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The Citizen, 1997-12-03, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER^ W7. Mickle says greater consultation needed As the county and local munici­ palities struggle to sort out the ser­ vices downloaded by the province, there should be more consultation between the two levels of govern­ ment, Bill Mickle, outgoing reeve of Exeter told county council Thursday. Mickle was responding to recom­ mendations from the county’s strategic planning committee on how to deal with the funding and provision of services. The impacts of the downloading are going to be different with some municipalities than with others, and there will be a wide variety of responses, he said. “I would hope we do not come to a position of imposing a county policy on municipalities,” he warned. “It’s a backdoor way of going to a one-tier system. We need to collectively work at it, not at one level or another.” The motions from the strategic planning committee were amended by a motion of Ron Murray, reeve Councillors say goodbyes of McKillop who asked that refer­ ence to policing costs be removed. He argued that policing should be on a user-pay system with munici­ palities which require a higher level of service paying more. Lynn Murray, county clerk­ administrator, said a proposal for joint policing from the OPP had been based on three levels of ser­ vice: one for towns, one for vil­ lages and one for townships. The OPP had indicated, she said, that this would provide the lowest cost service. The administration, finance and personnel committee had proposed that it should supervise the Who Does What downloading process at the county level to allow the track­ ing of the financial impact of the process. If the downloading does not prove to be revenue neutral, as the province has promised, the county should cease making pay­ ments to the province, it said. One by one the 13 retiring mem­ bers of county council (half the total membership) rose to say an emotional goodbye at the end of the Nov. 27 meeting of county council. Tom Cunningham, outgoing reeve of Hullett and the longest sit­ ting member of the current council, led the parade, saying he’d seen many changes in his 19 years on council and had met many people he would remember fondly. “I found people, in their own way, have found a way to contribute to this county. Don’t ever stop,” he encouraged them. Letters Continued from page 4 help us acquire the "under­ serviced" designation please call the hospital switchboard - 482- 3447. We need your help. We have up to several thousand people in this catchment area who do not have either a Clinton family doctor or a doctor affiliated with Clinton Public Hospital. To those people we can assure you we are making every effort we can, and in the meantime, our emergency department is always open with a doctor on call. Our highly qualified staff will continue to look after all your urgent needs. We do care. Together we have faced challenges in the past and won, and we are sure that working together we will meet this new challenge with success as well. THE EDITOR, To clarify information printed two weeks ago in The Citizen under a picture on page 21, which was headed "Thank You", the cheque was payment to The Ark by the Optimists for work done at Motocross in August, as we had agreed. The Ark did apply directly to the Homecoming Committee for funds and received a very nice thank you for our community service but no funding. I hope this ends the confusion. Sincerely, Sue Gowing President Ark Board of Directors He also praised the work of staff and the media, particularly some former representatives of the media table who had criticized the council for some of its procedures, result­ ing in needed changes. Bill Mickle of Exeter said he had been on council for 15 years and seen many changes. Future council­ lors, he said, will require greater research and information to deal with the great changes that will result from provincial download­ ing. Speaking to his colleagues, he said “we didn’t always agree but we managed to remain friends”. Leona Armstrong, reeve of Grey, recalled her 18 years on council, including a term as the first woman warden, and said, simply, “Thanks everybody for the memories.” Gordon Workman, reeve of Brus­ sels, said “I appreciate the time I’ve had here, working with people, and the acquaintances I’ve made.” Bob Hallam, reeve of West Wawanosh, remembers there had been challenges during his six years on council. “We’ve all added our part and we’ve all done our best,” he said. “I hope things level out for you on downloading,” he said to the remaining councillors. Christmas Computer Sale!!! Pentium 166MMX, 32 mb ram, 2.5 Gb hard drive, 1.44 mb floppy drive. 16 bit sound card, 80 watt speakers, multimedia microphone, 14* SVGA monitor, keyboard, mouse, 33.6k fax/modem with voice, Windows95, software, 24XCD Rom drive $1899 or same system with a 200MMX processor add $129 All systems carry a 2 year warranty, in home service. FREE setup and delivery taxes not included Steve Blake at Huron Video and Sound 887-6710 or blakey@wcl.on.ca Decorate your home with a fresh cut CHRISTMAS TREE We also have live potted trees We will deliver to Brussels and Brussels area BRUSSELS AGRI SERVICES at the stockyards Brussels (519) 887-9391 The Brussels Figure and Powerskating Club would like to thank the local businesses for their generous contributions towards our annual Skate-A-Thon. Their continued support is greatly appreciated! B & H Mechanical, Bett’s Funeral Home Inc., Bill's Auto Wrecking, Towing and Repairs, Brussels Agri-Services, Brussels Agromart, Brussels Auto Sales, Brussels IGA, Brussels Livestock, Brussels Motors, Brussels Pharmacy, Brussels Transport, Brussels Variety, Cardiff & Mulvey, CIBC, Canadian Tire Listowel, Cook's Division of P & H Ltd., Abi and Charles Corbett, Crawford, Mill and Davies, D & J Construction, Dr. William Spink, Economical Insurance Group, Frank Workman Electric, Charlene Franken, George of Brussels, Jacquie Gowing Accounting Services, Huron Feeding Systems, J.L. McCutcheon Motors Ltd., John McKercher Construction Ltd., John D. Pennington Heating, JR's Gas Bar and Take Out Ltd., Just For You Flowers and Gifts, Ken Cousins Construction, Leneray Farms Ltd., Lions Club of Brussels, Pat Langlois, Little Darlings Hair Studio, Maitland Valley Financial Consultants, McCall Livestock, McDonald Lumber, McGavin's Farm Equipment Ltd., Murray's Barber Shop, Oldfield Pro Hardware, Schneider's, Todd's Bakery, Ten Pas Decor Center Ltd., Turnberry Cafe, Wheeler Auto Glass, Your Choice Meats. ® Ontario ATTENTION ONTARIO TAXPAYERS THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE WILL PROVIDE ITS USUAL SERVICES SHOULD THERE BEA POSTAL DISRUPTION OPTIONS FOR TAX PAYMENTS In the event of a postal disruption, all vendors, agents, corporations and taxpayers in Ontario are responsible for filing and remitting tax returns and payments by their due date. This includes Employer Health Tax, Retail Sales Tax, Corporations Tax, Tobacco Tax, Gasoline &Tuel Taxes and Provincial Land Tax payments as well as IFT A registrations. The payments must be made on or before the due date to avoid interest and late filing penalties. You have the following choices: Pay At Your Local Chartered Bank in Ontario Taxpayers making Employer Health Tax, Corporations Tax and Retail Sales Tax payments are encouraged to use the direct banking services available at your local chartered bank, including the Province of Ontario Savings Offices (POSO). Please use your official return form or remittance advice when making your payment. Deliver Returns and Make Payments At Any Ontario Ministry of Finance Office Place your returns and payments in an envelope addressed to the correct branch of the Ministry of Finance, and deliver to your local taxation office. It will then be forwarded to our head office and processed. Deliver Returns and Make Payments At Any Ontario Government Office Place your returns and payments in an envelope addressed to the correct branch of the Ministry of Finance and deliver to your local Ontario Government Office. These offices cannot accept cash payments. The envelope will then be forwarded to our head office and processed. GAINS Cheques GAINS cheques for seniors will continue to be issued for direct deposit, or have been mailed early to recipients. For further information on Ministry of Finance business during the postal disruption, you can call the following toll-free numbers: English enquiries: French enquiries: Teletypewriter (TTY): 1-800-263-7965 1-800-668-5821 1-800-263-7776