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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2006-10-26, Page 6second highest and East and in East Wawanosh it Wawanosh has the fourth would cost the home owner highest rates. $2,599.05 in taxes each year. If those in attendance at last The rankings are based on The lowest residential taxes week's all-candidates 2006 figures supplied by the in the county are paid by meeting in Wingham are any municipalities and represent those living in McKil lop, indication, North Huron the 26 municipalities that where a $100,000 home residents want their property existed prior to would be taxed at $2,088.10 a taxes lowered. amalgamation. year. Currently, those living in In Wingham, a property All figures include the the Wingham ward pay the valued at $100,000 would county tax rate, which is highest residential tax , rate incur a $3,177.65 tax per $874.68 a year for a $100,000 among municipalities in year. In Blyth, the same property. Huron County. Blyth ranks property would pay $2,748.04 Howick Homes owner Vincent says MI overstaffed mayor Doug Layton said that under-staffed. he doesn't see evidence of the "I know that with the works Wingham Advance Times municipality being over- department we are actually North Huron candidate for staffed. And, he said, it would down a half position." , reeve, Neil Vincent says there be difficult for someone not - Vincent said that the may be too many people involved in the day-to-day township should carefully working for the township. operation of any organization evaluate all aspects of its "Although we have very to know if there are too many -spending, including staffing. professional people working people working for it. "We should be operating for us," Vincent said, "I Layton said that it would be under a cost-benefit model," question whether we are easy for him to walk into an he said.' getting full value out of some office and tell them they had Layton doesn't disagree. positions. too many people working However, he questions how Vincent said that he doesn't there. much benefit there would be see evidence of the 2000 "But I don't know what is to North Huron if it were to amalgamation reducing costs, involved in the running of the cut staff. as it was supposed to. business. I don't know how "If we cut staff, we can't "It was supposed to reduce many people you need." offer the same quality of costs, but I just don't see it," Layton said that in North service we currently are. You he said. Huron, some of the have to ask yourself, is it ' However, North Huron departments are actually worth it?" - Problem everyone's, says writer By Duane Rollins Wingham Advance Times By Duane Rollins NUCLEAR ENERGY. YOU WON'T PAY MORE. NEITHER WILL THE ENVIRONMENT. The Power Workers' Union has a better plan. To learn more visit www.abetterenerg'yplan.ca POWER WORKERS' UNION Remember when the whole community pitched in to help a neighbour in need? That spirit lives on at South Easthope Mutual. We're here when you need us and have been for 135 years. Call Us Today. South Easthope Mutual Insurance 1-800-263-9987 www.seins.on.ca Farm & Urban Property • Auto Insurance Working Together For Insurance That Works. MUTUAL We Couldn't Celebrate Our 135th Birthday Without You. PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26; 2006. Taxes the hot button topic for NH candidates Continued from page 4 Other influences not taken into account by these studies, referred to by the Sunset Beach Cottage Association, include elements such as climate conditions, water depth and water activity; all of which can affect the migration and concentration of bacteria in a given area. It's not that agriculture is denying involvement in the issue, it's to say we're not alone. According to Dr. Wayne Caldwell, Huron County planner and chair of the Huron Water Protection Committee, there is little doubt that agriculture makes a contribution to water quality in Lake Huron. But he says the same thing for cottage and shoreline residents, homeowners with septic systems or those living in towns with sewage treatment facilities. "My inclination is to simply say, we all make a contribution and we all share a role in making things as good as we possibly can,". said Caldwell. In the end, the farming community will not acknowledge that it is a major cause of pollution in Huron County because it is not. Much has been done by the livestock sector in the past decade to safeguard water quality, and more is being done, despite poor returns on commodities and a 'lowest price is the law' mind-set among consumers. This issue did_ not materialize overnight, and it certainly won't be solved in a twinkling, either. It will take a concerted effort -by all parties involved — to find the solutions that are best for everyone, not just a chosen few. Steve Thompson Huron County Federation of Agriculture. George Oriold has been vocal in his contention that taxes are too high. Actually, he says, Wingham may have one of the highest property tax burdens in the world. "We have no way of verifying it, because it's not. the type of statistics that people want out there," Oriold says. "But, we know that Ontario has the highest property tax rates in Canada and that Canada has the third highest rates in the world--it would only be seventh if not for Ontario, so this province skews those numbers. And Wingham would have to rank up there with other municipalities in Ontario." Mayor Doug Layton understands the desire to pay lower taxes. However, he says that people have to look at what services they, are getting to understand the full picture. Continued from pagel Ball said if the group was incorporated he hoped it would include local councillors. He got at least verbal support from Bert Dykstra of Central Huron, one of the municipalities connected by the bridge. "I believe forming a group is an excellent idea," he said. "There has been a lot of money offered (to help repair the bridge) but there's no place for it to be accepted." In further encouragement,: Ellen Connelly, councillor for Goderich, said she sat for several years on the Trillium grant review committee and Continued from page 1 condition of Hwy. 8 between Seaforth and Mitchell were discussed at this meeting as well as the last one, including the heavy traffic that is forced "It's easy to sit back and say 'we should cut this or that,— Layton says. "But, you have to look at what negative impact it would cause." Layton says that Wingham has a great deal of services that are not offered in similar sized municipalities. The recreation centre, airport, day care and museum are all unique for a smaller town and add value he says. "I pay $300 a month for my tax bill," Layton says. "About half of that goes to paying for the services that we use. To me, $150 isn't a heck of a lot to pay for garbage collection, snow removal, the rec centre and all the other services we enjoy." Layton's challenger Neil Vincent understands that it is the job of a municipality to provide services and that repairs to preserve the bridge was the kind of project that would receive positive support. "But its so important that they incorporate," she said of the group which has had more than 900 people, including former U.S. President Bill Clinton, indicate their support. "So many doors will open." Meanwhile Bali was given unofficial permission to allow three groups that have volunteered.. . engineering advice to examine the bridge. Two of the groups offered -free advice, one would charge $250. Dykstra said his council had discussed the issue and onto alternative routes through Goderich. Steffler referred to the workers who travel through Goderich every day who are forced to take another those services cost money. However, be says that it may be time for North Huron to make some hard choices. "Maybe we are trying to do too many things in certain areas," Vincent says. "We may not be able to do as many things and to hold the line down (on taxes)." "It's like deciding what vehicle to drive," he says. "Maybe you want to drive that big SUV, but you have to decide if you can afford the insurance and the mileage." Ultimately, Layton says that it is easier to criticise council's decisions from outside 'than it is to make the decisions from within. "It's easy to sit outside the circle and say that we can cut, but until you sit inside the circle you can't understand what it is that you are doing." was willing to be part of a solution but felt they needed more information than the three-page assessment that had been prepared by the consulting firm hired by the county roads department, County engineer Don Pletch said Friends of Ball's Bridge would need to look at the options, all the way from restoring the bridge as a foot bridge to a two-tonne or six- tonne load limit. While no trespassing signs have been posted on the bridge to protect the county's liability if someone was injured on the bridge, he indicated he'd have no trouble with other engineers examining the structure. route. "If Hwy. 8 was decent, I think they would take Hwy. 8," he said, also adding that the road does not end in Stratford. Reeve offers verbal support Hwy. 8 discussion continues