the latter, meaning that only those taxpayers in the southwest comer of the village will pay. The reason for their decision appeared to be that only a small percentage of the taxpayers of the village would receive any benefit from the drain. It should be noted that none of the property owners asked for the drain to be built nor do they feel they will receive any benefit from it. With this decision, the implica­ tion seems to be that when storm drains are constructed in the village in the future, only those property owners directly receiving benefit from the drain should pay for the cost to build it. Does this mean for example, a storm drain constructed in the north end of town would be paid for by property owners in the immediate vicinity of the drain? Residents living south- of the river obviously would not have to pay because they would not receive any benefit. - Village residents may recall the large storm drain recently built in the area of the ball park, or the drain built a number of years ago from the school to the river or perhaps the repairs made to the drain along Elizabeth Street a few years ago. Did the property owners receiving benefit from these projects pay the cost themselves? The answer is no, all taxpayers in the village paid. It appears to me that a very dangerous precedent has been set by this vote. In order for the village to progress, all property owners must Paul’s Perspective Act regulates signage By Paul Klopp, MPP Huron Over the past three years a lobby group from Toronto has carried on a billboard campaign against the government. In the last year this urban based group, which is called Ontarians For A Responsible Government, (ORG) has moved into the rural areas of the province. Its campaign is ostensibly about labour legislation in agriculture. Part of the campaign is to rent billboards in Toronto and in towns. Recently they have begun putting signs along highways on private property. When told that the placing of signs along a highway is covered by the Highway Act, ORG started complaining that the government is infringing on the freedom of speech. In April of 1957 and March 1950 Sections 34 and 38 of the Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act were passed. This Act, which was passed by the Conservative government, gives the pay their share. All taxpayers in the past have contributed some portion of their property taxes to pay collectively for all services including streets, sidewalks and storm drains. Why then has council chosen to suddenly change this method which, at times may seem unfair, but which has worked so well in the past? Will council change their policy again in the future and revert back to the previous method of assessing storm drain construction costs to all taxpayers? My guess would be yes and when they do I believe it's safe to say that council can expect to hear from the taxpayers in the southwest comer of the village who feel discriminated against by this recent decision. Paul Mutter. minister of transportation permit control over private signs within 400 metres of any property line of a highway. The Ministry for the sake of highway safety has a signage policy to control spacing, size and location of advertising signs. Commercial signs to be erected within the control area of a highway corridor must seek and obtain approval of the MTO through permits. The signs must contain a commercial message that advertises a commercial business or a product or commercial service. The executive director of the lobby group has approached the Corridor Management Office suggesting that there have been recent changes to the legislation. This is not true. There have been no changes. As I have stated the Act was passed by the Conservative government. The Ministry of Transportation's Continued on page 5