The Huron Expositor, 1983-06-01, Page 1It
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SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, WEDNESQAY, JUNE 1, 1983 - 20 PAGES
Average taxpayer to pay x70 more
A Seaforth taxpayer with 53,000 assess-
ment will pay 14.2 per cent more for town
services on this years tax bill. When county
and school board levies are added, the total
tax increase is 9.4 per cent.
That's an increase of $69.99 for a public
school supporter, $49.68 of it for municipal
purposes. County taxes for the average
resident are down about 3 per cent; public
elementary sdhool rates are up 15 per cent;
secondary school rates up about 3 per cent
and separate school taxes up about 14 per
cent.
The public school supporter whose bill
was 5738.69 last year will pay $808.68 in
1983 taxes.
The town's 1983 budget was passed by
council in about 20 minutes May 24, after
several special and committee meetings in
dosed session to work out details. The
councillors considered three alternatives.
One would have completely paid off the 1982
$49,000 deficit and raised taxes by 30 per
cent. The other would have deferred
payments on several capital project for
a year or two and raised taxes 13.5 per cent.
The third alternative, which council
adopted, defers paying 526,000 on the new
fireball until 1984 and 85. It also defers
510,000 each for police station renovations
and the new dump until 1985 and allows the
town to draw 58,000 from industrial reserves
until its Taylor property on Crombie St. is
sold. When the town sells the land, the
money goes back into the reserve fund.
The deferments total 546,000, almost
equal to last year's deficit. Without the
deficit the town would still have been looking
at about a 14 per cent increase but all the
projects would have been paid for this year,
said clerk Jim Crocker. There are no cuts in
services, but no increases either, mayor Alf
Ross added when be, the clerk and town
auditor Archie Leach, were interviewed by
the Expositor.
"Lets do it next year," was a comment
often made as council went over the budget,
the mayor said. That lead to a three year
projection in which council planned its major
projects until 1985. It forecasts tax increases
d 2.9 per cent next year and 7.6 per cent in
198.5. Council will now be able to look at any
new projects in the light of what they'll do to
those percentages, says the mayor. "An
emergency could happen that we'll have no
control over. "We're trying to control the
things we do have control over,"
Ten years ago, the clerk says, councils
only served for a year. When terms are
extended to two years it took time before
councils were comfortable planning that far
ahead. Next year council plans to do a five
year projection, looking at revenue and
expenses for "someone else's council." The
problem with cutting capital expenses, like a
new police cruiser or the police station
renovations, from one year's budget, is "it
doesn't go away," the mayor says, but
comes back to haunt you.
We're making decisions more like a
business," mayor Ross sums up.
For example, if a new police cruiser isn't
purchased in 1983. "we could need two next
Revenue
year," the mayor says. And although some
council members were in favor of cutting the
510,000 the town will pay for tennis court
improvements, Seaforth pledged to spend 20
per cent of the 5375,000 it will received In
ONIP funds on soft services,, so the courts
stayed in the budget.
It's tough to assign priorities, the mayor
said at council when the budget was
adopted, because demand for services
exceeds the town's ability to provide.
Pledging "no more surprises" like last
years deficit, the mayor said all depart-
ments will have to provide monthly budget
statements, practise restraint and accept
cuts.
If cuts can be made during the year in the
town's 5396,489 budget, they will be, says
auditor Archie Leach. Councd is upset with
the deficit, will deal with it and keep
financing under control in the future.
Historically, if an amount was in the budget
"it was spent." That's not true any more, he
says.
$1,255,939 Expenditures
In addition to the local budget, Seaforth
,taxpayers will contribute 582,714 to the
cOunfsecondary
5147,608 for choolsand
531,732 for the Huron -Perth County Roman
Catholic Separate School Board.
Committee expenditures for 1983, with
what was actually spent in 1982 in brackets,
are: general government 5201,692
(S208,257); protection to persons and
property, 5314,134 (5218,979); transportat-
ion services, 5331,961 (S329,419); environ-
meittlal services, 5171,061; social and family
Services 5100 (58); culture and recreational
services, $111,267 (595,232) and planning
and development 53,500 (57,571).
Non -committee expenditures in the town's
51,255,939 gross budget (before other
revenue and grants are deducted) total
$122,224 this year, compared to 5127,907
spent last year. The debenture on the old
arena, the 549,000 deficit, tax writeoffs and
refunds and assessment appeals are includ-
ed in non -committee expenses.
$1,255,939
Taxes
31.6%
Protection
To Persons
& Property
25%
General
Government
16%
Grants
38.5%
Deferred p.7%
Other Revenue
26.2%
Transportation
26.5%
Environmental
Services
13.6%
Culture\
Recreation
8.9% /
Planning,
Development,
Social &
Family
0.3%
This is how your tax dollars were collected and spent
Neighbours object again to building plan
In a near repeat of a May 9 meeting,
Seaforth landowner Leo Medd applied
Monday night for a minor variance to build a
new house on his corner lot at Ann and
James Sts. Mr. Medd wants the town's
zoning bylaw requirement for a side lot
reduced from 25 feet tp 15 feet. He is also
asking for permissifint3'leave the`j5iesent
residence in place until three months a er his
new house is constructed.
The second committee of adj stment
hearing was necessary because nei hbour-
ing landowners pointed out technica errors
in Mr. Medd's first application. A d cisio
will be made Thursday night.
The new application, read by committee
chairman, Ken Oldacre, says Mr. Medd
wants to build the house 15 feet from Ann St.
so that his backyard will be big enough to
use and provide some privacy. He plans to
build a 1500 square foot, one -storey house
and his application was amended at
the meeting to include an attached garage 30
feet by 30 feet. The garage faces James St.
and the house, Ann.
NOT MINOR?
Several neighbours who objected to the
variance at the May 9 meeting objected
again, as did Dick Burgess of Goderich St.
W. A variance of 40 per cent is "far from
minor", he said echoing others' comments.
The garage size is "quite disproportionate to
the main house"; the house will not blend in
with existing ones in the area, and he fears it
will lower the value of surrounding
properties.
The current state of the property, a deep
excavation unfenced, with steep walls and
partly filled with water, gives him concern
for the neighbourhood's children, Mr.
Burgess said. That's under the building
inspector's jurisdiction, Mr. Oldacre told
him. Mr. Medd "wants to be a good
neighbour" and will attend, to safety
concerns, his lawyer, Paul Ross, assured the
meeting later.
Other objecting neighbours included
Gordon Rimmer who said the only neigh-
bourhood houses which don't conform to the
bylaw's 25 foot setback are the oldest ones.
"By letting the most contemporary home be
non -conforming you would be in contravent-
ion of your own bylaw." He agreed with the
chairman that the house could be built on the
lot without the variance and questioned
allowing the change just because it's desired
by the applicant.
The building as sited by Mr. Medd "will
change the whole scope of the corner. You'll
be looking at the side of a garage instead of
the front of a house as you come along James
St.," said Christine Tremeer. Problems with
corner lots in future will increase if the
variance is allowed, predicted Dave Tre-
meer.
Saying he strongly objected to a hole being
dug, footings put in before the owner "comes
along,and asks for a minor variance". David
Cornish asked why Mr. Medd had not gotten
permission first and then built. Perhaps he
wasn't knowledgeable enough about what
was required, the chairman suggested.
"Someone gave him permission. 1t
shouldn't have happened," Mr. Cornish
said.
The owner has had the property for two
years. "Why was it done in such a hurry?",
asked Grace Cornish.
NOT UNUSUAL
The objections, were answered by lilucufr ,
Planner, Roman Dias arid' Mr. Meifd's •
lawyer, Mr. Ross. Both said it's not unusual'
for a minor variance to allow even a 100 -per
cent change in a zoning bylaw.
People are worried about what might
happen, said the planner and the committee
cant consider that. Council or a property
owner can take out an injunction to stop
construction or a use that goes against the
town's by-laws. It's not unusual, he added
for a builder to go ahead with footings at his
own risk before getting a variance.
"All the applicant wants to do is build his
building in the same way most of the other
people in the neighbourhood have construct-
ed theirs." What the committee has to
decide, he added, is whether the minor
variance is bad planning or not.
Mr. Medd has got to fit his house into a
long, narrow lot, his lawyer, Mr. Ross
explained, and therefore wants the variance.
Tastes in houses differ, and "Mr. Medd's
house will raise the value of residents in the
area and not lower it," because new houses
are selling much better than old ones in,
Seaforth.
Once the house is up and landscaping
completed "it will blend, just as every other
house blends in," the lawyer said. Residents
get used to, and ultimately value, differenc-
es in neighbourhoods.
Emphasizing that neighbours had a right
to vl1,0ct anal that rrut�tting footings in before
'irf`j, ior' a buildibg, permit is `done all
e time' Mr. Ro3s'rioted fllaTif the'va.riarite -
had•been approved at the last meeting,
const `fjtction would have been well underway
by now.
Is a htirdship created if the minor variance
is not granted, the chairman asked. "We do
not want to set precedents which could be
taken as general for the municipality," Mr.
Oldacre added. The committee of adjust-
ment must decide each case on its merits,
looking at effect on the neighbourhood and
land values, he said.
The word comes from housing ministry
guidelines, Mr. Oldacre said when Mr. Ross
said he wasn't sure he and his client had to
prove "hardship" if he didn't get the
variance.
Mr. Medd could build the house on the lot
without the minor variance, "but it would
not be a house he chooses to live in," Mr.
Ross said, adding the house set forward on
the lot would better serve his client, his
family and the community.
If the variance is granted the decision may
be appealed to the OMB.
TREADING AIR -Jason Wheatley shows good form as he completes the running long
jump. The annual track and field meet was held at the Seaforth'public school under sunny
skies last Friday. (Wassink photo)
General government costs,
council
y*opa�.
"{,, , yi'+, .rte
■ t#
Spending by council's fitfance and general
government committee will be down 57000
in 1983, to $201,692, compared to 5208,257
that was spent last year. All three areas
under that committee, town administration,
council allowances and expenses, and grants
and awards ,are expected to spend less,
according to budgetestimates adopted at a
May 24 special council meeting.
Council will pay itself a total of 525,320 in
1983, a 57,000 drop from last year's 532,579.
Association fees and travel for council
members will increase from $2,575 to
54,000. Having just three councillors serve
on committees, plus the elimination of the
town arena committee accounts for the drop,
mayor Alf Ross says. The smaller commit-
tees also lead to more discussion of decisions
at council meetings, he adds.
Administration expenses are down about
51,000 to $172,372 this year. The only
significant increases are wages, from
568,839 to $76,808; benefits, from 54,636 to
56,234; legal and audit fees from 510,027 to
515,300 and capital expenses, from 52,153 to
53,500.
Council will take a much more aggressive
BUILT FOR COMFORT, NOT SPEED -Even though their bed broke half -way down the
street, the Junior Farmers finished second In the Mardigras bed race. More pictures inside.
!Jailed* nilz
Restaurant has 60's boom
A one week promotion of 1960 meal
prices is keeping Bill Protopapas and staff
busy at his Brussels restaurant. In addition
to the lower priced meals, The Olympia
Restaurant was hoping to exclude Ontario's
seven per cent sales tax.
A letter was sent to Premier Bill Davis last
week, Via, Huron -Bruce MPP, Murray
Elston. No reply has been received. "They
fixed a budget leak in two days, but I cannot
even get a reply in one week," says Mr.
Protopapas.
Approximately 30 per cent of his
customers on Monday, the first day of the
low prices, were from out of town. "We had
over 200 customers. A usual Monday will see
us serving between 30 to 40 people."
Mr. Protopapas admits he has been run
off his feet. "We didn't expect that many
people on our first day. But, we'll take them
all. Customers have asked about the sales
tax. I have to tell them I have to charge it.
There's nothing I can do about it."
The 1960 prices are not a get -rich -quick
scheme. "It looks like we're going to break
even. We are asking customers to write their
comments concerning sales tax and high
interest rates on the back of their menu. All
copies will be sent to the federal and
provincial government."
position on tax arrears and could put five or,
six properties up for tax sale, clerk Jim
Crocker says. That action, plus lower
interest rates, are expected to cut financial
expenses to $20,000 from last year's
525,515. The town will save 53,092 because
there'll be no municipal election this year.
The next one is in Nov., 1985.
Grants from this committee have been cut
to 510,400 from 1982's $18,281 by cutting or
eliminating grants to Tuckersmith's recreat-
ion centre (52,900, c t to 5900), the Van
Egmond Foundation, (52,500) and the
Seaforth nursery school (53,000). Grants
which will stay at the 1982 level include:
Maitlandbank Cemetery, 5500; the horticul-
tural society, 5200; the agricultural society,
5600; the lawn bowling club, 5695; the SDHS
band, 5250; Huron Plowmen, 550; St. John
Ambulance, 5100; the Santa Claus parade,
5200.
Lady Diana Nursery will receive 5150, up
from 5100; the local hospital, 51,200,
(51,032) and the Lions Park 55,500, (55,000).
The budget for miscellaneous grants was
slashed, from $1,154 last year to just 555 for
1983.
Best crowd in years
at Optimist Mardigras
The Seaforth and District Community
Centres was filled to capacity on Saturday
during the 1983 Mardigras organized by the
Seaforth Optimists.
"It's the best do we've had in a long time."
said one of the organizers. Dave Reid.
Close to 800 steak dinners were served and
more than 1,400 people packed the hall and
the ice surface of the community centres
Committees over budget
The expenditures of every major council
committee, except culture and recreation,
were over budget last year, figures provided
with Seaforth's 1983 budget show.
General government, budgeted at
5198.899, actually spent 5208.257. Protect-
ion to persons and property spent $218,979,
when 5217,602 was budgeted.
Transportation services cost 5329,419,
while 5304,142 was budgeted. Environment-
al services spent 5155,830, versus a budget
figure of S139,97.
Recreation was below budget (5104,536)
with actual speeding of 595,232, as were
social services, budget, 5200, spending 58
and planning and development, budget,
59,530, spending, 57,571.
during the dance.
Three bands and 25 floats made up the
parade in the afternoon. First prize of 525
went to the Dykstra family in Clinton for their
Smurf float.
Winners of the bed race were the Seaforth
Sleepers from Seaforth Motors. Second place
went to the Optimists and third place to the
Seaforth Junior Farmers whose bed fell apart
but still completed the race.
X8:5 in cash stolen
5835 in cash was taken from the home of
Larry Dolmage and John Cairns Jr. at 73
John St. yesterday afternoon between 12:30
and 2:00.
"It's the first daylight break-in in
Seaforth. They're getting pretty brave,"
says Seaforth police chief, Hal Claus.
Chief Claus says the Seaforth police have
gone door-to-door in the area but no one has
seen anyone suspicious. He recommends
that residents of town keep their doors
locked if they leave their houses, since the
John St. house was left unlocked before the
break-in.
Anyone with any information concerning
the break-in is asked to contact the police.
Pick king and queen
at SDHS formal /A3, A8
225 Beavers at Lions Park
on Saturday /A10
Grieving doesn't end
with the funeral /A9
Births /A8
Brussels news /Al2, 13
Classified /A16, 17
Dublin news /A4, 5
Entertainment /A7
Family /A8
Farm /A6
Hensall news /A14
Londesboro /A19
Obituaries /A18
People /A9
Smiley /A2
Something to Say /A3
Sports /A10
1