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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1997-04-02, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2,1997 The North Huron P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 itizen P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising Manager, Jeannette McNeil PAID The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $27.00/year ($25.24 + $1.76 G.S.T.) in Canada; $62.00/year in U.S.A, and $75.00/year in other foreign countries. 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. We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright. Publications Mail Registration No. 6968 E ditorial This union shows promise While local politicians continue to be doubtful that municipal amalgamation will really save money or serve people better, there is Dne effort being made to combine services that may offer both real savings and better service. The Public Utilities Commissions of Huron County have commissioned a study that shows electrical bills of county residents could be cut by 2.5 to 8.2 per cent if all 10 utilities combine and also take over Ontario Hydro's retail delivery for the county. The new utility would do $56.5 million a year in business, serving 36,200 customers with 80 to 90 employees. It's still too early to know if the figures in the study are accurate, especially considering that Ontario Hydro has not been part of the negotiations as yet. Feasibility studies are often unrealistically optimistic. Still, there's at least enough evidence here to warrant investigating further. While the idea of rural customers being served by a public utilities commission, up to now an urban body, seems strange, one Huron County reeve points out there is a potential for faster service than currently available from Ontario Hydro. Presently, if you live in a rural area and have a power outage, you have to wait for a truck to arrive from Clinton or Walkerton Ontario Hydro offices. The new utility would have offices spread across the county so reaction time should be faster. One of the concerns of municipal amalgamation is that the rural voice will be lost to larger populations in town. In this case, there will be 22,900 rural customers to 13,300 in town so the utility would be hard-pressed to ignore rural customers, many of whom are also larger power users than most urban customers. The one problem may be for villages like Blyth and Brussels which currently have their own utilities commissions and won’t have as much voice in the new set-up. The new utility must work to ensure that the villages do not lose their quality of service, from having a handy place to pay your PUC bill at the local village office, to having someone to listen to your problems and develop fast solutions. Still, in the early stages at least, this looks like the kind of amalgamation that makes sense. Somebody needs to make as good a case for municipal amalgamation before it goes much farther. — KR Nothing to hide It seemed like a good idea at the time, but provincial legislation that gives government employees confidentiality about their earnings has been a bust. Huron MPP Helen Johns, at the recent Members of Parliament meeting with the Huron County Federation of Agriculture, suggested it's time for complete disclosure of the salaries of anyone who works for government. This used to be the case, but under the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act (two strange goals for one bill), it became illegal for governments to release salary information on individual employees. Instead, the only information that can be released is the class a person is in on a salary grid. In a small municipality that grid can be so open that there is a $20,000 difference whether the person is at the high end of the grid, or the low end. The result is people, even those relatively close to the scenes, have no idea what is happening within the administrative costs of government. While it's easy to see that employees resent the public knowing how much they make, it may be in their own best interests. For one thing, they should have nothing to hide if they're getting a salary they deserve (and did you ever hear of anyone who thought they were overpaid?) As well, the current secrecy causes speculation of what people actually earn, perhaps to their own detriment As part of her efforts to get reform of the hospital system in Huron and Perth, Johns, tried to get disclosure as to how much the CEOs of the eight hospitals made. Unable to get accurate figures, she speculated that the average cost of a CEO would be $100,000. This may or may not be true. Disclosure would at least let us base decisions on facts, not speculation. The Freedom of Information and Privacy Act seemed like a good idea at the time but now is the time to change it — KR Letters to the Editor An allegory of fact and fiction THE EDITOR, The following is an allegory which is at once fictional and true: Once upon a time, there was a large, prosperous family, with many children. All of the children received an allowance; the older children receiving a larger allowance than the younger ones. The peculiar thing about this family was that each child was required to return part of his/her allowance to the parents. This money was used to help defray the costs of, new clothes, school supplies, medicine, toys, and even food. All of the childtren received these items. One day, the parents announced that the family was in debt. Therefore, the father decided to cut back on the amount spent on the above-mentioned items. Then, he decided to reduce the amount each child was required to pay back out of his/her allowance. The idea was that they would be able to buy some of these items themselves. Also, the younger ones were given a smaller allowance than before, and were expected to work for what they did receive. They were therefore unable to pay for some of their own expenses, while the older children still could. Also, it was assumed that the older ones would use their extra money to help the younger ones, by paying them to run errands, etc. Because the parents received less money back from the children, still less money was spent on clothes, etc. by the parents. Somehow, all of this was supposed to get the family out of debt, ensuring a brighter future for the children. The father's name was Mike Harris and the children were the people of Ontario. Sincerely, Thomas Bailey Winchester, ON