Goderich Signal Star, 2011-08-03, Page 9tch Sign -Star • Wednesday, August 3, nil
x penalty .reforms struck down at council table
Creces
(icy
ilor Jim Donnelly's proposed
rs reforms are all but defeated
log the July 21 meeting of
•h Town Council.
(•lly put forward a four-part
to put a stop to what he called
<nd oppressive collection of
t.itaity and interest rates of 15
t annually, or 1.25 monthly, do
i ne with .theprovincial maxi -
or what municipalities can
however Donnelly has repeat-
(' in council chambers that the
ft, are just too high, especially
ti nig the town's own returns.
111,4 and fair to charge these
ten times what we charge the.
Montreal far securities bought
t rig ? he asked.
lith "lax Collector Lori Rounds
d a list of other municipalities
lit. province, with the majority
e s Arne penalty rate structure.
0 exceptions were Ilantilton
kland l.ake, both cuing 12 per.
Seat 24 2Oi1
At
YMCA
am -12 n
Port AIb&t
Pirates
cent annually.
While council was presented with
the opportunity to look at tax records
to see where the defaults were conning
from, nobody wanted to exercise that
right. Instead, council looked at the
number of arrears cases.
Of the 3,516 properties in Goderich,
only 228 were in arrears as of July 1,
and most. were minor charges. Of
those in arrears, 95 amount to Tess
than $50, and 28 were less than $ 10.
Rounds noted many times people just
forget the due date and •the matter is
cleared up in days..
There is only one property in
Goderich that could be put up for tax.
sale,
However,. Rounds said in her 15
years on the job the town has not fore-
closed on a single property.
In a recorded vote, only Donnelly
voted in favour of lowering the penalty
provision for arrears, while Donnelly
and Grace voted in favour of revised
interest rates for arrears on water and
sewer and Donnelly, Grace and Craw-
ford voted in favour of lowering the 24
per cent intereston overdue
ucknow Bad'
Apples
Skate F
This
Charity
Help Fill
Our Buckets
Bring Your
oose Change
accounts. thesecond installment of
The fourth clause, thatthe taxes be struck down, was
accelerated repayment of deferred until Treasurer
letters to the editor
COMM FROM > PAGE 7
The economic
realities of
owning *small
business
I whole heartedly agree
that the financial planners,
real estate and professional
Huron Perth
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And Lucknow Bad Apples
owes on the square do not
enhance the core. My per-
sonal theory is that a small
retail business in a rural
municipality will do better if
the business owner also
owns the property and lives
on site. Just a personal the-
ory. Unfortunately, in
Goderlch, we have land-
owners focused on generat-
ing rent to pay the bills in a
depressed market. Perhaps
cornmercial real estate is
overpriced for the market
keality of Goderich. It
doesn't take a trained set of
Judy Kay was at council to explain
whether this was mandatory for
municipalities or not.
eyes to.tdendfy properties where the
landowner (also the business owner)
holds on to a property but fails to
renew investment in the physical
plant, but I digress.
You say you. have learned lessons,
Susan, but from reading your letter, I
cannot tell what they are. That you are
not an entrepreneur might be the
most valuable one you could glean
from this unhappy tale. Holding on to
your day job may be your salvation.
But it may also have been the diver-
ge that held you back from living
your dream.
Respectfully,
Deb Baxter
rime Minister establishes
�lunteer Awards program.
On July 12 Prime Minister
Stephen Harper announced
the details of the Prime Minis
ter's Vo.lunteer Awards
(PMVA), a program that was
created in lana iry of this year.
This new .program was formed
to celebrate the contributions
that individual*, laical busi-
nesses and not-for-profit
organizations that volunteer
their time, energy and kills to
improve the well -b ing of
families a .c t n,unities
across Can . These awards
highlight est practices in
community leadership and
encourage partnerships
across sectors. ,
Ben Lobb, MP for Huron -
Bruce highlighted the new
awards program by saying,
Volunteers make an enor-
mous impact in our commu-
nities. Yet, all too often, their
contributions do not receive
the recognition that they
deserve. They are the key to
the success of our communi-
ties and every day their con
tributions help make Canada
a better place."
The Prime Minister's Vol-
unteer Awards will consist of
a total of 17 awards: 15
regional and two national
GreatOars.
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awards. Recipients will be eligible to
identify a not-for-profit organization to
receive a grant for $5,000 (regional
awards) or $10,000(national awards).
Regional awards include three catego-
ries: Community Leader Award, Busi-
ness Leader Award, and Social Innovator.
Award.
There will be two national awards, a
Emerging Leader Award and Lifelong
Achievement Award:
The first call for nominations is open.
from July 12 to September 9, 2011. Award
recipients will be recognized at an award
ceremony to be held in early 2012.
If you know (some that are making a
difference in your community, you can
recognize their contributions and show
yourAppreciation by submitting a nomi-
nation. Nominees can be individuals or
groups, businesses or not-for-profit
organizations.
To learn more about the Prime Minis-
ter's Volunteer Awards, please visit www.
pm.gc.calawards or call 1-877-825-
0434.
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