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Huron Expositor, 2005-02-09, Page 9s Huron County budget. increase starts at 20 per cent before spending cuts By Tim Cumming Expositor Editor Huron County Council is preparing to tackle its budget which could result in a 20 per ceht increase if spending isn't cut. "Twenty per cent for the people of Huron this year isn't going to cut it," said Coun. Joseph Seili (Huron East). There was d•scussion on Thursday, Feb. 3 about how to approach departmental spending that is over budget or under budget and whether to look at department spending line by line. Coun. Deb Shewfelt, Goderich, said he didn't recall any county motions which would permit a department manager to go over budget and expected the departmental budgets to come in at or under budget. Coun. Paul Klopp (Bluewater) said the county council should go through the budgets line by line "to know where the costs are." Coun. David Urlin (South Huron) questioned whether the council should be involved in line -by-line decision-making on budget. It could take weeks for the council to effectively scrutinize each and every budget line, he said. "We're here to set policy, not micro -manage," he said. "That's why the county is in the mess it is, it wasn't done line by line item," said Seili in response. COUNTY STUDENT PAGE POSITION DEBATED Huron County Council debated on Thursday, Feb. 3 whether to continue the county's longstanding student page program. The discussion began at the Feb. 3 meeting of county council because there was no student page for that meeting. Coun. Rob Morley, of South Huron, wondered whether the program was needed and if students visiting the county to do the job were acting just as "coffee runners" instead of doing meaningful and educational work. Students get "a day off school" to attend council and perform tasks for councillors but the way county meetings are run today there might not be "enough learning experience in today's world to justify it," Morley said. Several members of council responded to support the program. Coun. Paul Klopp (Bluewater) said students benefit from seeing county councillors make decisions. "What an opportunity to see how government works," he said. The county's past warden, Bill Dowson (Bluewater) said he had heard positive feedback from the parents of previous student pages. Warden Doug Layton, North Huron, supported the student page position and said he would put more effort into 'contacting schools and promoting the program. TORONTO OUT OF AMO The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) is planning to move its 2006 convention from Toronto to Ottawa. One of the reasons may be the City of Toronto's decision to leave the provincial organization. Coun. Paul Klopp (Bluewater) wondered if Ottawa would be too far for many of the delegates. , "Because of the size of the convention there are only so many cities that can accommodate it," said Coun. Deb. Shewfelt, Goderich. CROSS-BORDER BILLING IS AN ISSUE Problems are continuing collecting cross-border land ambulance billings between different counties. Negotiations are continuing with Huron County over the issue with counties including Middlesex, Perth and Bruce. FUTURE OF GOOD FOOD BOX STILL UNCERTAIN The price of the Good Food Box could be raised between $2 and $5 and still keep customers but any more than that would make it uneconomical, said Coun. Ken Oke (South Huron). -1511111F- `Twenty per cent for the people of Huron this year isn't going to cut it,' -- Huron East Mayor Joe Seill Charges laid after officer pulls over car missing front licence plate A 30 -year-old Seaforth man has been charged with driving a motor vehicle with one licence plate, an expired validation and no insurance. His black 1988 Oldsmobile was stopped Feb. 5 on Market Street in Seaforth when a Huron OPP officer noticed the front plate was missing from the car. Checking the driver, the officer learned the car also had an expired validation sticker and no insurance. The driver is scheduled to attend court on April 21. Tools stolen from house and truck in McKillop Tools. valued at a total of $1,250, were stolen from a truck parked at a house in Huron East that was under construction and from the house, reports the Huron OPP. The truck, stolen from the house on McKillop Road on Jan. 2, was later found nearly destroyed by fire in Central Huron near Clinton. Tools, valued at $890 were taken from the house, including fluroescent bulbs, an extension ladder and a cordless drill. Tools valued at $360 were taken from the truck. Anyone with related information is asked to call the Huron OPP or Crime Stoppers. Huron County Council heard on Thursday that the Good Food Box program is on hold temporarily until funding for the program is decided. Huron's past warden Bill Dowson (Bluewater) said he has been approached by several people asking the county to seriously consider the program, which is promoted as having agricultural, economic and health benefits. Coun. Rob Morley (South Huron) said the program could be in competition with existing businesses and might require a permit to satisfy South Huron's commercial bylaws. Coun. Deb Shewfelt (Goderich) said South Huron's bylaw might be illegal. The Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Beth Henning, said the program is designed as a holistic response to several county needs. "It's not just about nutrition, not just about providing produce at a price that's reasonable ... it's a more holistic approach, health and economy together," she said. The program, she said, provides "benefits to the agricultural community, to the people who work as volunteers" and it has gained a provincial and national profile as a good program that "looks at several determinants of a healthy community." A new coordinator would have to be hired for the program but that would not be a new position, she said. Coun. Joseph Seili (Huron East) said the Good Food Box is a good program but can only be continued if it doesn't involve a spending increase by the health unit. "(You) are going to have to find it in the budget," he said. "Unless it can come in revenue -neutral my vote is it's history ... I'm sorry." The Huron Good Food Box is the central program of the Huron Field to Table Network, a non-profit produce distribution system that brings fresh fruit and vegetables to Huron County residents twice each month. Produce is purchased directly from 23 local farm operators and four local wholesalers. There are 400 families registered for the program. One of the concerns raised at a previous meeting of county council was that people with high incomes might be benefitting from the food distribution program. Statistics from the health unit and planning and development departments say that about one quarter of the program's users have a household income less than $20,000. Another 37 per cent of the users have a household income of $40,000 or less. Less than one third (28 per cent) have household incomes more than $40,000. AMALGAMATIONS MAY BE VOLUNTARY Could the Huron County Health Unit be amalgamated into a larger structure? That question came up at the Thursday, Feb. 3 meeting of Huron County Council. Health units are being told that amalgamations will be voluntary, the Medical Officer of Health Dr. Beth Henning told the county council. A capacity review of public health units is taking place which may, according to health units, lead to amalgamations and reorganization. COUNTY WILL BE PART OF DOORS OPEN ONTARIO Huron County Council chambers will be one of the sites of interest as part of the Doors Open Ontario program's inauguration in Goderich on May 28-29. County council approved the decision at the Thursday, Feb. 3 meeting of council. THE HURON EXPOSITOR. 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