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Home My WebLink AboutHuron Expositor, 2007-05-23, Page 3News Huron East `blindsided' by county vote to download boundary bridges Susan ilundertmark Huron East will be taking over the bulk of bridges downloaded from Huron County in a surprise motion at county council last week. "We got blindsided at the county. They didn't put it on the agenda and they shoved it through pretty quick. It was well orchestrated and we got railroaded," Deputy - Mayor Bernie MacLellan told Huron East council last Tuesday. From a list of 26 boundary bridges with estimated repair costs of $1.045 million, 12 of the bridges with estimated repair costs of $474,000 are in Huron East. Boundary bridges in Huron East include six in Grey, four of which are on the border of Grey and Elma Township and five in Tuckersmith, three of which are on the border of Tuckersmith and Hibbert Township. One bridge is on the border of McKillop and Hullett. The most expensive estimate of the 12 is the Beam Bridge on Hensall Road .5 km west of Chiselhurst Road, estimated to cost $250,000 for a complete reha- bilitation. The rest range from 0,000 to $32,000. "The' bridges will become ours as soon as they fix them up or we could get funding to fix them up our- selves. One way or another, we're going to be stuck with them," said MacLellan. He asked administration if Huron East could make a case with the province to reduce the county's portion of OMPF (Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund) funding since it is downloading financial responsibility for rural ratepayers onto its lower tier municipality. MacLellan argued that OMPF funding exists to fund services, such as roads, to rural residents. "If they're not spending money on rural areas, is there any area for us to petition the province. They downloaded services on us - can we get their OMPF funding?" he asked. Deputy -Clerk Brad Knight said he didn't know. "That's an interesting comment but it could open a Pandora's Box across the province. I don't know if the province would be sympathetic," he said. MacLellan said maintaining the boundary bridges would add a finan- cial burden to Huron East residents while the county kept the provincial funding from OMPF and for the gas tax. McKillop Coun. Bill Siemon said Huron East should at least ask the province since OMPF funding is intended to maintain rural roads. "It's passed and we don't have any hope of reversing it," he said. County's plan to study raising industry tax ratio could harm development, worries Huron East Susan H u n d e r t m a r k A $28,000 study planned to deter- mine if Huron County can charge a • higher tax ratio to industry could end up harming Huron East's chances of attracting industry to town, council was told at its May 15 meeting. Huron East Mayor Joe Seili said he voted against the study because it was an unbudgeted item passed just weeks after the budget was approved. "We spend weeks on the budget, holding meetings throughout the county and the ink isn't even dry yet on the budget and we're spending $28,000 in unbudgeted money. They spend money like drunken sailors at the county and it's time to start reeling it in," said Seili. Deputy -Mayor Bernie MacLellan said he voted in favour of the study only because it will require an unanimous decision by all lower tier municipalities if the county decides to charge a higher tax ratio to industry after the study is complete. The study will look at the possibil- ity of raising the tax ratio from 1.1 per cent more than residential tax rates to as high as 1.76 per cent, the rate used in Toronto. "They want to shift the tax burden to industry but they don't know how much yet," said MacLellan, adding that while Goderich has enough industry to consider the change, the whole county has to make the change if it is to happen at all. "It's hard enough now to attract industry and this could chase them away," he said. Seili said Goderich would receive the biggest benefit from any change to the tax ratio for industry. He told council that change could "screw economic development at the county." The Huron Expositor • May 23, 2007 Page 3 LAWN QUESTIONS? Organic Programs Available ACCREDITED -Trust the Professionals - 524-2424 . McTaggart Wettlaufer INSURANCE BROKERS INC. • AUTO • HOME • FARM • TRAVEL • COMMERCIAL BROKERS Paul Wettlaufer • Amy Siemon Suzanne Zehr • Leigh Crawford Ken Hutchison 68 Ontario Rd. 519-348-9150 Mitchell 1-800-561-0183 www.excalibur-insurance.ca CLINTICIN D ENTAL CLINI Clinton Hygiene Corporation DR. GRANT I.E.F & :1SSoCt.vri 482-93921"".* WE ARE MOVING! 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