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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-11-15, Page 1• 4.4 �r b^t.A..N.waalPlKAlf Goderich Elevator set q- single day record for handling trucks loaded with grain Monday when it unloaded 187 trucks loaded with 235,000 bushels --of grain. George Parsons, president of the elevator, said a combination of things lead to the record which resulted in trucks jamming the harbour marshalling area and lining Harbour Street and Wellington Street between West Street and Elgin Avenue. Parsons said the elevator was closed last week because no ships were available to take grain out and the elevator was full to capacity. He said Monday other elevators were in the same situation and Goderich was the only on open to unload trucks. He said ships are now being loaded on a daily basis and things should be back to normal. He added that Tuesday the elevator unloaded 143 trucks carrying 150,000 bushels. (photo by Jeff Seddon) THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1979 Confident contract settlement in sight BY JEFF SEDI:ON Lengthy delays settling teacher contracts at both elementary and secondary school panels have not shaken the .confidence of board and teacher negotiating teams that a settlement will be reached before the year. is out. Both sides claim many of the delays •in the negotiations were not due to contract issues but were caused by circumstances neither party could avoid. A fact finders report released last week in- dicated that contract talks with secondary school teachers centered around two specific areas, money and job security. The report by fact finder David Moore said there are "a large number of outstanding issues between the parties and in some cases the difference between their respective positions is wi.de". He said it was obvious to him both parties will have to modify their positions "substantially" in order to settle, Moore said one observation he had while investigating negotiations was the "inability on the part of either the board or the teachers to step back from the negotiating table and place themselves in the other's position". He noted that was "extremely difficult to do". Moore said it was necessary for the teachers to recognize the fact that the board was operating under economic restraint but added the board had to realize the teachers' concern for job security was real and had to be dealt with. Moore said the most important recom- mendation he could make was that each party "sincerely attempt to perceive the difficulties faced by the other". Both parties said Moore's comments on the state of negotiations were fair. Both felt the fact finding exercise had some merit but both in- dicated the matters would have been settled without the report. Shirley Weary, head of the teachers' negotiating team, said contract talks were Market value assessment BY JEFF SEDDON. - -..: Goderich town council found, out Monday night what market value assessment will mean to taxpayers in Goderich and as .a resultmay end up being pressured into adopting the revamped taxation procedure. Floyd Jenkins, assessment commissioner with the Huron -Perth Assessment office, ex- plained to council that market value assessment would•do little or nothing to change the town's taxation revenue. He said what it would do was change the amount .of.taxes -paid by homeowners, businessmen and industry. Market value assessment will•clear up inequities in the town's taxation system. Jenkins outlined the effects market value assessment would have on residential, com- mercial and industrial properties in town. He told council the amount of tax dollars paid in those areas would not change. He explained that his office had done a tax impact study to gua.ge the effects of market value assessment. He told council his staff was prepared to explain market value assessment to individual taxpayers, businesses'and industry affected by the changes in the tax system. He said his office planned an open 'house after the new assessment notices went out to allow people an opportunity to come into the assessment office and. find out why their tax bill is changed. Council made it clear it did not 'understand the full impact market value assessment would have in Goderich. Reeve Eileen Palmer suggested council go behind closed doors to hear what Jenkins had to say but could not get anyone to support her. She told council it was not that she was worried about any information going public but did not want to see taxpayers become confused by the statistics council was about to hear. While Jenkins' information was complete and indicated that market value assessment would have little impact on the town's annual taxation revenue it was not what council wanted to hear. Market value assessment is designed to clear up inequities in the tax roll. Under the present system some taxpayers in Goderich face stiff tax bilis every year while others, because their homes or businesses have not been,reassessed for years, pay a paltry sum. If council decided to adopt market value assessment that practice will end. Tax bills will be based on what the property is worth in today's market. Council's investigation into market i"alue assessment puts it in a dilemna. If the town's tax revenue is not going to be changed by the new system the only thing that remains is to determine who pays how much. That means that while taxpayers now suf- fering hefty tax bills, will s get relief that relief will be at another tax1 ay iexpense. Clerk Larry McCabe offered some insight into the pressure council will be faced with. He said market value assessment will make 52.2 percent of the homeowners in GIbderich1tappy, - 9.8 percent -wilt De undecided and 38.1 percent will be unhappy. Loosely translated that means that over half y the homeowners in Goderich will get relief under the new assessment, just .over: nine percent will realize small changes'in their tax bill and 38 percent will be paying more tax. McCabe said some of the increases will be substantial. He said it was impossible to determine how much the taxes will increase but estimated it could be as high -as $200 to $300. The clerk said taxpayers at thehigh and the ' low end of the scale can be assured their will be some change. He said homeowners now paying $1,000 in taxes could get a $100 to $200 break while people paying.,$300 can look forward to doubling that at least.' McCabe said there was no way of knowing what areas or houses will be affected. He said a new house could be affected if the owner added a garage or finished a rec room since the home was lastassessed. Council will also hear from owners of com- mercial properties in town if it accepts market value assessment. McCabe said 33 percent of the commercial property in Goderich will realize a decrease in taxes and the remainder an increase. He explained that some of the changes in the commercial assessment would be very expensive but added that the savings enjoyed by businesses getting relief will be just as substantial. • 35 CENTS PER COPY "progressing" claiming she was confident a settlement would be reached by Christmas. She said the contract talks did not centre around a specific issue claiming unavoidable delays in getting to the negotiating table had as much to do with settlement delay as any issues. Weary saidtalks were stalled during the summer months and just nicely got going in September when the fact finder was appointed. She said both parties deal with the fact finder and negotiations are in "limbo" while that is going on. She said both parties are now back to the negotiating table and working things out. John Cochrane, director of education, called the fact finder's report a "fair summary" of contract talks adding it would appear the exercise was needed. He said since the report was completed both parties have been negotiating and are "making more progress", He said the _talks have been slow but' there was never any concern they would end. Cochrane said money was an issue but added it was "not a big issue". He said financial clauses in the contract were being discussed as well as clauses dealing with job security. The fact finder indicated the board had of- fered a four percent increase for the 1979-80 school year and the teachers had asked for 10 percent. He said he was startled that financial issues had received next to no attention from either party. He recommended a settlement of between 6.5 and seven percent. Moore felt that a cost of living clause the teachers wanted was too expensive for the Huron board and did not consider it to be in the public interest. To protect jobs the teachers -suggested a reviewed policy for the pupil -teacher ratio. Pupil -teacher ratio determines the number of students one teacher is responsible for in one subject area. • • The teachers' proposal would mean the addition of 29 teachers in the Huron secondary panel according to Moore. Moore said the teachers also proposed changes in the pupil period contacts, the number of students a teacher sees in a specific • teaching session, and maximum teacher timetable loads. He pointed. out that with._no time available to investigate the financial ramifications of such moves he did not want to mmen.a ions. His only suggestion was for both parties to consult on problems declining enrolment caused for each and work out some sort of guidelines to follow. Elementary school teachers are also still negotiating their contract. A fact finder was appointed to look into those negotations and his report was to be released soon. But both parties -were confident a settlement could be' res bed soon and asked that the release of that report be delayed one week. The ERC agreed but teachers became in- volved' in parent -teacher interviews this week ' and negotiations were delayed. Both parties feel a settlement will be reached• before the end of November. eves tax break to majority He ,said according to his calculations the lowest decrease will be. $37 while the largest .increase will be in the neighborhood of $10,000. He added that at least four commercial properties face $10,000 increases if council adopts market value assessment. Industry is not spared under the new taxation system. McCabe said 36 percent of the town's industry will have the same or' less to pay in taxes and 64 percent will he paying more. He said his calculations showed that four industries will be paying $11,000 more next year in property "takes, three will be .paying $1,000 and one will be paying $3,400, He said those figures . were based on properties and that ha:Lad not investigated who owns the. property to see which industry will pay. Council mayhave no choice now but to adopt market value assessment and suffer the con - Coat of arms still a piece of BY JEFF SEDDON Two years ago this month Goderich town council decided it didn't like a. coat of arms it was being sold by a Port Credit man and Monday night council indicated there had been no change of heart. A motion by reeve Eileen Palmer to adopt the 1977 coat of arms as the town's official symbol,, was defeated 5-4 putting the symbol back on the shelf where it has been since November of 1977. Palmer suggested the coat of arms be dusted .off and adopted as the town's corporate seal. She said the symbol "sits on the shelf like everything else and can't be used by anybody" Carolers could entertain shopper... Christmas shoppers in Goderich may be treated to some mood music this year if recreation director Jim Moore can find musically inclined volunteers in town. Moore told council Monday night that he was contacting church and school groups and other organizations in town looking for volunteers to go caroling on The Square during the week before Christmas. The rec director said he was contacted by Pat Wheeler about the possibility of arranging the caroling for two hours a night from December 17 through December 21. He .said he was also checking into the possibilty of acquiring sound equipment for the singers and the cost for that equipment. Councillor`Elsa.Haydon asked Moore why he needed sound equipment. She said that anytime there is any singing done there is -a tendency to use artificial equipment. "Why not just sing carols?" she,asked adding "that's the most natural way". Moore said he had not thought of the group just singing but was looking at the possibility of, the carols being broadcast all over The Square "in stereo". Moore also extended an invitation to council to crime out December 8 and watch the town's Santa -Claus parade. He said he was still working on the parade but would be contacting each council member to personally invite them to witness the arrival of the jolly, old gent to town. Don't step on .. Councillor Jim Magee questioned bylaw control officer Dick Eisler at Monday night's council meeting'to see if dogs should take all the blame for decorating The Square area. Magee told Eisler he was "atnazed at the number of calling cards" left by dogs on The Square. The councillor wanted to know if the dog droppings were as a result of dogs running at large or dogs being walked by their owners. Eisler said he would place the blame for the dog mounds on owners of dogs walking their pets through Courthouse Park. He said he has watched many people calmly allow their pets to relieve themselves on the grass making no effort to scoop the mess and deposit it' in an appropriate spot, The bylaw officer noted that most dog owners wait patiently for their deg to finish the job and then continue the constitutional. since it was not legal. She said the town should pass a bylaw making the coat of arms its of- ficial seal. Clerk Larry McCabe told council to do that it would have to rescind the bylaw describing the town's present symbol and pass a new law. He added the corporate seal placed on bylaws and official documents would also have to be replaced. The coat of arms was sold to the town in 1977 by Rick Banks of Port Credit. Banks sold council on the idea during the town's sesquicentennial celebrations. He approached council telling them he would research the history of Goderich and its name and have a coat of arms drawn up. • He told council the coat of arms would signify the history of the town and would include something about the history of the Lord of Goderich, the man the town was named after. He added that the coat of arms would be ap- proved by the College of Heralds in London, England. He also told them it would cost $2,200. Council bought the idea and commissioned Banks to come up with a coat of arms. The final product caused mixed reactions at council when Banks unveiled it late in 1977. Former mayor Deb Shewfelt liked the symbol telling council it would serve as a constant reminder for visitors to Goderich. Palmer, then deputy -reeve, said she was originally opposed to the idea of a coat of arms but decided she liked the finished product claiming it "grows on you". ' Councillor Elsa Haydon was hysterical. She could not help laughing at Banks' coat of arms claiming he had managed to take council for a ride and could not be serious about the whole thing. Monday night reeve Palmer, deputy -reeve Bob Allen and councillors Brian Knights and John Doherty were in favor of adopting the coat of arms as the town's official symbol, • -- Councillors Haydon, Stan Profit, Jim Searls and Jim Mage and mayor! Harry Worsell were not. "From the very beginning i fought against such, garbage,'+ Sail l_Haydon.--"The.-m.an,_d sequences. McCabe noted that a • large per- centage of landowners in town will be paying more taxes in 1980 but added that an even larger portion will be saving.' He noted that while council members will be pressured by taxpayers that will be paying more under market value they will also be encouraged by those paying less. It may now be a political matter that will be decided by the loudest voice. garbage con job on us and he knows he did a con job on us. This business of making " it legal and changing the town's letter head, the seal, the. symbol on the doors of tke trucks to put this red little devil on it is ridiculous." "It's a piece of garbage," said Magee. "A joke perpetuated by the man on the town." "It doesn't make sense," said Profit. "There's nothing to show the tie the town has with rural areas that we depend on for so much." "We adopted the flag and • the seal my goodness it's time we got oh with the job," said Allen. "It's all been presented to us to accept and go with one or the other: or nothing." • "We spent the dollars and the time to get a coat of arms why not use it," said Knights. "It was i-esearched and now it's shelved." ' A