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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-04-19, Page 1Early fishermen Coun until cil delays 1980 After several r council passed a of the Square side Council passed trim $22,000 from budget for the ne pletion of the work Council had set budget as their sh lighting and brick s Businessmen have through a special bu that totalled $25,0.00 an New brick .sidewalk four blocks of the Squ have been erected.. With the $38',000 left in will be completed an sidewalks will be resur two blocks will be compl Reeve. Eileen Palmer motion to cut the BIA c could not support spending "We already have the support $60,000 for one pro have to spread the money o in one handfull." Deputy -reeve, Bob A claiming council had co complete the project this ye since the project was star finished. Councillor Elsa Haydon ag saying council should live mittment. "We have the money and w mittment so let's not agonize ov "To delay it would only cause inconvenience so let's get it over A motion to complete the pro was defeated and reeve Palme Stan Profit, Jim Searls, Jim Knights and Mayor Harry Wor favor of deleting $22,000 from the Deputy -reeve Allen, and councill and John Doherty voted in favor of the work this year. Eliminating the $22,000 from t saved the taxpayer less than one per final tax bill. Fisherman in the area are anxious to wet their lines and with improved weather conditions this week have been dotting the shores of Lake Huron. The fishing season officially opens April ecorded votes Monday evening motion to delay the completion walk_project until 1980. a motion by a 6-3 margin to the $60,000 set aside in the w sidewalks to delay com- ntil 1980. aside $60,000 in the 1979 are of the cost for new idewalks in the core area. assisted with the project sines improvement levy nually. s have been installed on are and all of the lights the budget' the lighting two more blocks of faced. The remaining ted next year. who introduced the mmittment, said she $60,000 in one•year. lights •but I cannot ject," she said. "We ut and not give it out Ilen, disagreed, mmitted itself to ar and added that ted it should be reed with Allen up'' to its com- e have the com- er it," she said. upheaval and with." ject this year r, councillors agee, Brian ell voted in BIA budget. ors Haydon completing he budget cent on the Board wan 28 for rivers and streams in the area but many anglers have been testing their luck early in the lake waters. (photo by Dave Sykes) E ducati � mill rate t n increases ,.4 percent BY JEFF SEDDON The Huron County board of education ap- proved its 1979-80 budget last week increasing mill rates for public school supporters by an average 8.4 percent. In a special session Thursday night the board had the budget explained in detail by superintendent of business affairs Roy Dunlop. The special meeting was arranged to permit politicians in any of the county's 26 municipalities to discuss the $23 million document with the board. Dunlop told the board that the average in- crease of the mill rate as a result of the education budget varying effects on municipal budgets, depending on local mill rates. He said the board of education has nothing to do with setting local mill rates, all it does is determine each municipality's share of the costs to operate the education system. The lion's' share of• the $23 million in total costs for education here is picked up by the province of Ontario. After subtracting various board revenues and grants from the ministry along with the province's share of salaries and transportation costs the amount to be raised through taxation locally was reduced to $6.9 million. The main culprit in the budget -was salaries. Dunlop explained that it was unfair to focus on any one salary hike in the system because each had unique circumstances. He explained that the increase that appeared at the secondary school teacher panel was an inflated figure because of the 31 day teacher strike a year ago and the two year pact that was signed after that strike. He said the reduced costs as a result of the strike made it appear as though handsome increases had been given the teachers and that wasn't so. He meticulously explained the affect the teacher strike had on the budget pointing out that had withdraw] of services not happened the board would still be looking at an eight percent increase. But the budget made 'one cact clear. The major expense in any one area in the entire education system is salaries. Payroll eats up a total of 76 percent of the $23 million the board spends in a year. Dunlop said the bulk of the money spent in the budget is beyond the control of the board. He said salaries have to be treated as fixed costs as well as debentures, loans and operating costs. He said he had not calculated how much of the budget the board had to work' with but estimated that the maximum amount would be 10 percent. The superintendent told the board the majority of concerns department heads had for), the coming year had been handled. He said one area not adequately funded was aesthetic maintenance. He told the board there was "no way in the world the schools can be kept like they were five years ago we just haven't the money to do it' R.M. McVean, plant superintendent, ex- plained that aesthetic maintenance involves things like stripping floors and rewaxing them and major housecleaning projects. He said there is too much work to be done by caretakers to permit time to be set aside for those projects. He added that the board owned buildings were not suffering because the jobs could not be done. 132—YEAR 16 GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 1979 35 CENTS PER COPY It's our responsibility to be nosey BY DAVE SYKES Members of Goderich town council maintain they have a responsibility t� stick their noses into the laundry at Alexandra Marine and General Hospital. In a recorded vote, council voted 6-3 in favor of meeting with administrator,'Elmer Taylor and Gordon Crabb, the council representative on hospital board, to inspect the laundry facility which will cease operation April 25. Council decided to meet with Taylor and Crabb after it received two letters from em- ployees of the laundry department, asking why the building was condemned and laundry was being trucked to London. In the two letters, employees, Sylvia Hoy, Erma Hoy, Kryslyna Brudnicki, Florence MacCuspey and Shirley Kennedy wanted to know why the laundry was condemned, why it is now baing done in London and indicated that the closure of the laundry facility could result in layoffs. A motion tb have Taylor and Crabb attend the next council meeting and exlain the situation was defeated. Council opted for the motion introduced by Reeve, Eileen Palmer. to meet with them at the hospital and tour the laundry. Councillor Elsa Haydon opposed the gang tactic claiming council had no business in- terfering with hospital board business. "For council to collectively go to the hospital. „ would be out of place since it is not our business," she said. "I am sure we would not be pleased if County Council or the Board of Education came to Goderich to inspect our departments." The laundry building was condemned by fire officials but councillor Jim Searls begged to differ, claiming the building was in top con- dition. "The tunnel needs a bit of plaster and a truss needs some fixing," he claimed. "But to spend $150,000,on a new building is pouring money down the drain -and.its unnecessary:" Councillor James Magee supported Searls' ,.Claims and added that problems to the building could be easily remedied. He also claimed that laundry could he accomodated at the Bluewater Centre instead of having it trucked to London. Reeve Palmer refuted Haydon's statements about keeping clear of hospital board business stating that if taxpayers were out of work it was .council's responsibility. Councillor John • Doherty reiterated' Palmer's sentiments ad- ding that the town was helping to support a new facility."The hospital board came and asked council for $12,000 and we are entitled to some ts council to mind own business The board of governors of Alexandra Marine and General Hospital don't think town council has any business with thehospital laundry. In a terse reply to council's motion to visit the hospital laundry facility as a group before its closure April 25, chairman Jo Berry said she regretted that council members felt compelled •to interfere withinternal operations and labour relations. • The press release stated that the letter complaint from employees were entertai and discussed by council without request s of ned ing Average t BY DAVE SYKES Goderich town council approved the 1979 budget Tuesday that will result in an average increase of $29.52 for homeowners. • Council gave final approval to a $5.5 million budget that on an average assessment of $3,000 will increase the tax bill by close to $30. The budget is up $1.3 million over last year and the major increase is in the County Board of and, equisition of $1,076,000 an in- crease of 8.9 per cent over last year, The town's general munucipal rate was held to a 2.3 per cent increase to $4,065,557 while the Huron County levy dropped to $372,000. any information on the subject from the board. Hospital• administrator, Elmer Taylor, said that none of the employees of the laundry will he unemnployed when the laundry services are transferred to London. He said all of the full- time and part-time employees have been transferred to housekeeping or dietery jobs in the hospital. The release says the laundry operation's were . ceased because of the inadequate facilities. Its. % also states that a saving was .realized by pur- chasing laundry services in London. Operations aLthe' laundr.y facility will cease April 25 and a new huilding.will be constructed for laundry.and linen storage. Council also wondered Why the Laundry was not being done at the Bluewater Centre, where such facilities are available. A spokesman said the laundry could be done more cheaply and more professionally in London. Council has requested a meeting with Taylor and Gordon Crabb, council's representative on the hospital board, to tour the laundry facility and answer some of the questions raised by laundry staff. ax increase is $29.52 On the total budget the taxes will rise an average of 4.6 per cent for residential and 4.5 per cent for commercial interests. , In a breakdown of the tax increase for the homeowner, $7.35 is taken up by the general municipal increase, the county levy dropped by 15 cents while board of education levies ate up $22.32 of the $29.52 rise in taxes. The education levy was responsible for ap- roximately 75 per cent of the tax increase in the 1919 budget. This year board of education expenditures increased by nearly $3 million to $23,622,085. The main reason council *as able to hold the 1?,';;:, general municipal rate to a meagre 2.3 increase was a $190,000 surplus accumulated last year. With the surplus council was able to include major expenditures of .$127,000 for the widening of Highway 21, $109,000 for the NIP project in the north-east section of town and $38,000 for the Square sidewalk project. General administration costs for the town were estimated at $290,000 for 1979. Major items deleted from the budget in- cluded $22;000 for the comletion of the Square beuatification project, $5,000 for a gateway to industrial park,$19,650 for sanitary sewers in industrial park, $10,000 for the paving of Delbar Crescent and $13,300 for a new salt,truck box. answers, " he said. "Because these are tax- Council has instructed Clerk, Larry McCabe payers involved we have an obligation to in- to 'set up a meeting with Taylor and Crabb vestigate the matter." before April 25. - The shipping season officially opened in Goderich last week when the Agawa Canyon arrived here from Sault Ste. Marie. Captain Claude Jeanotte brought the vessel in April 2 and was bustled off to the town hall whe e Mayor Harry Worsell put the mayor's k halrn f office and traditional top hat on the young skipper. Jeanbtte was also given a town flag I and some souvenirs honoring the occasion. The ceremony was the second in a row for the captain of the Agawa Canyon. The same vessel and captain opened Goderich harbor last year. The first captain ceremony has been tradition in Goderich since 1932. The Agawa Canyon took on a load Of salt bound for Thunder Bay. (photo by Jeff Seddon)