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

PAGE 4, WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 1987 Councillor wants to create a heritage district in downtown Administrative committee chairman Gerry Emm told an audience of 30 last Wednesday night he would move to have a heritage district created in the downtown area following the completio of the Downtown Whitby Secondary Plan Study. "I will bring in a recommendation after the study. I'm not sure how big the area would be but I am looldng for a large area," said Emm after the third stage of the study was presented Wednesday. The first stage of the study, setting out the objectives for downtown, was approved by council in October 1986. The second stage, which set out land use and transportation policies for the downtown, was adopted by council in July 1987. Planning director Bob Short said the study, including the third and fourth stages, couldmdbe completed as early as the middle nf .Innuiary, 1988. But the third stage of the plan calls for council to place a high prioity on improving the storm sewer system in the study area. Short told the crowd the deficiencies are scattered throughout the area and generally relate to water capacity. Short also said that even after the study is completed, it will not have "any teeth" until zoning is set in place. He said the zoning could take up to a year to complete and would be done in pockets. Violent crimes on increase i Durham A report prepared for Durham Regional Police says violent crime went up 22 per cent in the first nine months of this year but that crimes against persons during September went up by only one per cent, the smallest increase this year to date. The report, which was recently presented to the police commission, quoted figures to the end of September. The next report will be released in December. The overall crime rate in Durham is up 14 per cent, with a clearance rate (charges laid and convictions registered) of 54 per cent. The overall crime rate for the month of September increased by seven per cent. Sexual assaults dropped for the same month, with 15 reported as compared with 21 in September 1986. During the first nine months of this year, sexual assaults have increased by 17 per cent. However, Chief:JonpJenkins believes more people are now reporting incidents to police rather than keeping quiet. A breakdown of other crimes up to the end of September show breakins, both home and commercial are down by 7.6 per cent to 2,326. Trespassing has also dropped to 65 cases from 172. Robberies went up to 98 cases from 67. Motor vehicle thefts were up ta 796 from 733 for the first nine months (as compared with 1986) and other theft types were alsor up: theft over $1,000 up 30 per cent, theft under $1,000 up 33 per cent, shopifting up three per cent. Fraud and false pretence cheque charges were up 144 per cent (549 from 225) with the month of Septemnber alone accounting for a 214 per cent increase (44 from 14). There have been 31 motor vehicle fatalities in the region as of Sept. 30 compared with 24 for the same nine-month period in 1986. Persons injured rose by 416 to 3,001. Accidents are up nine per cent to 4,703. Theft at store A front glass door was shattered to gain entry to Square Boy Pizza at 1800 Dundas St. E. on the weekend. Police say a small amount of cash was taken from a till. PROPERTY ASSESSMENT and your 1988 Municipal and School Taxes Regional Assessment Offices located throughout Ontario are responsible for assessing all real property for the purposes of municipal and school taxation. Assessment Rolls are prepared and delivered to municipalities which use them to set mill rates and calculate property tax bils. The amount of property tax you will pay on your home or business in 1988 is determined by multiplying the assessed value of your property by the mill rate. if you want to learn more about your property assessment, the Regional Assessment Office invites you to attend its Open House Session. Open House Sessions Open Houses are held in every municipal- ity at convenient times and locations to pro- vide you with the opportunity to discuss your assessment with the staff of the Regianal Office. An assessor will be pleased to explain the basis of your property assessment and is authorized to amend any inaccurate informa- tion prior to the delivery of the Assessment Roll to your municipality. If you have any questions, but are unable to attend the Open House, please contact your Regional Assessment Office at the address or telephone number shown below. Notice of Property Valuation Property owners and tenants wi! receive a Notice of Property Valuation only if information relating to theirproperty assessment was changed during the past year, if the assessment was appealed last year, or if there has been a generai reassessmeflt in the municipality. If you receive a Notice of Property Valuation, it may reflect changes you have requested in your school support designation, in the amount of your assessed value, or other recorded information on last year's Notice. Appeal Procedure If, after attending your local Open House, you are still dissatisfied with your assessment, you have the right ta1appeai it to the Assess- ment Review Board. This Board is respon- sible for determining whether the assessment under appeal is fair and equitable with the assessments of similar properties in the vicinity. The Assessment Review Board is more informal and relaxed than a regular court of law. Appeal Deadline The finaldate for appealing your assess- ment is January 12, 1988. If you wish to appeal your assessment, you can use the form provided on the back of your Notice of Property Valuation, writena letter, or use a Notice of Appeai Form. You need ta include your property address, roll number, and the reason for the appeal. Your appeai must be filed on or before January 12,1988. To assist you, Notice of Appeal forms and the address of the Regional Registrar of the Assessment Review Board are available at Open Houses, your Regional Assessmet Office, or your municipal office. said there are means for council to make s'"- developers stick to the study's recommendations such as interim bylaws or holding zones. PA W budget increases FROM PAGE 1 here and elsewhere. We now know where the dollars are being spent.*" Hesays the addition of a sixth, full-time employee, the purchase of a third vehicle and a catch-up situation for staff wages, led to the 25 per cent increase in the PAW budget for 1988. He explained that the humane society took the. three trucks when they left the area in 1986, leaving PAW to lease two trucks that year. In 1987, PAW purchased the two trucks and have budgeted $17,000 for a third truck in 1988. "We are also in a catch-up situation with staff," says Batten. He says when PAW took over, their employees belonged to the Canadian Employees Service Union (CUPE). "We are in a three . year catch-up phase on those salaries and this is the second year of that program," says Batten. Salaries, wages and benefits for employees accounts for $243,825 of the PAW budget. Batten says the new employee is needed because of the unprecedented growth in the three towns. "At the beginning of this we kept staff as low as possible in case PAW didn't work. Now, we feel comfortable enough ta build up staff. The 25 per cent is higher than I would like ta see it but the three towns are happy with the service," says Batten. PAW treasurer and Whitby clerk Don McKay told committee members last week the budget allows for the purchase of a mobile radio for the new truck, at a cost of $1,500, and three truck roof lamps for each of the three trucks at a total cost of $3,000. Another reason for the increase in the budget is a decrease in animal adoptions from the pound, said McKay. In 1986, the pound collected $31,328 in adoption fees. Based on those figures, PAW budgeted for $33,000 in 1987. But McKay said PAW is only going to receive $24,000 in adoption fees in 1987. He budgeted $25,000 in 1988. This surprised Dr. Clayton MacKay, a Whitby veterinarian and technical advisor to PAW. He told committee that Whitby veterinarians are now starting to refer clients to the pound for adoption, which wasn't done when the humane society ran animal control for the Town. "There is more vet traffic and more referrals, so you shouldaget more adoptions. That amazes me," said MacKay. "Hopefully we are looking at the bottom swing and we are on our way Up." The animal control centre on Thickson Rd. N. charges $45 for adoption of any animal which includes a licence if it is a dog and the first set of needles, excluding rabies. Carole Lang, manager of the pound, told committee some people will not pay $45. "There are just less animals being adopted, especially cats. It is not good," said Lang. Committee members were not happy with the $25,000 figure in the 1988 budget for adoption fees. "We should increase that to $28,000 and give staff a goal to shoot for, a target," said Batten. After further discussion, committee agreed to increase the figure to $30,000. Lang also suggested that committee consider an increase in the cost of leaving.animaIs at the pound. The pound charges $15 for accepting an animal. If it is a female cat with a litter, the cost is stilI $15. Lang suggested the pound charge an additional $2 per kitten. But MacKay said that could resuit in further Lcomplications, such as people dropping cats in garbage bins or on roads, wbichin turncould lead 1to an increase in rabies. o aThe committee has asked staff to investigate the matter Land report back. Other items in the budget include $3,000 for night and early morning lighting of the new sign in front of the pound and money for upgrading outdoor kennels rand widening the pound's entrance driveway. 1 The budget now goes to the ucouncils Of the three municipalities for approval. Schedule of Open Houses WhitbyTown. ... Wed. Dec. 2 & Thur. Dec. 3, 1 p.m. - 8 p.m. Durham Regional Assessment Office, 605 Rossland Rd. E., Whitby Ministry of Revenue DURHAM REGIONAL ASSESSMENT OFFICE 605 Rossland Road East, Box 270 Whitby, Ontario L oN 5Sn (416) 668-9351, Toronto Line 686-1422, Zenith 67140 Ontario THE W ALLP APER CENTRE OSH A WA A JA X A RBORO 14 S 08 I we 2in tihe Pa nted post 579-1655 686-0719 431-4458