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

MI., (,.'3eib V 1 s av e u v1,19 :S ae By Mike Kowalski An average 3.5 per cent tex increase was expected to ho approved by Durham Region council today. Council's finance committee has recommended a 1993 budget which caîls for $120.3 million in net expenditures. Regional taxpayers will ot- bute $92.8 million towards the combined current and capital budget. The remaining $27.5 million will be finance d by other mens such as provincial grants, deve- lopment charges and reserve funds. The 3.5 per cent increase is a far cry from the average 9.7 per cent tax hike conteined in last; year's $114.2-million budget. (In Whitby the increese was 14.1 ner cent lest yeer. This year it will be 2 .3 per -cent.) Wlitby c ouncillor Ross Betten, a member of the finance commit- tee, expressed satisfaction with the proposed budget. «OJur goal w as to corne under four per cent and we did, but it was dificult to, achieve," said Batten. With both the police services and social services departmnents combining for e seven per cent increase over their 1992 budgets, Batten said it was not possible for Durham to follow Whitby's lead. (Lest week Town council approved e $31.4-million budget which contained no tex increase for 1993.) «If yeu look at social services et two per cent and police ser- vices five per cent, it was not possible for zero per cent (in- crease),» said Betten. "We achieved it (3.5) without cutting services throughout the regin. inmsetisfied with it, based on what we had te work with." For my special Valentine JAKE LAMBERT presents Danielle party Friday at Brooklin Day Nurse7y. Bazinet with a card at a Valentines Day Photo by Mark Reesor, Whltby Free Press Winners of The Free Press Valentînes contests wiII be anno<Jnced next week. $6.7-million grant for Broolin -sewers By Mark Reesoir After years.. of deley end broken promises, Brooklin is finally getting e sewer system. Work on the $16,000,000 pro- ject, which is expected te croate some 200 construction jobs, is te get underway in the spring, and should be completed in about three yeers. An announce-inont Thursday of $6.7 million iJi provincial money under the 'obs Ontario progremn te, help pey for the system got things rolling. The province is kicking in $5.9 million towards 9 utting in the system nd 81,0te help pay for extending the main sewer pipe north from Taunton Rd -- the rest of the tab will corne from developers and Durham Region tex coffers. Homeowners will have to shell eut between $3,000 and $7,000 each for hook-up te, the system, dependinar on who you esk -- Whitby mayor Tom Edwards, for exemple, says e $1.2 million dol- lar contribution from a developer (The Sorbara Group) wiIl reduce costs to residents. Septic tank problems and well pollution in t he Brooklin area bgan te be noticed in the eerly 10s -- a study lest yqr found 62 percent of the wells Ito be con- temeted and 25 percent of the SEE PAGE 16 Seno...ntrpo.p.e..aa. $00Ofr desig fnwBiehl By Mike Kowalski A new heaquarters for the fire depaýrtment will be W;Mhy's next major building preject. The 1993 capital budget approved by Town council lest week sets aside $200,000 for desige drawings of a new fire hall in north Whitby. Construction of the facility, which will utilize the Town's fermer public works centre on Tauniton Rd. in its design, will net commence until 1994 et the earliest. Council wes unanimous in its agreement that the fire hall must ho the next major undertaking by the Town. Fire chief Tony VanDleweerd teld council that 1965 was the lest year e fire station was built in Whitby. During that year both the- existing Brock St. heedquarters and the station et Thickson and Manning roeds were constructed. Whiby's Population et the time was about 15,000, th e chief noted. "There's ne question this has te be the priority," said councillor Joe Drumm. Mayor Tom Edwards, who edmitted voting ageinst the current headqarersin 1965 and the proposed station three years ego, concurred.. 1I egree this must be the one that hes te go first," said Edwards. Although a price tag for the new heedquarters has net been deterrnined, Whitby>s capital works forocast in 1990 put the cost et $3 million. As was the case three years ego, WVhitby senior citizens must wait ealittle ioner for their new feclity Hiowever, the capital' budget dees allocate $30,000 fer e site enelysis study te determine the location of a now seniors' centre. The cuirent centre et 801 Brock St. S., opened in the late 1970s with 450 members, but membership today hes almost reached 1,500. The seniors themselves have reised more than $150,000 towards the cost of e new home. In 1990, council epproved building e 15,000-sq f. facility in Bradley Park, south of Maning Rd. But as parks and recreetion director Larry Morrow told the Free Press, the Bradley site is now'"in e state of flux.'* Morrow expleined that et their 1991 annuel meeting, centre members voted te esk council te, look et elternete sites. su PAGE 12 Region tax increase to be 3.5%