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

ey sici DESPITE frigid temperatures, a large crowd turned out Saturday for the second annual 'Sky's the Li mit' cha lenge at Lak- eridge Ski Resort. Nick Dobrucki (front), Stan Stawiarski, lwona Dobrucki and Liz Dragon of Oshawa's Central Pharmacy struggle to hold on in the tuq-o-war. The event is a fundraiser for the Ajax-Pickering and Whitby Association for Community Living. Photo by Mark Reesor, WhItby Free Press ................ ... ......... . . .............. ... . ................... . .......... ........... ........ . ....... ...... ...... . .. .......... ............... ------- . ..... . ..... .. .. ......... ...... .......... By Mike KowaISki Canadas lingering econonic slump has been cited as the cause of more tha $6 million in unpaid propei&taxes in Whitby. Councllor nnisFox, Whitby's 1993 bde chair, said the recession must be blarned for the $6.1 ilion in uncollected taxes as of the end of lest December. "Absolutely," said Fox, when asked if the current economic climate is responsible for the unpaid taxes. 'People are hurting, itfs teugli for them te inake ends meet," lie said. "le's aven tougli for me and I'm worldng. I don't know how Ipea t workcing are doing it," Town treasurer AI Clarigbold said the $6.1 million reprasents the total proparty taxes owing te Whitby, Durham Region and the schol boards from ail seuroes9 inWln-itby. ClarùIngod said the municipality usually allows taxas te go unpaïd for tliree years before steps are taken to resolve the mattar. If taxes are net paid, the Town bas the right te assume ownership ef the proerty and sell it on the open marketý seid ClarngboId. Although Whitby lias netgene this route for a "num'ber of years," Cleringbod said it could possibly happen in 1993. "r'm net 100 per oent sure,,we're in toucli with a nuxnber of accounts now," he said. Fox was quick te stress that "we're net liere to repossess someone's home or business." But he did say the uncollected taxes have a "tiemendous bearing" on the Town's budget. "Rlight now one eut of four or five taxpayers are inearrears" said Fox. "That cuts back on our cash flow. We can't spend money we don't have." Vihile the municipality weuld like te collect some, if net ail, of the unpaid taxes, Fox said the budget must be drafted as if the money did net exst "Vie have te ignore it. We hope te recoup it, but we have te plan without it." No increase in Town tax By Mike Kowals1d residents are getting a break f r omn th e taxman -- no tax hike in 1993 the first time in more than a decade, there will be ne increase in the Town's portion of the municipal property tax bill. Town council is expected te approve a budget tonight (Wed- nesday) which provides for a zero per cent tax increase in 1993. Although changes could still be made to the budget at tonight's meeting, councillor Dennis Fox, Whitby budget chair, does net anticipate any. "I can't imagine much more being teken out, we're down te the bere bones now,» said Fox. Highlights of this years pro- poecurrent (operating) bde were made availeble te the press and public at Monday's council meeting. The $26. 1-million proposed budget is slightly more than last ~earps $25.5-million current In 1992 the combined oierat- million, which represented an average tax increese of 2.5 per cent across the municipality. (This year's capital budget wes not included in the information released Monday.) In annrouncing the zero per cent increase, Fox termed it "absolutely phenomenal» in light of todey's economic climate. "It's been a time of extreme hardship for our community. We had a lot of constraints te con- tend with,» he said. "Money has not been as freely flowing as ini the past." Fox said the tene of this year's budget wes set during council's much- criticized Blleville retreat prier to last year's budget ses- sion. "It gees beck te the Belleville meeting which set the trend and direction,"hle said. Following the meeting, Fox told reporters the budget cannot be trimmed further without in- flicting pain. "There's nowhere else we can eut without costing jobs and reducing service te the public,» he said. To arrive at the zero increese, Fox said council and staff had te change their traditional approach te the budget. 'When I teld staff and council we would be coming in at zero per cent, I was teld I was crazy," said Fox. (The initial increase based on staffs preliminary proposaIs was 16 per cent, said Fox.) eW had te get inventive, tiy new things,"hle said. A good exemple would be Kins- men Pool, Fox said (see separate «la y)p ast yeers it would have been kept open. Now it'snot economically viable te keep it going.» But the zero increase did not come without a price, Fox wer- ned. «Unless next yeer is a good year, the development dollars we saved over past years are gene," he said. Council had te dip into its reserve funds for «several mil- SEE PAGE 16 Letters 6______ Business _______8 Entertainment - 10.,11 What's On _____14 Brooklin ______15 Sports 26-29,3 School News_____30 CrimeStoppers_____31 Obituaries ______31