The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20,1984, WHITBY FREEIPRESS w hitby [Publishedevery Wednesday By NI.BN. PUBLISHING and Photgraphy Inc. ~i~IiF - IlliThe Free Press Building, Voice of County Town Michael Ian Burgess, Publisher - Managing Editor 31 Brock Street North, P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. MICHAEL J. KNELL Community Editor CONWAY DOBBS Advertising Manager Seond Cla mail Reglotratim No. 5351 Allowing exceptions to the no grants policy is only making some members of council look foolish A few years ago, Whitby Town Counoil decided not to give any new grants to community .organizations. At the same time, the town fathers also decided to cut back on the grants they were already giving to some comm unity organizations. It was their Intent to eliminate these grants en- tirely over a period of about f ive years. Fore the most part, this policy has been carried out. However, council has made exceptions to this policy on two important occasions this year already. On one occasion, they gave $2,000 to the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps of Whitby and a few weeks later they gave $1,000 to the Oshawa and District Unemployed Help Centre. Since then they have hàd other applications for grants, most recently from People to Reduce Im- paired Driving Everywhere (P.RI.D.E.) and from the Oshawa and District Credit Counselling Ser- vice, which they subsequently turned down. It appears to this publication that council has made a serious error in giving grants to the first two organizations. Council has given the percep- tion to the public that they are willing to alrow ex- ceptions to their policy whenever a few of its members believe it politically prudent to do so. This publication supports and endorses the council's "no grant" policy. We believe that it is the most equitable policy on grants that any level of local government can achieve. After ail, if you don't give to one, then you don't have to give to another. The grant that council gave to the local sea cadet corps can be justified. Firstly, it is a local organization that does an excellent job with local youngsters. Secondly, and more importantly this organization was in danger of disbanding because it could no longer support itself financially. Fur- thermore, the corps' adult leaders assured the town that this would be a one-time only grant and that they had prepared a plan by which to make themselves financially self-supporting. Since no one in the town would like to see this valuable organization disappear from the scene, council decided it was in the best interests of the com- munity to ensure its survival. Therefore, the grant was given. However, council got themselves into a lot of hot water when they granted $1,000 to the Oshawa and District Unemployed Help Centre. Its impact on Whitby is minimal. It already has funding from the trade union movement and from the City of Oshawa itself. The centre was also seeking assistance from the United Way. There was no true need for the town to give them a grant. As a result of these exceptions, the town has been receiving more requests for money. They opened the trap door after the second grant was given for what can only be called political reasons and they have to suffer with the consequences. The issue at hand is not the value any particular organization seeking grants has to the com- munity. Both P.R.I.D.E. and the credit counselling service are excellent and worthwhile organizations. What has to be the primary con- sideration is the drain an the taxpayer. We are sure that if we gave every worthwhiie organization in Whitby $500 or $1,000 it could add several pain- ts to the mill rate. The policy the town has struck is a good one. If the taxpayer wishes ta financialiy aid a com- munity organization then it is his choice. Council should not have ta make the chaise for us, and it is not a choice that they should-be making in the first-place. - This newspaper would like to point out that we already subsidize the minor sports organizations in the Town of Whitby to the tune of several thousands of dollars a year. The parks and recreation department charges these organizations substantially less than It costs the taxpayer to operate and maintain the facilities that they use. For example, its cost $150 an hour to operate and maintain the Iroquois Park Pool yet our swim club doesn't pay anywhere near that in rental charges. The community has accepted this financial responsiblity towards these sporting organizations. That is fair'enough. We ail have a vested interest in the health and well being of our children. Providing thern with recreational and competitive sports activities is generally accep- ted as being worthwhile. The town also gives grants to other community organizations such as the Whitby Arts Station Gallery and the Whitby Historical Society for the operation and maintenance of their publically used facilities. North Ward Counclilor Ross Bat- ten put forward an excellent idea when he suggested that instead of giving these organizations grants in the current sense, the town create a community services division within the parks and recreation department that would be responsible for the funding of these groups. In that way, the town would have greater control over the funding it provides these organizations while rnalntaining their no grants policy. We would like to encourage ail members of council to adhere to the no grants policy. We believe that it is the fairest and most equitable policy that council can implernent. As believers in the free market, we would note that if these organizations are truly worthy of public support then they will find that suppôrt frorn the indivIdual and corporate members of our community. If the community does not believe that an organization is worthwhile, then it will not support it. And that, to us, seems to be fair and reasonable. We would like to point out that the residents of this rnunicipality believed that establishing a chronic care unit at the Dr. J.O. Ruddy General Hospital was so worthwhile that they decided to raise the money needed to construct it after the provincial government decided to reneg on its policy of giving two-thirds funding to hospital capital projects. They did not ask the town for ail the money, they raised it themselves. Council, we should add, did kick in $1,000, as a sign of sup- pcrt. However, the people of this municipality dug in- to thei r own pockets to raise the other $356,000 needed. The "no grants" policy is a good one and coun- cil should stick to it. The exceptions are only making thern look a little foolish. And John said: "Let there be light." -; 1.1- 'Il -. - -i-ue, uniy wnimy newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby residents fer Whitby residents.