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WHITBY FREE PRESS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1984, PAGE 3 No tax hike was the result of good planning, Brunelle says Firefighters give toys to needy kids Ron Haines of the Whitby Professional Firefighters Association is seen here presenting Christmas gif- ts to the local MacDonalds restaurant community relations representative, Bonnie Porteous. The gifts will be given to needy children as part of the MacDonalds CKAR toy drive. Free Press Staff Photo Council Whitby Town Council has given grants totalling $76,335 to various community organizations. The grants were given at a special meeting of -its budget committee held last Wednesday night. The biggest piece of the grant pie was given to the Whitby Arts, Inc. They received $16,000 to operate the Whitby Arts Station Gallery and $27,000 to rmake im- provements to the building which is located at the corner of Henry and Victôria Sts. The total grant;' fi $43,000 is $13,000 more than they received in 1984. Whitby Arts then got $15,000 to operate the gallery and $15,000 to improve the building. However, Mayor Bob Attersley pointed out that the gallery building is owned by the town. "I don't mind in- vesting in our own property if its for the betterment of the com- munity," he said adding that the gallery is one of Whitby's major tourist attractions. The .$27,000 capital works grant will go towards the installation of a fire/security system and exterior lighting; the drywalling, lighting and insulation of the lower 1 gallery; %exterior 1 caulking and carpentry; upgrade the attic in- sulatiôn;to purchase new carpeting and lan- dscaping. Reg. Coun. Tom Ed- wards pointed out that î most of these measures 1 will help to reduce the S gallery's long term F energy costs.C The gallery has also t experienced several F break-ins in the past o year and has suffered ( one minor fire. The new t alarm system will be A tied directly into the t Whitby Fire Depar- a tment's com- I munications centre on t Brock St. S. The Whitby Historical d Society received a total r gives $ grant of $12,655 for the operation of both the Whitby Museum and the Whitby Archives. Part of this money will go towards the replacement of the museum's roof and the installation of both storm doors and win- dows. Council has also gran- ted town archivist Brian Winter $2,500 for the maintaining and collec- ting of artifacts which are of historical significance to the town. The Whitby Jaycees were given $2,500 to help defray the cost of the '1985 Santa Claus Parade. The Whitby Brass Band received a slight increase in its annual grant. It will get $10,600 - $600 more than it received in 1984. However, the town will get $2,500 of this money back in rent it charges the band for space it uses at the Heydenshore Pavilion. The town will con- tribute $2,000 towards' the operating expenses of the City of Oshawa, Marine Rescue Association (C.O.M.R.A.), which provides rescue service to boaters in the Whitby harbor. The Ajax, Pickering, Whitby Association for the Mentally Retarded has received $2,450 to help support its summer program for develop- mentally handicapped children. Other groups included in the town's -grant program include: The Brooklin Women's In- stitute ($175); the Burns Presbyterian Church Cemetery Board ($300); the Junior Extension Program of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food i ($90); the Ontario Coun-1 y Farm Safety t Association ($25); and, he Durham West Rama nd Mara Soi] and Crop mprovement Associa- c fon ($25). c However, council ecided to table a grant w equest from the Whitby a 6,335 igrants Chamber of Commerce for $2,100 because in their financial statement they showed a cash on hand balance at the end of 1984 of $8,592.70 which was not shown as a revenue in their 1985 budget. While most members of council. believe the ommission- to be an oversight, it may mean that the chamber won't be neding a town grant this year. Council turned the matter over to the operations. cornmittýe who will inite chimbei officiais to a meeting to discuss* the matter. Council also gave the committee power to give the grant should they believe. it necessary.- However, council did turn -dowr two grant requests - one from St. Theresa's Separate School and one from the Oshawa Symphony Association. St. Theresa's asked for a grant of $200 to host some exchange students to an afternoon of roller skating. The grant was the equivalent of the rental fee. Mayor Bob Attersley asked that in turning down the request, the school be written a let- ter explaining that it is the town's policy not to grant money to organizations who have not received grants in previous years. While the Oshawa Symphony Association didn't ask for a specific amount of money, they got turned down anyway. Coun. Joe Bugelli noted that the association doesn't operate in the Town of Whitby and does earn money from the sale of tickets to their concerts. "Not only is this not a ocal organization but it s not a free or charitable service to the ommunity,"he said. Reg. Coun. Tom Ed- wards said that the association was the only one of its kind in the region and is one of the few organizations out- side of the school system that introduces people to classical music. CONT'D FROM PG. I cost the taxpayer just over $2.01 million next year. This amount in- cludes council's authorization for the department to hire two new firefighters next April. The parks and recreation. department will need $:!.16 million to maintain its facilities and operate its programs next year. General government, that is, the operation of the administrator's, clerk's and treasurer's departments will cost $1.51 million while keeping council itself going will cost $276,000 vhich includes the creation of a economic development depar- tment. This department will be responsible for marketing the town out- ^side of its border in the hopes of attracting new industrial, commercial and residential. development. The department with the smallest budget is planning, which will only spend $402,135 in 1985. The no tax increase means that the average Whitby resident, whose homes is assessed at $5,000, will continue to pay $389 in property taxes for local purposes. However, the total 1984 tax bill was $1,225.50 for the residential tax- payer. Of this, $215.50 was levied by the Region of Durham while the remaining $623 was required by the Durham Board of Education. Neither the region nor the board has yet to strike its budget and are not expected to do so un- til sometime in the new year. This means that property taxes in Whit- by could still increase. In a brief interview after the budget and mill rate was struck, Brunelle said that the no tax increase was the result of good planning and sound fiscal management. "This zero budget is a result of wise planning decisions that have resulted in the 5.7 per cent growth rate," he said. On a more personal note, the first term Cen- tre Ward councillor, said "I've always con- sidered myself as just another taxpayer. I used to get quite frustrated when I saw the town raising taxes. "I used to ask myself when is the town going to give us a break?" he added, "It has been my ambition, my goal, to arrive at this point." Brunelle noted that the 5.7 per cent assessment growth also benefits both the region and the board of education, so he hopes it will have a positive im- pact on their tax in- crease as well. "I hope the citizens of the town are as satisfied as I am," he concluded. DID YOU KNOW? 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