Lakeshore Advance, 2011-04-13, Page 19County okays levy hike
Cheryl Heath
Lakeshore Advance
Goderich Councillors made a pitch
for something a little less taxing but in
the end Huron County Councillors
have the thumbs up to a 2.74 per cent
illit1ike to the levy for 2011.
In outlining the proposed budget at
council's April session, treasurer Dave
Carey reports highlights of the budget
include a recently received $202,464
increase to EMS funding and an extra
$154,3000 from Ontario Municipal
Partnership Funding (OMPF), which
mean the levy increase will be 2.74 per
cent, down from the originally pro-
posed 3.85 per cent hike.
In terms of property assessment,
says Carey, a home valued at $100,000
will show a $20.66 tax increase.
However, both Goderich Council-
lors Deb Shewfelt and John Grace say
it would be better to see a levy hike
closer to zero.
In addressing the issue, Grace says
it is "sometimes frustrating" for lower -
tier councillors to work hard at getting
budgets down to the point where no
levy hike is required, only to come to
the county council sessions and see
an increase proposed when there is a
surplus to work with.
In supporting the budget as pre-
sented, Coun. Bill Siemon (Huron
East) says the levy hike reflects
present-day realities that include
decreased provincial grants, infla-
tion and increases in the county's
pay grid.
Siemon argues that by arbitrarily
offering up no increase this year,
county residents might see a dou-
ble-digit hike in 2012.
"An increase is needed to cover day-
to-day expenses," he adds.
In reflecting on past years at the
county level, Coun. Ben Van
Diepenbeek (Ashfield Colborne
Wawanosh) says it can be danger-
ous to hold back on small levy
increases when the need arises.
"We know our costs are going up
i3 wages and inflation," he says, not-
ing that county council had to intro-
duce 20 per cent levy increases in
the 1990s.
Coun. Bernie MacLellan (Huron
East) also expressed support for the
budget's final draft, noting "everybody
probably wins on this one."
In contrast, Coun. Paul Klopp
(Bluewater) says councillors would
Wednesday, April 13, 2011 • Lakeshore Advance 19
be wise to take the lead by agreeing
to a per diem pay freeze for 2011 in
an effort to "show leadership." His
motion ultimately failed to garner
the support required to officially
entertain the idea.
While the treasurer says some
last-minute provincial payouts
kept the levy increase at a number
lower than expected and that half
the surplus is already represented
in the 2011 budget, Grace reiter-
ated that surpluses should be used
to get the final levy increase "closer
to 2 per cent."
Ultimately, council approved to
accept the budget as is, with the
addition of meeting a $6,000 fund-
ing request from the Coalition for
Huron Injury Prevention (CIIIP),
in a recorded vote.
Those favouring the 2.74 levy
hike were: MacLellan, Van
Diepenbeek, Siemon, Art Versteeg
(Howick), Paul Gowing (Morris-
Turnberry), Brian Barnim (Central
Huron), Bill Dowson (Bluewater),
Dave Jewitt (Central Huron), Jim
Dietrich (South Huron), Joe Stef-
fler (Huron East), Dave Riach
(North Huron), James Ginn (Cen-
tral Huron), George Robertson
(South Huron), Neil Rintoul (North
Huron) and Dave Frayne (South
Huron). Those opposed were:
Grace, Klopp and Tyler Hessel
(Bluewater).
Coun. Neil Vincent (North
Huron) was absent for the vote due
to the passing of his mother, Edith,
who council paid tribute to
through a moment of silence
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