HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1982-12-08, Page 1t
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GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8,1982
50 CENTS PER COPY
Councillors take
oath of office
Will practise restraint Palmer says
The structure of municipal government may
change in Goderich in the pursuit of fiscal restraint
mayor Eileen Palmer told members of council and
guests at the inaugural session Monday.
After accepting the chains of office from Huron
County Judge F.G. Carter, mayor Palmer said the
next three years will be the most challenging in the
history of the municipality. Restraint, she cautioned,
will be the biggest challenge.
"Thenext three years will be among the most
challenging in the history of the municipality and
restraint will be the keynote in all facets of the
operation," she said. "We will have to lower our
expectations and decrease committee budgets if
necessary. New programs will be closely
scrutinized."
While the mayor and members of council officially
took the oath of office Monday, Palmer said the new
council has already held a think tank and met
unofficially with the Public Utilities Commission and
town administration. Palmer indicated the new
council is committed to a restructuring plan to reduce
the number of committees of council from eight to
four.
"We will restructure council to four committees for
efficiency, economy and effectiveness," she said. "It
will mean fewer meetings, fewer clerical and
secreterial hours and lower costs. Regular monthly
meeting dates will be set and special meetings can be
called when necessary."
The mayor said council will appoint an
organizational review committee to review the
policies, services and programs offered and that
committee appointments would be limited to one
year, subject to the approval of council.
Mayor Palmer said the municipality has a good
council and administration that will work together.
Prior to the swearing in ceremony, the Reverend F.
Loebach of St. Peters Roman Catholic Church
cautioned members of council on using authority
wisely for the good of the community.
"You are using authority that was granted by the
members of this community and we must guard
democracy with jealousy and care," he said. "It is a
privilege to elect those who represent us and make)
our laws but authority is a responsibility."
Trust needed between board
and press chairman says
BY
STEPHANIE LEVESQUE
Trust and understanding between the press and
board staff will be the Huron County Board of
Education's top priority in 1983.
At a special board meeting Nov. 23 chairman
Dorothy Wallace presented what she called a
"position paper" outlining how the board is perceived
by both the press and staff members. Mrs. Wallace
also gave suggestions as to how communication lines
could be opened. The position paper was referred to
the board's executive committee's first meeting in
January.
The chairman suggested that the press be invited to
sit in on committee -of -the -whole meetings, that the
board revert to two meetings a month - one in the
evening and one in the daytime-, that agendas be
. made available to the public prior to the meeting,
that individual trustees be allowed to speak to the
press on particular concerns, that a second line of
communication to staff be established and that some
kind of variation of employee groups get together to
discussways to improve the quality of the work area.
On staff communication Mrs.Wallace said the
regular channel is for teachers to talk to the principal
who refers it to a superintendent who refers it to the
director of education who in turn refers matters to the
board. The chairman said staff should feel free to talk
to board members and while it has not been kir-
bidden, but neither has it been encouraged. She added
that various themes of "quality circles" should be
explored.
The chairman said editorial comment in the press
suggests the board is thought to be a "secretive
bunch". Mrs. Wallace also pointed out that
resolutions are passed by the board with almost no
discussion.
"To the visitor, we look like a bunch of zombies,"
admitted Mrs. Wallace.
Most of the discussion takes place in the various
committee meetings for education, management,
personnel and executive, the chairman explained.
She noted the press has been invited to these in the
past, but the board has to face the fact that the press
isn't going to come. One reason for this she said is the
committee only makes recommendations to the
board and the press isn't going to spend time at a
meeting when the material being discussed may or
may not become actual fact.
Mrs. Wallace said criticism leveled at the board
suggesting it "rubber stamps" administrative
decision is an idea she disagrees with and knows that
Turn to page 3 •
Huron County Judge F.G. Carter administered the
oath of office to mayor elect Eileen Palmer at the
inaugural session of council Monday. After ac-
cepting the chains of office, Mayor Pahner said
restraint would be the keynote word for the
municipal council and she said council may scale
down its committee system in the next term. ( photo
' by Dave Sykes )
Council must make tough
decisions judge says
Members of Goderich town council are no longer
engaged in a popularity contest and must make tough
decisions for the benefit of the community Huron
County Judge F.G. Carter said at the inaugural
session of council Monday.
Judge Carter delivered a message to the new
members of council after administering the oath of
office and suggested the group had many talents to
offer the taxpayers.
"The mayor was' an intelligent, competent and
experienced councillor and she will provide strong
leadership for the municipality," he said. "You have
a good council, one of the strongest since I've been in
Goderich, and with that talent under the mayor's
leadership, you will solve or alleviate many problems
that face us."
While he was effusive in his praise of the talents of
Puppet workshop
At a puppet workshop, which was sponsored by the Goderich Recreation Department on
Saturday, December 4, children learned all about puppets. Besides learning about different
types of puppets, the children also made their own and then put on a play.( photo by T.Marr)
council, Judge Carter cautioned council not to make
politically popular decisions, but tough decisions that
will benefit the whole town.
"The election is over and you are no longer engaged
in a popularity contest," he said. " You have been
elected to govern the town for three years and your
decisions are not to be decisions to bring popular
acclaim. They should be the right decisions for the
common good of the municipality.
"Some decisions will be tough but you should
conscientiously believe the decision to be the right
one and not the popular one."
Council should always be conscious' of its public
image and maintain a healthy respect for one another
and ideas proposed at the.council.table.
"You have every right to give criticism to ideas of
other councillors," he said. "But never indicate they
are not'acting in good faith. Criticize ideas but not the
• individual and always leave room for compassion."
Judge Carter strongly reminded council that it
represents all of the people of the municipality and he
suggested business should be conducted in a
responsible manner.
"You are the representatives of all the people and
you must decide what is good for the people of the
town," he said. "The people of the town look to you for
leadership and not comic relief."
The new council will hold its first meeting Monday,
December 13 at 7.30 p.m. in the council chambers,
Harbour
can service
Bruce needs
The manager of the Bruce Energy Centre would
have liked to have seen a $95,000 Ontario government
study on port facilities for the center done at a later
date.
The preliminary findings of a study by Marshall
Macklin Monaghan of Toronto revealed last week the
growth areas or the Bruce industrial. park proposal
will occur at the Port of Goderich, and later around
the Bruce Nuclear Power Development (BNPD ► area
• itself: The study indicated that -Goderich would meet
the early needs of the energy center until the flow of
marine commodities would derirand the development.
of a port near the center. '
LBaie du Dore just-north•o€_the BNPD.and Holmes,
Bay to the south could be developed into marine
Hurts. the study shows.
Ralph Jones, the manager of the Bruce center. said
that the study should have been delayed until
development of the energy center started.
center started.
"I think they need more time before they make a
decision 011 Bruce and see how quickly it's going to
develop," said Mr. Jones from his Toronto office. "I
realize it's hard for them ( Marshall, Macklin,
Monaghan) to recommend a port on the basis they're
making an assessment but I would have preferred
them to delay a recommendation."
Mr. Jones said that future customers at the Bruce
center may not find it economically feasible to pay
shipping and trucking charges to move their com-
modities to the Goderich port.
Turn to page 7 •
Committees set
by town council
One of the first official acts of the new Goderich
town council was to accept the report of the striking
committee as presented at the inaugural session
Monday.
Councillor Bill Clifford will chair the ' finance
committee, a position he held witha previous council,
and former finance chairman, Don Wheeler, was also
appointed to the committee. Ed Giesbrecht will chair
the works and engineering committee and Jim
Britnell will act as co-chairman.
Brunei was selected chairman of the traffic
committee and councillor Jinn Searis, co-chairman
Councillor Glen Carey will again chair the fire
committee and reeve, Harry Worsen was also ap-
pointed to the committee.
Worsell becomes chairman of the environment
committee and John Doherty, co-chairman while
-Searis is in charge of the property committee along
with Clifford.
Don Wheeler was appointed chairman of the
waterfront comrnittee and Carey, co-chairman and
Doherty will again chair the parks committee with
Giesbrecht acting as coo-cchairman.
Citizen appointments to committees and boards
will take place at a later date.
Tough times
for board budget
BY
STEPHANIE LEVESQUE
An early warning that the Huron County Board of
Education is going to have a tough time keeping its
1983 budget down was noted at a special meeting on
Nov. 23.
There is concern that the Ministry of Education will
limit general legislative grants for education pur-
poses to an increase of five percent despite increased
costs to the board. The Huron board supported two
motions from other school boards relating to this
concern.
A motion from the Leeds and Grenville County
Board of Education states it will petition the Ontario
government to ensure the level of increase for the
grants is adjusted for those boards that settled
collective agreements prior to Sept. 21 and those
boards that have not settled. The intent of the motion
is to eliminate financial hardships to those boards
that settled prior to Sept. 21 and before the five
percent restraint limit was imposed. The Huron
Board settled its collective agreements prior to Sept.
21.
A second motion, from the Renfrew County
Separate School Board, calls for petitions to Ontario-
PremierWilliam Davis, the Treasurer of Ontario and
the Ministry of Education to order Ontario Hydro to
roll back its eight percent increase to five percent or
to increase school board grants during the 1983 fiscal
year for electrical consumption Weight percent.
Trustee Murray Mulvey pointed out the board's
costs are affected by fuel and solar this year fuel
costs to the Huron board have risen 43 percent.
"We can't keep our costs at five percent unless we
hold the cost of fuel," said Mr. Mulvey.
He said he wasn't aware the cost of the fuel had
risen so high until he consulted administrative staff,
Mr. Mulvey added there are also indirect cost in-
creases related to the increased cost of fuel.
Trustee Jean Adams commented this subject is an
item that should appear in newspapers. The
Goderich trustee said, information such as had been
presented makes the taxpayer aware of costs facing
the board and why board of education costs can't
always be held down.
INSIEJh®'THE
SIC/NAL-STA
portaacti
Over the past weekend the junior girls' ringette team
and the Atoms beat their opponents, the Novice team
tied their game. the Bantams and the Midgets lost
one and won another; while the Pee Wees won a game
but lost in two others. Ringette and Pee Wee pictures
appear on the front page of the Recreation section
along with stories about each confrontation.
Convention
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture recently held
its annual convention in Toronto. This story and other
news qf interest to farmers carp be found on pages 11
and 12 in the Recreation section.