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Home My WebLink AboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-04-04, Page 5lava_ ac ea 1 • Per cent tax hike Itter Hu*. county COOnoll. aproved a $161 million OA, get by a 21 to 7 recordedvote at iti March 29 special meet, Anitialattiope $301000 tp the -county road department aprVedat council's March 2. Meeting and an addition to reserves qt $199,000 account r1 Ti If you are filing a pEcIAL fax return this year, specialists at H&R Block will prepare & double check it for the special price of $15125 AuNPD at participating offices, They will also check 20 areas of tax savings not shown on the form. If - any of these apply to you, we will prepare the form that maximizes your tax savings. It pays to be prepared by H&R Block. MR BLOCK THE INCOME TAX SPECIALISTS 328 Josephine St. Open 9 AM - 6 PM Weekdays. Phone 357-3006 9 AM - 1 PM Saturday Evenings by Appointment NEVER AGAIN WILL YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR YOUR INSURANCE WITH SLEEPLESS NIGHTS. You don't need us to tell you that lump sum insurance payments can keep you awake with worry • That's why The Dominion lets you pay your premium in twelve monthly instalments. - With our Ideal Monthly Payment Plan, you'll know how much your home or car insurance will cost each month and be able to budget accordingly. We'd like to th.nk that when you buy a policy from The Dominion, you'll never have to count sheep. Just your blessings. lhe Dominion of Canada Group Mei/ INSURANCE BROKERS LTD. 357-2636 335-3525 Wingham Gorrie taro percent** 4teaae. • 1 4 • NOcouncillor sogested eliminating 010 $320,090 from • • the budget, hut Exeter Reeve Bill Mickle wanted the $190,000 removed from the 1984 budget. The end of \ DeceMber; - the county had reserves totaling $1.9 million of which $1 .million was reserve for working capital and $221,000 was for capital works build- ing reserve fund. The 1984 budget will add $50,000 to the working capital reserve and $140,000 to the capital works building reserve fund. Reeve Mickle said taking the $190,000 out off the budget would bring the increase down to 8.71 per cent. "If there is no further cut- ting, at least we got the major portion out. I hope council gives serious consid- eration to this," said the Exeter reeve. However, county clerk - treasurer Bill Hanly ex- plained the $1 million work- ing capital reserve is neces- sary because at any time off the year the county can find itself owing $1 million while provincial grant money has not yet arrived. "The reserve only covers what we have in receipts," said Mr. Hanly. Reeve Mickle questioned the use of a capital works building reserve fund. The clerk -treasurer °said this money is put aside for any capital works and one con- sideration for Huron County is a new museum. "If council passes a 13.6 per cent increase and we don't get a big howl from the county - if ratepayers ac- cept this, then we may have tough times dealing with people," said Reeve Mickle, suggesting employees may request large salary in- creases next year. Several reeves said their municipal councils support- ed a letter circulated by the Town of Goderich requesting the county Co reduce its 1984 -budget. The latter was re- ceived and filed by the coun- ty. Warden Tom Cunningham of fitillet Township said his .council didn't agree with the Goderieh letter despite the . fact that 'billet faces the large& percentage increase in its share of the county levy. , • Several reeves defended the additional $300,000 put into the road budget of $5.5 million, and Reeve Mickle said he didn't want .that re- moved from the budget. "I never said cutting out of the road" or any other com- mittee budget was the an- swer . I'm talking about • the money allocated to work- ing capital. That can stay at $1 million," said Reeve Mickle. An amendment to the 1984 budget by the Exeter Reeve •Which would have reduced the budget by $100,000 was turned down by a 20 to 8 re- Wingbam Advance -Times, April 4, 1984 -Page 5 corded loilt for that the reserves oxvirkto,44dgett.,,, PtfitOt the $300,000 0,4000 *C404.ast year," said' Turnberry Township Reeve Brian McBurney. Goderich Deputy Reeve Jim firittoell, despitervotiag' in favor of redueing reserves and voting against the budg- et, commented. that the county portion, of his per- sonal property tax levy has come down from 17 per cent in 1975 to nine per cent in 1983. More than $3.9 million will be raised this year from local taxation with $9.1 mil- lion in provincial grants ex- pected. Another large area of revenue for the county are fees and 'service charges of $2.4 million. The largest in- come in this area are fees from Huronview residents of $2.3 million. This willoffset the Huronview budget of al- most $5 million. The 1983 surplus of $314,000 is included as revenue in the 1984 budget. The largest expenditures for the county are in social services, which includes general assistance, Huron - view and Family and Chil- VincentThis portion • ly ofoo .0$tatim ' services,. 3,,904.104441r. Wit at Godericb, togs The rest fthe 1984 exPen- ,e1.111-401lco services; $939,062 for neat' for general. administration, $901,20,1 for recreation and. cultural services, WACO for planningand develop- ment and$104;21.5 for mem- ber of conacil. • Those yeting infa vet: of the budget were EteriOS and Deputy .13;eeVO. James Aitchisea 'orlitest Wawa - nosh, Leona OnStrong of Grey Towt:t!Wtt,. Anthony Bedard orflay, Hebert Bell of . Tuaketini:Ith! Ernest Brown W.Cliaton, Torn Cronin of filyth,:' Tom Cun- ningham of .Htillet, Bill El- ston of Morris, Marie Hick- nell of McKillop, Dave John- ston of Bayfield, Russel Kernighan ,of Colborne Township, Joe Kerr of Wing - ham, Harry. Klungel of Hen- sall, Brian McBurney of Turnberry, Gerry Prout off Usborne, Jack Stafford of Howick, Paul Steckle of Stanley, Grant Stirling of Goderich Township, Neil Ralph Weber of Stepheu• , • bu"dgmete wvetriellgRleavInesat'ald°:'''' Deputy Reeves Jelin Austin ___70300ofo Asrichfikeld,149JiMsofirirupthieeril of EXater, NOM LaPorte of , Zurich., Bill Miekle of ttde eterric, ha "w41 tHhatTo Vo :Zell af • The vote for the amend- ment to the budget (reducing the budget by $190,000) was the reverse of the budget • vote, except Reeve Elston voted in favor of the amend- ment and also voted in favor of the budget. Absent from the meeting were William Campbell of Seaforth, Calvin Krauter of Brussels and Lionel Wilder of Hay Township. The county's net require- ment for 1984 with 1983 net requirements in brackets) for the Town of Wingham, the Townships of Howick and Turnberry and the Villages of Blyth and Brussels are as follows: Wingham, $136,601 ($125,586); Howick, $172,774 ($148,765); Turnberry, $88,263 ($77,979); Blyth, $36,331 ($31,032); grUsse1S, $35,699 ($32,178). Huron education budget up five per cent for '84 The education tax on an assessment of $3,110 in Huron County will increase by $18 or 4.23 per cent in 1984 as a result of the $37 million budget approved by the Huron County Board of Edu- cation at its meeting April 2. This is up about five per cent from last year's spend- ing of $34 million. "To hold the expenditure portion of these estimates to five per cent has taken a major effort by every seg- ment of this board's opera- tion," said Education Direc- tor Robert Allan. It is the lowest year -over - year increase we have ex- perienced in many, many years." The 26 Huron County municipalities will share in paying over $12 million of the.. board's budget. The majori- ty of the funding is from the province, through the Minis- try of Education, and has only increased by 4.4 per cent from last year for Huron. Provincial grants are ex- pected to be over $22.7 mil- lion, up from $21.7 million in 1983. The remainder of the revenue of $1.5 million will' • come from tuition paid by other county boards of edu- cation and rentals. •On the expenditure side, the largest single cost is for salaries and benefits and totals $28.3 million, up from $26.7 million in 1983. Transportation costs have been estimated at $2.98 mil - Consider vidiat an electric heat pump has tos.ffer. 1. CLEANLINESS Electric heat is flameless heat. There's no smoke. No soot. No dust. No fumes. 2. COMFORT It not only heats in winter. It cools in summer. 3. FLEXIBILITY It may be used with an existing oil furnace and prolong the life of youriurnace. Or, if you replace your oil furnace with an all -electric system, you can use your home's existing ductwork. • 4. COST SAVINGS It could reduce your heating bill by 20-30% a year. Call your local Hydro and join the converted today. Go Ele lion, up from $2.78 million for 1983. General supplies and serv- ice costs are expected to cost $2.2 million: These costs / totaled $2 million in 1983. • The operation and main- tenance of all schools and the administration centre is ex- pected to cost $1.4 million, up from $1.3 million in 1983. Debenture payments for the year are 3636,000. These, are the payments made by the board for the schools built in the late 1960s. These payments have declined from $1 million in 1979. • "The public should know that we have had commit- ment from the board, comit- ment from all Of the commit- tees, and commitment from trustees individually to bring in the•;mi,•ditnre estimated at a five edent increase. "Wehave attempted to be a cost-conscious administra- tion and we take some modest credit for the fact that we finished 1983 having spent $390,963 less than the amount originally esti- mated," said Mr. Allan. Chairman Eugene Frayne said a very good job had been done on the budget this year. There was little discussion of the budget and Mr. Frayne said the board had "thoroughly discussed" it during an in -camera session prior to the open portion of the meeting. Trustee Tony McQuail added that budget consid- erations were discussed at open committee meetings such as education and man- agement committees. The main reason for the decline in provincial dollars, said Mr. Allan, is because of the decline in student enrol- ment. He noted that the average daily enrolment in Huron County schools has declined by 1,341 students since 1979. The average daily enrol- ments for 1984 is expected to be 10,063 down 236 students from 10,299 last year. These figures, he noted, are what the ministry bases its grants on. "The public needs to have drawn to its attention again the fact that our teaching staff is being reduced to re- flect the declining enrol- ment. You will recall that the teaching staff reduction was approximately 11 teachers," he added. LINDA WILSON, a Grade 8 student at the Howick Central School, explained the in- tricacies of her science fair project to judges last Thursday afternoon. The judges are Al White, a teacher from Norwell District Secondary School at Palmerston, Karen Whiteman of the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority and John Gnay, a teacher at the F. E. Madill Secondary School. New store to open Wingham will have a new jewelry and gift store May 1 when Adrian Bakelaar opens his new establishment at the . Zehrs plaza. Mr. Bakelaar, a third - generation jeweler, is a member of the Bakelaar family of Listowel which has operated a jewelry store in that town for 17 years. When asked why he chose Wingham to locate his new store, Mr. Bakelaar said he 'thought the town seemed like a friendly spot and added the Zehrs plaza is an excellent •placetoopen-a-business- because it is always busy. Also he said he has had customers in the family's Listowel store wondering why they did not open a store in Wingham, so he felt there must be potential. The new store will specialize in diamonds and watches, but also will have a good supply of gifts, clocks and crystal to name a few. They will provide a jewelry and watch repair service and some jewelry design. own taxes to rise Continued from Page 1 trimmed slightly to " $73,500 for 1984. But as a reward for its financial responsibility, the money it saved will be set aside to pay for scheduled maintenance at the arena. The cemetery budget of $28,400 reflects a 36,000 raise from last year. Mr. Kopas explained this is to help pay for a hydro line which the • town wants to have run to the cemetery. Other areas show only minor changes from last year, apart from the 323,100 budgeted for council pay Which is up by 46 per cent, reflecting changes to council honoraria and allowances approved at the meeting Monday night. Overall, the budget for town purposes is up by just 4.5 per cent to $1.4 million for 1984. However, because of • the nature of the spending, more of the money will have to come directly from the pockets of local ratepayers, requiring the larger increase in property taxes. Apart from the review by Mr. Kopas, there was vir- tually no discussion of the budget, which had been hammered out by the councillors during a series of meetings with the finance committee last month. Council approved motions adopting the 1984 budget in principle and authorizing departments to proceed with spending -Within the guidelines approved. Early in the meeting council agreed to take' another look at the pollee committee budget after hearing from Police Chief • Robert Wittig that he is unhappy with the budget set by that committee. In a special presentation to council, the chief said while he was reluctant to come to council, feeling he was in a "no-win situation", he is not satisfied with the existing budget or the way it was set. He told council cuts were made by the committee "without consultation" in the budgets for fuel, phones, administration and vehicle maintenance as well as capital expenditures, and said he is concerned that relations between council and the police will become more strained. If the committee thinks the administration of the depart- ment is not good enough -it should say so, he said, "not - chip away and do damage it might take a generation to undo." Councillor Tom Miller, police chairman, told council his committee is willing to reconsider and invited° any interested councillors to attend its next meeting April 24 and make proposals. In the meantime, the budget was sent back to the com- mittee for reconsideration. Following the council meeting, Mr. Miller said the cuts had been made in an effort to get the department to operate more efficiently, but he added it had all been done in consultation with the chief and there had been bargaining back and forth over individual items. He said the reason for cutting back the fuel allowance was to encourage more efficient use of the cruiser by not taking it out,of town as much, doing more foot patrols and turning the engine off when it is parked. When the chief protested, the fuel budget • ital restored by trimming some other areas. He also .said he does not see the need for four Filter Queen "IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN VARNA" 482-7103 Here today, here tomorrow to serve your hearing needs. Beltone has been serving the hearing needs of people in this area for more than 25 years. More important to you, we expect to go on •--servin-g-th-emlia many years to come. ' telephones in the police office since there are never more than three people on duty there at one time. "We tried to get a responsible budget and that's what we came up With," he said. "We're not asking for a big change in the policing of the community; just be more efficient in the use of the cruiser." Mr. Miller said the com- mittee had looked at com- parisons with policing costs in other towns and he was satisfied it could support its decisions, though he added that if someone else can provide facts to support a different position the committee is ready to listen. In other budget business, council heard from Art Clark, a Wingham trustee on the Huron County Board of Education, ' that the board had set its budget earlier that day. Overall the budget is up by five per cent over last year, he reported, but according to preliminary figures the levy for Wingham will be prac- tically unchanged from last year, with a slight decrease in the secondary levy and a slight increase in the elementary school levy. Council also endorsed a resolution from the Town of Goderich protesting a proposed 13 per cent in- crease in the Huron County budget. Reeve Joe Kerr said the county budget is not finalized et, "they're still fighting over the roads budget," but he does not expect it will be decreased. Councillor James A. Currie declared a 13 per cent in- crease is "outrageous" and said Wingham should cer- tainly support the Goderich protest in principle. When you -buy a ---hearing. aid fronfoila;2-yOU - 'know we'll be here to provide service when you need it. Come in and see us at the regular monthly service clinic at VANCE'S PHARMACY FRIDAY, APRIL 13 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. J D. FAIR Reg. O.H.A.A. Hearing Aid Specialist Stratford Office ) 145 Ontario St. 1041EN A HEARING AID WILL HELP 273-2118 COMMUNffY CALENDAR INSURANCE BROKERS LTD. Insurance - All types. Home, business, auto, farm, life. WINGHAM 357-2636 GORRIE 335-3525 Thurs., April 5 to Wed. April 11 Thurs.April 5 Federation Meeting, Huron Fed. of . -AgaicuLtum,--Cruiest. Speaker, Blyth_Public School, 8:30 p.m. "Ladies Great Ride for Cancer" coming up April 29. Wingham PUC Meeting; 7:30 p.m. Fri. April 6 Lucknow Home & Garden Show, Lucknow Comm. Centre, 6:30 to 9 p.m. and Sat. April 7. Sat. April 7 Flea Market, -Day Centre for the Home- bound, Wingham Armouries, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Garage Sale, St. Paul's Anglican Parish •• Hall, Wingham 9 to 3. Workshop, Women & Employment, Exeter High School, 9. a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Phone 482-9706 for Information. 40th Wedding Anniversary Reception, Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Coulees, Wingham Legion, 8 p.m. Sun. April 8 50th Wedding Anniversary, Open House • for Mr. and Mrs, Bob McMurray, Bluevale Comm. Hall, 2 to 5 p.m. •• Mon. April 9 Meeting, La Leche, Colleen Schenkts, Maitland Court, Wingham, 8 p.m. Pre-Schoolers Reading Time, Wingham Public School Library, 10 a.m. Tues. April 10 Euchre Party, Maitland Institute, Wingham Town Hall, 8 p.m. Crisis Centre Speaker at Opti -Mrs. Meeting. Any interested persons welcome, Wingham Council Chambers, 8430 p.m. Wed. April 11 Homemaker's Annual Meeting, Guest Speaker. For information call 357-2913 or 357-3222. Annual Meeting, Wingham Figure Skating Club, Lockridge Mem. Arena, 8 p.m. Huron County Science Fair, Turnbetry Public School, April 11 • 13. ROXY HOME VIDEO Great Family Entertainment 241 Josephine St., Wingham Phone 357-3373 1••• ameale warm., emes amp. sass. amine etaseee term eenftei rtasc. cm. Wawa Mats et.a .ccee =mem gem. =aft Putt sx.AMPLE IF YOUR ANNUAL PREMIUM IS... YOUR -MONTHLY PAYMENT • WOULD BE... $240. $20. $480. $40. $720. $60. We'd like to th.nk that when you buy a policy from The Dominion, you'll never have to count sheep. Just your blessings. lhe Dominion of Canada Group Mei/ INSURANCE BROKERS LTD. 357-2636 335-3525 Wingham Gorrie taro percent** 4teaae. • 1 4 • NOcouncillor sogested eliminating 010 $320,090 from • • the budget, hut Exeter Reeve Bill Mickle wanted the $190,000 removed from the 1984 budget. The end of \ DeceMber; - the county had reserves totaling $1.9 million of which $1 .million was reserve for working capital and $221,000 was for capital works build- ing reserve fund. The 1984 budget will add $50,000 to the working capital reserve and $140,000 to the capital works building reserve fund. Reeve Mickle said taking the $190,000 out off the budget would bring the increase down to 8.71 per cent. "If there is no further cut- ting, at least we got the major portion out. I hope council gives serious consid- eration to this," said the Exeter reeve. However, county clerk - treasurer Bill Hanly ex- plained the $1 million work- ing capital reserve is neces- sary because at any time off the year the county can find itself owing $1 million while provincial grant money has not yet arrived. "The reserve only covers what we have in receipts," said Mr. Hanly. Reeve Mickle questioned the use of a capital works building reserve fund. The clerk -treasurer °said this money is put aside for any capital works and one con- sideration for Huron County is a new museum. "If council passes a 13.6 per cent increase and we don't get a big howl from the county - if ratepayers ac- cept this, then we may have tough times dealing with people," said Reeve Mickle, suggesting employees may request large salary in- creases next year. Several reeves said their municipal councils support- ed a letter circulated by the Town of Goderich requesting the county Co reduce its 1984 -budget. The latter was re- ceived and filed by the coun- ty. Warden Tom Cunningham of fitillet Township said his .council didn't agree with the Goderieh letter despite the . fact that 'billet faces the large& percentage increase in its share of the county levy. , • Several reeves defended the additional $300,000 put into the road budget of $5.5 million, and Reeve Mickle said he didn't want .that re- moved from the budget. "I never said cutting out of the road" or any other com- mittee budget was the an- swer . I'm talking about • the money allocated to work- ing capital. That can stay at $1 million," said Reeve Mickle. An amendment to the 1984 budget by the Exeter Reeve •Which would have reduced the budget by $100,000 was turned down by a 20 to 8 re- Wingbam Advance -Times, April 4, 1984 -Page 5 corded loilt for that the reserves oxvirkto,44dgett.,,, PtfitOt the $300,000 0,4000 *C404.ast year," said' Turnberry Township Reeve Brian McBurney. Goderich Deputy Reeve Jim firittoell, despitervotiag' in favor of redueing reserves and voting against the budg- et, commented. that the county portion, of his per- sonal property tax levy has come down from 17 per cent in 1975 to nine per cent in 1983. More than $3.9 million will be raised this year from local taxation with $9.1 mil- lion in provincial grants ex- pected. Another large area of revenue for the county are fees and 'service charges of $2.4 million. The largest in- come in this area are fees from Huronview residents of $2.3 million. This willoffset the Huronview budget of al- most $5 million. The 1983 surplus of $314,000 is included as revenue in the 1984 budget. The largest expenditures for the county are in social services, which includes general assistance, Huron - view and Family and Chil- VincentThis portion • ly ofoo .0$tatim ' services,. 3,,904.104441r. Wit at Godericb, togs The rest fthe 1984 exPen- ,e1.111-401lco services; $939,062 for neat' for general. administration, $901,20,1 for recreation and. cultural services, WACO for planningand develop- ment and$104;21.5 for mem- ber of conacil. • Those yeting infa vet: of the budget were EteriOS and Deputy .13;eeVO. James Aitchisea 'orlitest Wawa - nosh, Leona OnStrong of Grey Towt:t!Wtt,. Anthony Bedard orflay, Hebert Bell of . Tuaketini:Ith! Ernest Brown W.Cliaton, Torn Cronin of filyth,:' Tom Cun- ningham of .Htillet, Bill El- ston of Morris, Marie Hick- nell of McKillop, Dave John- ston of Bayfield, Russel Kernighan ,of Colborne Township, Joe Kerr of Wing - ham, Harry. Klungel of Hen- sall, Brian McBurney of Turnberry, Gerry Prout off Usborne, Jack Stafford of Howick, Paul Steckle of Stanley, Grant Stirling of Goderich Township, Neil Ralph Weber of Stepheu• , • bu"dgmete wvetriellgRleavInesat'ald°:'''' Deputy Reeves Jelin Austin ___70300ofo Asrichfikeld,149JiMsofirirupthieeril of EXater, NOM LaPorte of , Zurich., Bill Miekle of ttde eterric, ha "w41 tHhatTo Vo :Zell af • The vote for the amend- ment to the budget (reducing the budget by $190,000) was the reverse of the budget • vote, except Reeve Elston voted in favor of the amend- ment and also voted in favor of the budget. Absent from the meeting were William Campbell of Seaforth, Calvin Krauter of Brussels and Lionel Wilder of Hay Township. The county's net require- ment for 1984 with 1983 net requirements in brackets) for the Town of Wingham, the Townships of Howick and Turnberry and the Villages of Blyth and Brussels are as follows: Wingham, $136,601 ($125,586); Howick, $172,774 ($148,765); Turnberry, $88,263 ($77,979); Blyth, $36,331 ($31,032); grUsse1S, $35,699 ($32,178). Huron education budget up five per cent for '84 The education tax on an assessment of $3,110 in Huron County will increase by $18 or 4.23 per cent in 1984 as a result of the $37 million budget approved by the Huron County Board of Edu- cation at its meeting April 2. This is up about five per cent from last year's spend- ing of $34 million. "To hold the expenditure portion of these estimates to five per cent has taken a major effort by every seg- ment of this board's opera- tion," said Education Direc- tor Robert Allan. It is the lowest year -over - year increase we have ex- perienced in many, many years." The 26 Huron County municipalities will share in paying over $12 million of the.. board's budget. The majori- ty of the funding is from the province, through the Minis- try of Education, and has only increased by 4.4 per cent from last year for Huron. Provincial grants are ex- pected to be over $22.7 mil- lion, up from $21.7 million in 1983. The remainder of the revenue of $1.5 million will' • come from tuition paid by other county boards of edu- cation and rentals. •On the expenditure side, the largest single cost is for salaries and benefits and totals $28.3 million, up from $26.7 million in 1983. Transportation costs have been estimated at $2.98 mil - Consider vidiat an electric heat pump has tos.ffer. 1. CLEANLINESS Electric heat is flameless heat. There's no smoke. No soot. No dust. No fumes. 2. COMFORT It not only heats in winter. It cools in summer. 3. FLEXIBILITY It may be used with an existing oil furnace and prolong the life of youriurnace. Or, if you replace your oil furnace with an all -electric system, you can use your home's existing ductwork. • 4. COST SAVINGS It could reduce your heating bill by 20-30% a year. Call your local Hydro and join the converted today. Go Ele lion, up from $2.78 million for 1983. General supplies and serv- ice costs are expected to cost $2.2 million: These costs / totaled $2 million in 1983. • The operation and main- tenance of all schools and the administration centre is ex- pected to cost $1.4 million, up from $1.3 million in 1983. Debenture payments for the year are 3636,000. These, are the payments made by the board for the schools built in the late 1960s. These payments have declined from $1 million in 1979. • "The public should know that we have had commit- ment from the board, comit- ment from all Of the commit- tees, and commitment from trustees individually to bring in the•;mi,•ditnre estimated at a five edent increase. "Wehave attempted to be a cost-conscious administra- tion and we take some modest credit for the fact that we finished 1983 having spent $390,963 less than the amount originally esti- mated," said Mr. Allan. Chairman Eugene Frayne said a very good job had been done on the budget this year. There was little discussion of the budget and Mr. Frayne said the board had "thoroughly discussed" it during an in -camera session prior to the open portion of the meeting. Trustee Tony McQuail added that budget consid- erations were discussed at open committee meetings such as education and man- agement committees. The main reason for the decline in provincial dollars, said Mr. Allan, is because of the decline in student enrol- ment. He noted that the average daily enrolment in Huron County schools has declined by 1,341 students since 1979. The average daily enrol- ments for 1984 is expected to be 10,063 down 236 students from 10,299 last year. These figures, he noted, are what the ministry bases its grants on. "The public needs to have drawn to its attention again the fact that our teaching staff is being reduced to re- flect the declining enrol- ment. You will recall that the teaching staff reduction was approximately 11 teachers," he added. LINDA WILSON, a Grade 8 student at the Howick Central School, explained the in- tricacies of her science fair project to judges last Thursday afternoon. The judges are Al White, a teacher from Norwell District Secondary School at Palmerston, Karen Whiteman of the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority and John Gnay, a teacher at the F. E. Madill Secondary School. New store to open Wingham will have a new jewelry and gift store May 1 when Adrian Bakelaar opens his new establishment at the . Zehrs plaza. Mr. Bakelaar, a third - generation jeweler, is a member of the Bakelaar family of Listowel which has operated a jewelry store in that town for 17 years. When asked why he chose Wingham to locate his new store, Mr. Bakelaar said he 'thought the town seemed like a friendly spot and added the Zehrs plaza is an excellent •placetoopen-a-business- because it is always busy. Also he said he has had customers in the family's Listowel store wondering why they did not open a store in Wingham, so he felt there must be potential. The new store will specialize in diamonds and watches, but also will have a good supply of gifts, clocks and crystal to name a few. They will provide a jewelry and watch repair service and some jewelry design. own taxes to rise Continued from Page 1 trimmed slightly to " $73,500 for 1984. But as a reward for its financial responsibility, the money it saved will be set aside to pay for scheduled maintenance at the arena. The cemetery budget of $28,400 reflects a 36,000 raise from last year. Mr. Kopas explained this is to help pay for a hydro line which the • town wants to have run to the cemetery. Other areas show only minor changes from last year, apart from the 323,100 budgeted for council pay Which is up by 46 per cent, reflecting changes to council honoraria and allowances approved at the meeting Monday night. Overall, the budget for town purposes is up by just 4.5 per cent to $1.4 million for 1984. However, because of • the nature of the spending, more of the money will have to come directly from the pockets of local ratepayers, requiring the larger increase in property taxes. Apart from the review by Mr. Kopas, there was vir- tually no discussion of the budget, which had been hammered out by the councillors during a series of meetings with the finance committee last month. Council approved motions adopting the 1984 budget in principle and authorizing departments to proceed with spending -Within the guidelines approved. Early in the meeting council agreed to take' another look at the pollee committee budget after hearing from Police Chief • Robert Wittig that he is unhappy with the budget set by that committee. In a special presentation to council, the chief said while he was reluctant to come to council, feeling he was in a "no-win situation", he is not satisfied with the existing budget or the way it was set. He told council cuts were made by the committee "without consultation" in the budgets for fuel, phones, administration and vehicle maintenance as well as capital expenditures, and said he is concerned that relations between council and the police will become more strained. If the committee thinks the administration of the depart- ment is not good enough -it should say so, he said, "not - chip away and do damage it might take a generation to undo." Councillor Tom Miller, police chairman, told council his committee is willing to reconsider and invited° any interested councillors to attend its next meeting April 24 and make proposals. In the meantime, the budget was sent back to the com- mittee for reconsideration. Following the council meeting, Mr. Miller said the cuts had been made in an effort to get the department to operate more efficiently, but he added it had all been done in consultation with the chief and there had been bargaining back and forth over individual items. He said the reason for cutting back the fuel allowance was to encourage more efficient use of the cruiser by not taking it out,of town as much, doing more foot patrols and turning the engine off when it is parked. When the chief protested, the fuel budget • ital restored by trimming some other areas. He also .said he does not see the need for four Filter Queen "IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN VARNA" 482-7103 Here today, here tomorrow to serve your hearing needs. Beltone has been serving the hearing needs of people in this area for more than 25 years. More important to you, we expect to go on •--servin-g-th-emlia many years to come. ' telephones in the police office since there are never more than three people on duty there at one time. "We tried to get a responsible budget and that's what we came up With," he said. "We're not asking for a big change in the policing of the community; just be more efficient in the use of the cruiser." Mr. Miller said the com- mittee had looked at com- parisons with policing costs in other towns and he was satisfied it could support its decisions, though he added that if someone else can provide facts to support a different position the committee is ready to listen. In other budget business, council heard from Art Clark, a Wingham trustee on the Huron County Board of Education, ' that the board had set its budget earlier that day. Overall the budget is up by five per cent over last year, he reported, but according to preliminary figures the levy for Wingham will be prac- tically unchanged from last year, with a slight decrease in the secondary levy and a slight increase in the elementary school levy. Council also endorsed a resolution from the Town of Goderich protesting a proposed 13 per cent in- crease in the Huron County budget. Reeve Joe Kerr said the county budget is not finalized et, "they're still fighting over the roads budget," but he does not expect it will be decreased. Councillor James A. Currie declared a 13 per cent in- crease is "outrageous" and said Wingham should cer- tainly support the Goderich protest in principle. When you -buy a ---hearing. aid fronfoila;2-yOU - 'know we'll be here to provide service when you need it. Come in and see us at the regular monthly service clinic at VANCE'S PHARMACY FRIDAY, APRIL 13 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. J D. FAIR Reg. O.H.A.A. Hearing Aid Specialist Stratford Office ) 145 Ontario St. 1041EN A HEARING AID WILL HELP 273-2118 COMMUNffY CALENDAR INSURANCE BROKERS LTD. Insurance - All types. Home, business, auto, farm, life. WINGHAM 357-2636 GORRIE 335-3525 Thurs., April 5 to Wed. April 11 Thurs.April 5 Federation Meeting, Huron Fed. of . -AgaicuLtum,--Cruiest. Speaker, Blyth_Public School, 8:30 p.m. "Ladies Great Ride for Cancer" coming up April 29. Wingham PUC Meeting; 7:30 p.m. Fri. April 6 Lucknow Home & Garden Show, Lucknow Comm. Centre, 6:30 to 9 p.m. and Sat. April 7. Sat. April 7 Flea Market, -Day Centre for the Home- bound, Wingham Armouries, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Garage Sale, St. Paul's Anglican Parish •• Hall, Wingham 9 to 3. Workshop, Women & Employment, Exeter High School, 9. a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Phone 482-9706 for Information. 40th Wedding Anniversary Reception, Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Coulees, Wingham Legion, 8 p.m. Sun. April 8 50th Wedding Anniversary, Open House • for Mr. and Mrs, Bob McMurray, Bluevale Comm. Hall, 2 to 5 p.m. •• Mon. April 9 Meeting, La Leche, Colleen Schenkts, Maitland Court, Wingham, 8 p.m. Pre-Schoolers Reading Time, Wingham Public School Library, 10 a.m. Tues. April 10 Euchre Party, Maitland Institute, Wingham Town Hall, 8 p.m. Crisis Centre Speaker at Opti -Mrs. Meeting. Any interested persons welcome, Wingham Council Chambers, 8430 p.m. Wed. April 11 Homemaker's Annual Meeting, Guest Speaker. For information call 357-2913 or 357-3222. Annual Meeting, Wingham Figure Skating Club, Lockridge Mem. Arena, 8 p.m. Huron County Science Fair, Turnbetry Public School, April 11 • 13. ROXY HOME VIDEO Great Family Entertainment 241 Josephine St., Wingham Phone 357-3373 1••• ameale warm., emes amp. sass. amine etaseee term eenftei rtasc. cm. Wawa Mats et.a .ccee =mem gem. =aft