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Times Advocate, 1992-12-02, Page 3THEME W.S Times -Advocate, December 2, 1992 Page 3 Is capital funding'next to go? Province changes municipal CREDITON - The announcement Thursday afternoon that the provin- cial government would be returning its funding levels to Ontario munic- ipalities to 1992 levels in 1994 threw a wrench in the long-range plans of many local governments. Earlier this year, the province promised municipalities they would be getting a one percent Increase in unconditional grants in 1992, two percent more in 1993, and a further two percent in 1994. A release from minister of Mu- nicipal Affairs Dave Cooke made no mention of the previous funding promise, and only referred to the 1993 increase as an "obligation to keep our commitmentk. Unconditional grants, the funds collected from provincial taxes which municipalities can allocate to programs of their own choosing, currently run at $956 million and will return to that level in 1994. Conditional grants are those funds which are transferred only by application to specific programs. However, Stephen Township ad- ministrator Larry Brown said the cutbacks in unconditional grants suggest further restraint on other programs which municipalities of- ten rely to fund major capital pro- jects. "I bet you are going to see pro- grams cut. The money's not going to be there at all," predicted Brown, who said his township can probably expect to see its chances of getting funds to improve the Huron Park sewer system disappear. Brown said the cutback in uncon- ditional funds means only that money for everyday municipal ex- penses will be a little tighter. Capi- tal projects in the works for many Ontario municipalities may have to be put on the back burner. • "They're [the province] very seri- ous about restraint. To be fair, the NDP have probably exhibited more restraint than any other govern- ment," said Brown. Exeter town administrator Rick Hundey echoed that the funding cuts are causing "worries from all kinds of angles", including the pos- sibility that it could represent one side of the province's approach to "disentanglement". Disentanglement, the search for a More costs for village Hay and Zurich agree on landfill use contract ZURICH - An agreement was reached last Tuesday between the Village of Zurich and the Township of Hay over the use of their shared landfill site. Hay Township bought the landfill from a private contractor last month for $120,000 and were seek- ing an a financial arrangement with the village over its continued use. Zurich council agreed to pay Hay $12,00() a year for the next five years and will share in 40 percent of any capital costs spent at the site In that time. Zurich clerk Maureen Simmons confirmed that the village paid $9,500 a year to the private con- tractor, but that council felt the agreement reasonable. However, whether any savings will be real- ized over the five year period due to Hay's purchase of the site is not yet known. Capital expenditures for the first year already include the construc- tion of a $4,499 concrete block building to house the waste site at- tendant, a replacement for the exist- ing shed on the property. The village's garbage is collected by another private contractor, who will likely be passing on increased costs due to new tipping fees to be imposed at the site as of January 1. , A garbage packer will be billed at the rate of $12 a cubic yard of waste as of January. Residential users disposing of waste will be billed at the rate of 550 for a large truck or wagon, and 520 for smaller trailers or pickups. Carloads of waste will be billed at $5.00. As of January, the only day the site will be open to the public will be Saturdays. As Hay clerk Janisse Zimmerman described, a board of management for the site will be able to determine whether more hours will be needed on a seasonal basis. Communication needed Comrnittee aims to build association for high school parents By Ray Lewis T -A Staff EXETER - In an effort to im- prove communications between South Huron District High School and the home, the school is in the process of evaluating the feasibility of creating a Parents' Association. The association would meet on a regular basis to discuss various is- sues of general interest to parents concerning the school and educa- uon in general. For example, various issues in- cluding destreaming, physical plant concerns, extra -curricular activities, educational philosophy, curriculum and the emotional and physical well being of students as a whole might represent potential topics for discussion. A steering commiuee meeting was held .last Tuesday for persons interested in helping to get things organized, and according to vice- principal Keith Allen, met with good response. Fifteen parents attended the meet- ing, raising such issues as teenage health, school discipline, and cur- riculum. "There seemed to be a fair amount of enthusiasm to continue Christmas Trees Scotch Pine and Balsam Canada No. 1, 5' - 8' Kept inside 6 miles south of Exeter on No. 4 Hwy. Watch for signs with it," confirmed Allen. "It was the fust meeting so it was mostly a feeling out process because not everyone knew what to expect." The organization would be de- signed and operated by interested parents with the primary goal being to enhance the educational opportu- nities at South Huron for all stu- dents. In order to get this project off the ground, a number of willing parents are still needed to participate in or- ganizing the initial structure and di- rection of the association. "If there continues to be a good turnout it will work," agreed Allen. "If everyone disappears into the woodwork it will die." TeaCher Bonnie Becker said the steering committee and the school are both aware there needs to be better communication between par- ents and the schools and hope to achieve that goal. "It's very, very new," said Beck- er. "There seems to be a lot of in- terest in the community." The association will meet again January 13 in school library at 7:30 p.m. Anyone interested is invited to attend. Alert the Media! Call the Tunes Advocate 24 hours a day (Answering machine after business hours) 235-1331 MUM Logical division of provincial and municipal responsibilities, has been accused of being no more than a way to shift more of the tax bur- den onto local governments without cutting provincial taxes. Whittling down unconditional grants could be an early part of that process that is being justified as re- cessionary restraint and is not being - negotiated at the disentanglement table, speculated Hundey. Exeter's hopes for new water and sewage systems to accommodate future growth could be waylayed in the face of a lack of provincial sup- port. Maybe that's what you'd be forced to do until provincial money becomes available again," said Hundey, who pointed out that mu- nicipalities must weigh the benefits of growth with the costs of servic- ing new properties. A lack of pro- vincial funds changes the balance drastically. Municipalities, said Hundey, of- ten operate with strategic plans. Other institutions faced with cut- backs in funding, such as hospitals and universities, have changed their plans to find ways of providing ser- vices with less money. "One of the things [cutbacks have] forced these places to do is realize 'hey, it's changed'," said Hundey, adding that traditional funding relationships have to be re- thought. Municipalities will have to change, and so will the province, he said. Exeter reeve Bill Mickle, who was present in the Legislature when the funding rollback was an- nounced, agreed that conditional programs also appear threatened, and when he asked the minister, was told no decision has yet been made. funding plans "It could be hit so hard that what- ever you've got in unconditional grants will be eaten up," said Mick - le. The province could possibly pull itself out of traditional funding as- sistance for municipalities, road- works, Children's Aid Societies, homes for the aged, and welfare programs, not by breaking agree - merits, but just by cutting off funds, speculated Mickle. "In other words the agreement is being broken by default," he said. As vice-president of the Associa- tion of Municipalities of Ontario, Mickle said the organization is pushing hard for the retention of funding. "We've asked at AMO that they !the province] start no new pro- grams. If you can't fund the old ones, then don't start new ones," said Mickle. The tact that 1994 transfer pay- ments are dropping to 1992 levels actually means that municipalities will be operating with four percent less in grants than expected, noted Mickle. He said he knew of a few councils which already signed con- tracts with staff based on those funds. Exeter, meanwhile, will have to be reconsidering capital projects currently in the planning stage, es- pecially water and sewage projects, if the province won't be contribut- ing. "Unless we have the money in capital reserves, I can't see us jump- ing into any big new capital pro- jects," said Mickle. "This govern- ment, 1 hate to say n, is bankrupt." Mickle said even the province's hope to hold its 1992 deficit to 58.1 billion appears to be unreachable as an additional $4 billion shortfall is now predicted to put Ontario fur- ther into debt. •••ELECTRONIC•• 8 mm Camcorder 16-854 • Compact 8 mm camcorder is perfect for carrying with you while vacationing • Features 8x power zoom, auto -focus and remote control operation • Includes remote control 799 the Memorex model 91 HOME STEREO Featuring (V) PIONEER Contemporary CCS 350 only Reg. S999.99 79999• FIONEER' Multi isc Player +� PDM50f 1 only26999Reg. $349.99 4 hd. with built in VCR Plus TELEVISIONS 32999 Reg. 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