The Citizen, 1989-03-15, Page 1Councillor wants
meeting before
Hall expansion
A motion to ask the Blyth
Festival to hold a public meeting on
expansion of Blyth Memorial Hall
was deferred to the April meeting
of Blyth village council after it
failed to find a seconder at Wed
nesday’s session of council.
Councillor Dave Medd had made
the motion saying he had been
getting a lot of reaction from
villagers worried about the expan
sion and he thought it was time the
issue had a proper airing.
Councillor Medd said people who
had approached him wanted to
know who owns the building.
People have complained that the
Hall was built as a memorial to
those who served in World War
One but it isn’t a memorial
anymore in their opinion. The
opportunity should be there, he
said, for some input from the
community.
People had asked him, Council
lor Medd said, who had approved
the addition to Memorial Hall since
there hadn’t been any public
meeting. Had the council approved
the project, he asked?
Reeve Albert Wasson said the
previous council had accepted the
expansion proposal in principle but
still had to approve the final plans.
Councillor Medd wondered if there
shouldn’t have been a public
meeting before such approval was
given. “That’s what they (the
ratepayers) elect council for,’’
Reeve Wasson said, discussing the
previous council’s acceptance of
the expansion plans. He said that
having backed the plans all along,
including helping negotiate with
the federal and provincial govern
ments, it would have to be a very
good reason for the village to
withdraw its support now. (The
Festival recently received $900,000
from the provincial government to
help with the expansion after
receiving $450,000 from the federal
government last fall.)
In theory, Councillor Ken Brown
asked, “If we say no, it’s no?’’
“We would have to have good
and just reasons,’’ Reeve Wasson
said.
Councillor Medd said there were
a lot of bad feelings about the
expansion plans and he still
thought there should be a public
meeting so they can be aired.
Reeve Wasson showed some
irritation at the situation. “This has
been something that has been
going on for a long time as to ‘who
owns the building’. I think the
council has tried to get across to
people that the town owns the
building. The theatre and the
governments have put a lot into it
but the town owns the building.”
He warned that councillors should
be very careful they don’t jeopar
dize a good situation because of
some negative opinions that may
not be justified.
When Councillor Medd said he
still felt people should have the
right to speak out the Reeve said
that every issue can’t be taken to a
public meeting. What are you
going to do at the meeting, he
asked Councillor Medd, have a
vote?
When Councillor Medd question-
Continued on page 13
Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel,
Londesborough, Walton and surrounding township
VOL. 5 NO. 11 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 1989.45 CENTS
County taxes to jump 19?8%
Huron county taxpayers will
have to come up with 19.58 per cent
more to pay for the county budget
adopted by County Council at its
Simon Hallahan [right] a long time community leader in many Huron County organizations, was honoured on his 90th
birthday with a presentation by Jack Riddell, M.P.P. for Huron and Minister of Agriculture Thursday night at a Liberal
Association meeting In Holmesville. A long-time Liberal, Simon pretended surprised when he also received a plaque
from Conservative Murray Cardiff, M.P. for Huron-Bruce. [Story on page 5]. Photo by Ross Haugh
BMG gets big tax boost
Council members from Brussels,
Morris and Grey met with the B.
M. & G. Recreation Comittee last
Wednesday evening to discuss the
arena deficit.
A budget was presented by
Chairman Dale Newman for Coun
cils’ approval suggesting an in
March 9 meeting. Most of the
increase (15 per cent) will go to two
major capital projects.
The county budget, totalling
crease in the contributions made
each year to the arena by the three
Parties.
The committee requested a con
tribution of $14,400 from Brussels
instead of last year’s amount of
$10,000 00. Likewise Grey and
Morris were requested to contri
$22,421,704 was approved by coun
cil despite the strong objections of
the two Exeter representatives.
Exeter Reeve Bill Mickle and
bute amounts of $9,900.00 and
$5,700.00 up from last year’s totals
of $7,000.00 and $4,000.00.
Mr Newman felt that with Coun
cil’s assistance, in addition to the
usual revenues, the situation could
Continued on page 2
Deputy Reeve Lossy Fuller joined
Marie Hicknell of McKillop, Jack
Coleman, deputy reeve of Stanley,
Gary Baker; Deputy Reeve of
Stephen, Garry Prout, Reeve of
Usborne and Tom Tomes, Reeve of
Stephen as the only councillors to
oppose the budget in a recorded
vote.
Reeve Mickle argued that second
phase of the county’s waste Man
agement Master Plan should be set
aside in order to keep the size of
the increase down. If the county
didn’t commit to the second phase
of the study he suggested, it didn’t
need to start a reserve fund for the
eventuality the county gets into
waste management. Of the 19.58
per cent increase, 15 per cent is
made up of the capital reserves of
$302,760 for waste management
and $893,750 set aside for the
construction of a new Huronview
home for the aged. The increase for
the operating budget of the county
amounts to just over four per cent.
The cost to the average taxpayer
with a house assessed at $50,000
will be an extra $25.60 for county
purposes alone.
Reeve Mickle argued that while
the budget has jumped a great
deal, the increase is actually larger
than it appears because the county
had a surplus of $471,916 in its
general account, $431,651 in its
highways account and $40,066 in
its library account from 1988 opera
tions.
Clerk-Administrator Bill Hanly
said that half the money in the
surplus had been put into working
reserve funds, which was not as
much as he would have liked. If the
whole surplus had been used to
keep down taxes, he argued, it
would mean the council would start
in a further $500,000 hole when it
came to trying to match next year’s
budget needs. It would be easy for
him to say wipe out the reserves
and surplus to keep taxes down this
year, Mr. Hanly said, because it
would be his last year before
retirement but the problem would
be worse next year.
As to the reserve for future waste
management expenses Mr. Hanly
said that the reserve fund is to help
spread the costs over a period of
time so that council doesn’t get
caught having to raise $600,000 in
one year if the waste management
study shows the need for the
county to open a central waste
management facility. If at the end
of the study it’s apparent that the
county shouldn’t be in the waste
management business then council
would have the reserve money to
spend on other things. “Personally
Continued on page 18