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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-06-24, Page 8Page A8 - Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, June 24, 2009 GODERCH Canada's prettiest town Notice of Public Meeting The Corporation of the Town of Goderich hereby advises that Goderich Town Council at their meeting scheduled for Monday, August 10, 2009 at 1:30 p.m. in the Huron County Council Chambers will consider amendments to By-law No. 41 of 2008, being a By -Law to set various fees for the Corporation of the Town of Goderich. Larry J. McCabe Clerk -Administrator 57 West Street, Goderich, Ontario N7A 2K5 Phone: 519-524-8344 i Fax: 519-524-7209 ,County scraps 'buy local' for signage Cheryl Health Sun Media New tourism signs proved to be unwelcome to some Huron County councillors. In addressing Huron County's committee -of -the -whole session June 17, Mike Pullen, the county's senior eco- nomic -development officer, unveiled an intricate pur- chasing strategy that left a few councillors scratching their heads. Coun. Deb Shewfelt (Goderich) questioned the process behind choosing a Kitchener company to take on one part of the job, valued at $44,045.21, when a Zurich business was one 4. the bidders at a price only $300 higher. Shewfelt notes he has "a hard time" going out of the county for a negligible price difference. Planning director Scott Tousaw says administrators did review the bids carefully, but the Kitchener business proved successful. Meanwhile, county treasurer Dave Carey cautioned council t) avoid choosing tenders based solely on the fact that a company is local. Coun. Joseph Seili (Huron I nsiuer mo vvr: estwithdrawlsin ement's early y ofhardwork, dedication and discipline - so it's a great feel- _reec tat point where you feel you have saved enough. But the job of retirement planning is far from complete once you achieve that goal. You need to make sure you manage those funds prudently so an adequate amount is available to meet your needs for the rest of your life. You have to determine how much spending money is to be with- drawn each year. Keep in mind that retirement may lest longer than you think. According to Statistics Canada, the average life expectancy for a 65 -year-old is 84, implying that half of all retirees will live longer than 84. There's a 40 -per -cent chance one spouse in a couple will reach the age of 90. In addi- tion, remember that inflation will cause your expenses to rise during all those years. As a result, the younger you are, the lower your withdrawal rate should be. Then you may gradually take out more each year. Incorporating an annual increase for inflation, an initial withdrawal rate of four per cent from your portfolio may be a good rule of thumb for a 65 -year old retiree. Nonetheless, there is no one rate that works for everyone, so it's important to speak with your financial advisor to determine what specific withdrawal rate is best for you. (Remember that this withdrawal rate ap- plies to your portfolio as an overall entity - not to any singular investment, which may appropri- ately have a higher withdrawal rate.) Keep in mind that if you own mostly fixed-rate investments such as bonds and GICs - rather than growth -oriented investments like stocks or stock -based mutual funds - you will likely have to withdraw smaller amounts each year. That's because a fixed-income investment will give you Just that — fixed income — which will not increase along with your expenses. Market performance is another major factor in determining your withdrawal rate. If you build in expectations that are too high, it could cause you to withdraw more than you should. You might find it's helpful to plan for long-term stock market returns of about eight per cent and bonds returning about five per cept. (Keep in mind these rates are not guaranteed and represent guidelines for portfolio scenarios only. Prices of both stocks and bonds fluctuate and past perfor- mance does not guarantee future results.) Of course, as we saw in 2008, it's essential to appreciate that the market rarely has "an average year." Some are up and some are down - and some can be dramatically up or dramatically down. As a result, sequence is especially important in choosing withdrawal amounts. In particular, mar- ketdeclines in the first few years after you retire could potentially having a much bigger impact than if they occurred 15 years after you retired. Unfortunately, no one knows when the market will have good and bad years, so it pays to be more conservative with your withdrawals. If you don't need the full amount you have planned for in one year, re -invest that amount so it continues to work for you, especially in today's mar- kets. And make sure you maintain a cash balance early in retirement, which could protect you in case the market is down in your first few retirement years. Work t your financial advisor to weigh all of these factors so you can make the most prudent We, And ensure that you review it all on a regular basis, year after year. East) announced he would be voting against the motion re- gardless of which bid was cho- sen since the plan is being pre- sented so late in the year. "I have a feeling right now that it's bell 1g rammed down our throats," he Nays. Seili added that it defies com- mon sense to hurry along with choosing a bid when the signs won't go up until September or October. "Why is this such a rush all of a sudden'? I don't know," he said. Shewfelt added that, ultimately, "it's councillors' choice" as to which bid is accepted. Meanwhile, Coun. Max Demaray (Hawick) learned the new signage would not be able to accommodate mu- nicipalities looking for a way to tack their names onto more attractive signage. Pullen told Demaray the county could look at ways to create new signage on separate structures. Shewfelt's motion to accept the Zurich bid rather the Kitchener one resulted in a recorded vote with seven councillors supporting the buy -local option: Tim Col- lyer (Central Huron), Dorothy Kelly (Moms Turnberry), Shewfelt, Bill Dowson (Bluewater), Demaray, Dave Johnston (Bluewater) and James Fergusson (Bluewater). Those opposing the motion were Murray Scott (North Hu- ron), Bert Dykstra (Central Huron), Neil Vincent (North Huron), Ken Oke (South Huron), Ben Van Diepenbeek (Ashfield Colborne Wawanosh), Bernie MacLellan (Hu- ron East), Neil Rintoul (Ashfield Colborne Wawanosh), Jim Dietrich (South Huron) and George Robertson (South Huron). Councillor Seili abstained while councillors Bill Siemon (Huron East), John Grace (Goderich) and John Bezaire (Central Huron) were absent for the vote. A motion to accept the lowest Kitchener bid, made by MacLellan, passed by a 10-7 vote. Those supporting it were: Dykstra, Kelly, Oke, Vincent, Scott, Van Diepen- beek, Rintoul, MacLellan, Dietrich and Robertson. Those opposed were Johnston, Shewfelt, Demaray, Fergusson, Dowsqn, Seili and Collyer. Huron's five-year review enters next phase of public consultation - signal -star staff . The County of Huron is educating the public about its Official Plan as it prepares a fiveLyear review for the province. Mem- bers of the county's planning staff met at the Huron County Museum in Goderich last week to show the latest revisions to the plan, joined by representatives of mu- nicipal governments. As part of the plan's five-year review, a number of initiatives have already been undertaken to gather public opinion, in- cluding the Sustainable Huron meetings held in communities from Wingham to Exeter last fall. The resulting Take Action Report helped direct the plan's amendments, and now residents are being asked for their opinion on the resulting changes. Recognizing the ever-changing face of agriculture, the • county has shifted focus from development to diversification, giv- ing farmers more opportunities to explore alternatives both in their fields and in busi- ness. The shift also reflects the county's en- vironmental land -use, re -directing where possible development away from those areas rich in natural resources such as ag- gregate and maintaining prime agricultural land for farming. "If we know we have a limited amount of gravel, we're not going to build on a prime (aggregate area)," said County plan- ner Rian Allen. Resource -rich areas will be protected for proper conservation and management, and the plan attempts to guide settlement to more urban areas in the county. Minerals, natural gas, petroleum and wa- ter are all considered,extractive resources. As energy prices soar, so does the need to live, work and have access to vital ser- vices nearby, Allen said. The county, he explained, is more apt to direct development to areas that already have provisions such as a doctor's office, schools and grocery stores so people can live and work in their communities with- out having to rely on automobiles. Communities with water and sewage systems are better equipped to handle de- velopment than hamlets still on well water or septic tanks, he said. However, all development, whether in extraction of resources, agriculture or set- tlement, has to both consider and protect the natural environment surrounding it. Allen encouraged the public to learn more about the process, as well as the physical layout of the county. He demonstrated how to use an inter- active online map of the county to find whether or not residents' land is prime ag- ricultural or rich in extractive resources. By going to the website gis.huroncoun- ty.ca, people can see a radar map of Huron County with layers denoting tourism des- tinations, forest covering, agricultural land and more. "It is all available for the public to use," he said. Ontario's provincial policy statement demands official plans - 20 -year docu- ments - be reviewed every five years. The next draft of the Official Plan should be ready for autumn of this year.