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The eanadian Statesman. Bowminville, January 14, 1976 Section Two Newcastle Mayor Presents Extensive Commentary on Progress, Problems, Goals by Mayor Garnet Rickard As we move into another year, the last of the first three year term for the Council of this new municipality, I look forward with optimism and in so doing, it is wise to look back and take stock of what has been accomplished in the first two years. They have been years of adjustment and re-organization. If bas been a fime of challenges. The res- idents of this municipality have experienced more changes in the past two years in Municipal Government than have been experienced by the residents in any other similar period in our History. The o d system of Govern- ment had been criticized as being out of date and the restructuring of municipal- ities was expected, by some to bring immediate relief to ail of the unsolved problems. A great deal of our time has been spent with the unre- solved problems. This, added fo the challenges of change ad a higher rate of growth, ail within the greatest spiral of Inflation this Country bas ever had. Re-examine Priorities ro-day we' are adviseci by the Senior levels of Govern- ment of the necessity of exercising restraint and the advisability of reducing Government services. I be- lieve that at all times we must be prudent in our adminis- tration, that we should contiit- ually re-examine our prior- ities in the operation of local government. As I begin to outline some of the achievements of the past t.wo years and some goals for the future, I want to extend my appreciation to Members of Council, to all members of Staff and employees for the manner in which you have all co-operated and diligently worked in carrying out your duties. To the many people who have served on Committees and Boards in a voluntary capacity and who have contri- buted so much to the better- ment of the whole Municipal- ity, a special thank you for your efforts. Thank you also to all the members of the news media, who have worked so hard to keep the public informed. To the residents at large for your understanding your ietters, your phone calls, your messages of concern, without which this Council could not be as effective. This is ail a part of the democratic process and I am ever gratefu for this. Been Well Received As this is a meeting of local council, I will not dwell on matters of Regional concern at this time, other than to say that when we were moved as a municipality from North- umberland and Durham with County Seat in Cobourg to the Region of Durham with regional seat in Whitby and a whole new seat of allies, that was alone a huge transplant. In this move, Newcastle has been well received. In this transition, Policing, Water and Sewer services, Garbage Disposal and the authority for overall Planning was also transferred from local government to Regional Government. It is interesting to note that the first New Day Care Centre to be established inthe Region will be officially opened in Bowmanville on January 9th, 1976 Four sets of Rules On the local scene, Planning bas attracted much attention. We inherited from four mun- icipalities, four different sets of rules for planning, four Official Plans in various stages and zoning by-laws with considerable variance. In the various urban areas, Bowmanville had committed, by agreements, their entire sewage capacity; Newcastle had no furthber capacity in their water system; Courtice, having been zoned residential for some years was in need of both water and sewer serv- ices; Orono had limited supply of water and for a few nights, there was no water pressure in the subdivision f0 the North; before expansion can proceed in Hampton, there is need for a drainage program, The former MVunicipalities had addressed themselves to some of these problems but none were near completion. Funds for Studies We applied for and were granted, funds from the Pro- vince to carry out studies in several area. Although such studies may not have been a total answer, we are much better off for the work which has been done. The Hard Services, Water and Sewer, are administered by the Region. If these services are the basis of development in urban areas, then we must have a uniform rate across the Region. The Official Plan is also' the responsibility of the Region, and I believe that within that Plan for Newcastle we must have a variety of options for development. No other Municipality is com- prised of so many urban areas and they should be viable, healthy cqminunities, each with its own character. To this end, we must push for expansicn of sewage Plant in Bowmanville, adequate water supply in Newcastle, and to the extent services are requir- ed in Courtice and be ready to recognize and respond to the needs of all the Communities. Great Potential Here Added to this, we have a Municipality, which by its location, environment and geogra phy, has a greater potentialthan any other area in the Region of Durham, probably unequalled in the Province. Our lake front with two harbors, the natural park land in areas like Bowman- ville, Orono, Hampton .and others, to list only a few, our natural springs and forests and rich farm land, indeed this area is the envy of many. We must plan well. Industrial growth for a time was slow. Some who had purchased industrial land did not build and turned their p roperty back to the Town. he Honeywell Plant closed, others curtailed their oper- ations. However, in the past few months, there has been a renewed interest; a number of industrial properties have been sold and plants are being built. In promoting industry, I think we should consider the Industries already established and which have been here for some time. We should give them every encouragement we can, any expansion they can do is a plus for the Town. To say there has been a renewed interest in this Mun- icipality can be borne out by the growth factors. Prior to amalgamation, the assessment of the four mun- icipalities was: in 1971 - 27.3 million; in 1972'- increase of 2.6 per cent to 28. million; in 1973 - increase of 2.1 per cent to 28.6 million; in 1974 - in- crease of 5.3 per cent to 30.2 million; in 1975 - increase of 8.3 per cent to 32.7 million; in 1976 - expected increase of 7.5 per cent to over 35 million. We must remember that we are still based on 1970 assessment values, inflation has not been a factor. Expanded Recreation In the life style of the municipality, the Community Services Committee comes into focus The recreation department has expanded, a new Arena in Hampton; parks and playgrounds maintained throughout the area; several sports activities, jamborees and other entertainment pro- grams for all ages. This past yeat, tennis courts were built in Bowmanville at the High School; a new swimming pool in Bowman- ville, donated by Service Clubs; another swimming pool in Newcastle by the Newcastle Lions Club. The Community Centre Boards are active. A new Centre at Brownsdale and another at Tyrone were built and paid for by the initiative of the local people. pThe, Libraries have amalgamated and extended their services. the Museum Board is interested in a new place at Kirby. I support the efforts of all the local groups through their community centres. They are a powerful force for good in the Com- munity. They should be offer- ed all the encouragement and assistance that we, as a Council, can afford them. In the future, we should look more to a Recreation and Durham County's Great Family Journal Established 122 years ago in 1854 Also Incorporating The Bowmanville News The Newcastle Independent The Orono News Second class mail registration number 1561 Produced every Wednesday by THE JAMES PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED 62 66 King St. W., Bowmranville, Ontario LIC 3K9 CNA JOHN M. JAMES Editor-Publisher s GEO. P. MORRIS Business Mgr. BRIAN PURDY Advertising Mgr. DONALD BISHOP Plant Mgr. "Copyright and-or property rights subsist in the image appearing on this proof. Permission to reproduce in whole or in part and in any form whatsoever, particularly by photographic or offset process in a publication, must be obtalned from the publisher and the printer. Any unauthorized reproduction will be subject to recourse in law." $8.00 a year - 6 months $4.50 strictly in advance Foreign -$10.00 a year Although every precaution will be taken to avoid error, The Canadian Statesman accepts advertising in its columns on the understandlng that it will not be liable for any error in the advertlsement published hereunder unless a proof of such advertisement is requested in writing by the advertiser and returned to The Canadian Statesman business office duly signed by the advertiser and with such error or corrections plainly noted in writing thereon, and in that case if any error so noted is not corrected by The Canadian Statesman its liability shali not exceed such a portion of the entire cost of such advertisement as the space occupied by the noted error bears to the whole space occupied by such advertisement. Culture program which en- compasses the lives of people of all ages. We should look at community programs hor- izontally as well as vertically, encourage civic pride in people in the place in which they live. This need not cost money if we create an atmosphere where people want an opportunity to do something for themselves, in their own way. We have many areas for such action. I believe a healthy community is one where the people are involved. We do have many of such groups at present. More Fire Equipment The Fire Department has added to their equipment and have united the three fire Departments into one, making them more effective in their service. We have purchased a building for a new Fire Hall in Newcastle. We should conti- nue our efforts to provide a Fire Station to cover the Courtice Area more adequate- ly. Our Fire Dept., of whom nearly all are volunteers, compares very favourably with other municipalities with full time firemen. The Animal Control Pound has been enlarged and ser- vices are provided to the entire area. The problem of tags and licences should be resolved better than at pre- sent. If we are going to have a licencing system, it must be equitable. The Department of Publie Works is by far our largest Department. Here again we have amalgamated four de- partments into one. The works program bas expanded in each of the last two years by approximately 10 per cent per year. In 1975 a total budget of 1,672,000 compared with 1974 at 1,427,920 and about 1,200,000 in 1973. We have established a pay-as-you-go policy. There nave been no debentures issuedfor road work since the formation of the new mun- icipality. The expenditures of the works department in 1974 were completed within 1 per cent of budget. We have completed a comprehensive Road Needs Study of all the roads in the municipality. This document has been prepared and presented to Council; such a study had not been completed by the former municipalities. In it are listed the miles of roads, the deficiencies of the road or street and its priority rating. We are presently maintaining 441 miles of roads and streets. This report will be of benefit when asking for road sub- sidies. We are working to- wards a solution to the problem of miles of unmain- tained roads. Excercising Restraints When we hear of exercising restraints in municipal ex- penditures and staff, I think it is worth noting the number of works employees that we have, compared to the four former mulicipalities. In 1973 there were 32 full time employees and at the end of 1975, we have 31 full time and we are hiring fewer part time people than before even though our program has expanded more than 20 per cent. In Garbage Collection, the only municipal pick-up is in Bowmanville. At the begin- ning of 1974, the Ministry of Environment would no longer permit dumping on the sites in Bowmanvilfe, ¯and as there was no other site available garbage had to be transported about 10 miles north which meant buying another truck. In 1973 there were 5 men employed. To-day there are only 5 men employed with the greater distance and the addition of about 350 more homes. Garbage or solid waste disposal will become an increasing problem in the years ahead. The lack of available land fill sites and it is estimated that the average solid waste produced in an urban area is about 1500 pounds per capita per year. Difficult to Economize We hear of reducing of expenditures on road pro- grams. Wit h the movement of traffic winter and summer and the conditions which prevail for the travelling public, if is going f0 be difficult f0 find areas where know early in 1976 what our mill rate will need to be. If the surpluses which I expect become a reality I am recommending that they must be used as credits against the 1976 levy. We as a municipality nave demonstrated in the first two years of operation that we are able to keep expenditures within our growth rate. In 1974 a growth of 5.3 per cent expenses increased 3.4 per cent; in 1975 a growth of 8.3 per cent expenses increased 8 per cent. Our anticipated assessment increase for 1976 is expected to be about 7.5 per cent. I am therefore suggest- ing that we can afford in 1976 only a 7.5 per cent increase in expenditures. This will not require any increase in taxes. If we prove to have surpluses and if we can obtain revenue from other sources, then taxes can be reduced. Legislation has been design- ed to give a more meaningful role to local government. In accepting these greater res- ponsibilities and the increas- ing challenges that we will be confronted with, we must examine our operations thoroughly. We can say with some degree of satisfaction that progress has been made. However, there are some areas where changes in our operation should be made and many areas where improve- ment in our services can be undertaken. Belongs to the People We must remember that this municipality belongs to the people who hve here. It is their business we are opera- ting. I believe therefore, that the affairs d local Govern- ment should be operated like an open book, translated in language that every citizen can understand. Tbat we encourage public participa- tion wherever possible and welcome constructive criti- cism so that we may move forward in 1976 with courage, optimism and respect and in sincere dedication of service to our fellow citizens. G. B. Rickard Scugog Mayor Forecasts Moderate Growth for '76 A year of "moderate" growth is what Scugog Mayor Lawrence Malcolm expects for the township this year, not because of the tightening of funds, but due to council's cautious approach to develop- ment. "I don't think tight money will really have much affect here," he said. "We've been operating on sound, solid budgets. I think we have a fairly conservative council when it comes to spending." "In other words, 'he added, "we don't believe in blowing the bundle all at once." While the gradual growth, particularly in the number of subdivision going up, will make some developers happy. There will undoubtedly be some unhappy subdividers. In fact, there will be more unhappy than happy develop- ers in 1976 because only a fraction will get the go-ahead due to council's "staging" of development over the next four or five years. "It won't be a boom or bush situation in the township," said the Mayor, "no sudden surge followed by a slump. Instead, we'll have gradual, methodic growth." And for the community in general, thinks the mayor, that's a better, more manageable growth. "It'll probably be at a rate of 6 per cent... .the same as last year." Mayor Malcolm said that with a surge of commercial development in 1975, he expects the residential side of development to "catch up" this year. The year 1976 will also give Scugog a brand new arena. Mayor Malcolm said Ontario Municipal Board approval of the building bylaw was re- ceived by the township, De- cember 30. Although up to $284,000 of the project can be debentured, if need be, the mayor hopes that new grant structures and financing arrangements can be worked out that would make debentur- ing unnecessary. As the mayor sees it, that would be more in line with what other governments are starting to do . . .less borrowing, and more cash on the line. The school board has already started working in that direction, and I think the region willl turn more to operating on a cash basis. It's simply too expensive t bor- row moneytoday. Mr. Malcolm sees 1975 as a "feed-in year", a year where much work by council will see major 1976 accomplishments. "I don't think there were any great accomplishments the past year, rather a lot of things were accomplished to prepare for this year. . . like the development planned for this year." The new year will also see a final decision on perhaps the biggest issue for the area .the proposed penitentiary. "In one way or another, there will be a decision this year," said the mayor. He added that urgency on the project that was originally indicated by penitentiary offi- cials hasn't seemed to carry through. He said the urgency indicated "way back in July" seems to have slowed. He speculated that it could be government spending res- traints that are causing the problem. Although he concedes there are "little things" that have to be ironed out in the Region, Mayor Malcolm feels that at least some of the continued criticism of the Region may be simply a carry-over of the negativism displayed when the Region was formed. Part of the problem, he feels, comes from the fact that the region ,is ineffective in presenting their programs and projects to the people of Durham. In short, bad public relations are at least a part of the Region's problem, thinks the Scugog mayor. "I don't think mostpeople object too much ofthe Region's major projects or programs. It's a lot of little things that people complain about." Major development of the upcoming year for the Region could be the approval of the Regional official plan. If this happens, Mayor Malcolm p oints out it would have ar-reaching implications for the township as well. Scugog would then have the regional guidelines and regulations necessary to channel township development. - Port Perry Star BE A+ BLOQD DONOR In the Dim and Distant Past, Ff Il N g M That Was Some Year we can economize. Costs of materials this past year were 10 per centto15 per cent above estimates. We did not, as the figures point out, engage as many people on staff as was suggested for us. I think many other municipalities could copy our example. To provide the level of service required in the year ahead, we will certainly have to look closely at priorities and revenues available. Crunch in Finance After all the programs and services are talked about, the crunch really comes with the Finance Department. I have been concerned about our Financial base. I was not happy with the length of time it took to set the budget for 1975, nor was I pleased with the tax rate. It was then that I asked for a review of the grant structure, our trasitional mill rate and our assessment. I realize the solutions are not simple but answers can and must be found. I will first review, as I see it, what is happening in the expenditure side; to use comparative figures, I am going to omit 1973 which was an unusual year, relatively speaking, a house cleaning year, beng the last year of the old Councils. Expenditures can be divided into three areas: "County or Region", "School Boards", and "Local Government". The money paid to County increased by 17 per cent from 1971 to 1972 and we had a growth of 2.6 per cent. In the following two years the money paid to Region was up 29 per cent but we had a growth factor of 7.4 per cent in those two years. chool Board costs increased 10 per cent from 1971 to 1972, 19 per cent in 1973 and 20 per cent in 1974. Local govern- ment costs increased from 1971 to 1972 by 12 per cent, in 1973 by 19.8 per cent: af ter amalgamation our costs went up only 3.4 per cent and last year by 8 per cent, an amount less than our growth of 8.31 per cent. Additional re- sponsibilities were taken on by the Region which the County did not have, Planning, Pol- icing etc. The costs of salaries to all employees within the new municipality now require a smaller amount of the tax dollar. In the former Town of Bowmanville, the only mun- icipality which provided all the services, the costs for salaries in 1971 was 22 per cent of local budget, in 1972 was 24 per cent and in 1973, 26.8 per cent, an increase of 2 per cent per year, deducting policing costs, left a balance of 20.6 per cent of budget for salaries. The new municipality of Newcastle, amalgamating the departments and streamlining operations, in 1974 costs of ail salaries was only 14.04 per cent of budget and in 1975, 14.60 per cent. An Efficient Operation What do all these figures prove? You can go at them any way you like and it invariably proves that the most efficiently operated municipality compared before and after amalgamation, County or Region, is the present municipaiity of New- castle. We are taking a smaller portion of fax dollars to administer the affairs and provide the services. On the revenue side, I have a few more concerns. I believe that we should be getting additional revenue from other sources, thereby reducing the tax on property owners. Prior to Regional Government, the amount of money collected by tax levy was increasing. In the last two years, it has levelled off and I had hoped for a decrease. Because this did not happen for reasons I mention- ed at the beginning, taxes were higher in 1975 than I felt they should be. We now find, subject to settling our water andsewer charges, that there is a substantial surplus car- ried over from 1974. I antic- ipate a further surplus in 1975 from property stabilization grants and other sources. It was with these thoughts in mind that I asked the Finance Chairman and department some weeks ago for a com- plete review of this year's operations so that we will r 25 Years Ago 49 Vears Ago Thursday, January llth, 1951. Thursday, January l3th, 1927 Darlington Council authorîz- Bowmanville Junior Hockey ed the following bills be paid team defeated Cobourg 9-3 at at the December meeting. Ail Taylor's Arena on Tuesday. In members were present except goal for the locals was Grant Garnet Rickard who was ill. on defence, Osborne and A. Millson, reeve $100., R. W. Freeman Centre - Candler Nichols, Deputy-reeve $100, Wings, Rindle and McMullen Harold Skinner, Garnet Rick- subs Piper and Roach, Ref- ard, R. McLaughlin, council- eree Mortley of Toronto. lors $100 each. Mrs. W. Parks, Sec-Treas. - Tyrone Hall, rent, Darlington council authoriz election, $5.0O, C. Pethick ed the road superintendent to Sec-Treas., Enniskillen Hall, pay 20 cents per hour to man rent, election, $5.00, Cliff and 40 cents per hour for man Miller, work street lights, and team when opening roads Hampton, $25.00, William in winter. Lycett, selecting jurors $3.00, , J. D. Hogarth selecting jurors Communicable diseases $4.00 reported to Secretary John Charter nembers of the Lyle for 1926 were Chicken pox Young People's group of 12, measies 13, scarlet fever 3, Enniskillen are Allan Werry, tetanus 1, tuberculosis 1, Ronald Ashton, Ted Werry, typhoid fever 2 - total 42. Stuart Lamb, Clark Werry, The Mayor, treasurer and Donald Wearn, Grant Werry, finance committee of town Joe McGill, Cameron Olson council were authorized to and Elgin Heard.1invesf the $25,000 received Report for S.S. No. 4 for from R. M. Hollingshead Co. December 1950 Grade 8 - from sale of Ross anCo. The Milton Arnold, Grade 6 - Carol resignation of Frank Williams Vinson, Marie Vinson, Grade 5 as caretaker of fire alarm - Marion Grills, Grade 4 - Elsie system was accepted. Down, Delbert Grills, Alvin Johnston, Myrna Peterson Town councillors for 1927 and Billy Roka, Grade 3 - are W. C. Caverly, W. H. Grant Down, Brian Ormiston, Carruthers, Geo. W. James, Sandra Vinson, Bonnie Wade, W. A. Edger, A. J. Wadhams Grade 2 - Ken Caverly, Rickey and M. H. Minore. Petersen, Gloria Vinson, Keith Wordan, Grade 1 - Donna Haggerty, Karen Orm- hostess for a party given in iston, Joan Senka, Teacher - honor of Mr. John Hawkes of Alice M. Arnold. Adelaide, Australia, who is Mayor Lawerence C. Mason visiting friends in Oshawa. delivered his inaugural Port Perry is selling its own address at the initial meeting debentures bearing 5 per cent of town council on Monday interest to Bowmanville in- evening. vestors. SgarnandaS r 19 By BiBJ Smiley This is the time of year when instant experts and fallible fools such as newspaper columnists make idiots of themselves by predicting what the next 12 months will bring. Looking into a New Year is rather like looking into an old rubber boot. It stinks a little, you can't see anything in there, and the thing probably leaks, heel and toe. I prefer to do a little looking back and a little looking forward, make some hasty generalizations based on the arthritis in my big toe, and hope everybody will have forgotten what I said by the following week. Which they will. Let's look back - 1975 was the year of The Big Strike. Everybody who was somebody, and a great many who were nobodies, went on strike at least once. As a direct result, Canada's credibility as a producing nation, a reliable nation, a prudent, sensible nation, took a nosedive. Foreign investors were heard saying things like: "Migawd, I'd be safer betting on the exact hour and minute of Napoleon's return from Eternal Exile than I would be putting money into that Crazy Canada." It was also the year of the Grand Gimme and the Chronic Catch-up as everyone and his elderly aunt, clad in sack-cloth and ashes, moaned piteously, beat bosoms, and scrab- bled tooth and nail to get a bigger chunk of the national loot than everybody else and her elderly uncle. It was the year in which the Montreal Olympics could no more have a deficit, according to that reincarnation of Moses misleading his people to the unpromising land, Mayor Drapeau, than a man could have a baby. It was the year in which the Thanksgiving roast turkey was transformed by our Grand Guru into boiled seagull. It was the year of election upsets, political promises, union threats, dire warnings, insane headlines and callow assumptions. In short, it was a year much like the one before it and the one that is coming after it - an amusing and horrifying record of . man's moral and mental weaknes- ses. But that was the bad news. Now for the good news. It was also a great year, in some respects for you and me. Personally, I had a fine year. Just listen to this list, and yours is probably better, if you think back. I discovered a bracing healthful new sport, cross-country skiing, and within a month was known as The Terror of the Trails (by two old ladies 86 and 89). I developed into Canada's most nauseating proud grandfather, as Pokey and I cemented an already firm friendship, culminating in an orgy of mutual admiration this past Christmas when the little devil got at least eleventy-seven presents. I love him because he can get me to do anything, literally, that he wants me to do. In this league I am known as The Spoiler. While we're all in the family, other things made it a good year. My wife and I sta-ed married and together, a rather unusual combination after a quarter-century. We even like each other, which is almost incredible, after what each of us has put up with. My daughter, apparently celebra- ting Women's Lib year, or some- thing, got herself pregnant again and I am expecting my first grand- daughter (daughter underlined) any day now. Notice I said I am expecting. It used to be the mother who was expecting, but things are all cock-eyed these days. Still in the family, I met a whole gaggle of cousins from the West I'd never seen before, cousins from the East I hadn't seen for 25 years, and sisters and brothers I hadn't seen for a couple. A great reunion, enough family stuff to do a fellow for the next decade. There were many other high moments for me during 1975. Did some Auld 'Lang Syne-ing with newspaper friends. Caught a big pike and rode in a tiny Aeronca over the brooding, empty wilderness of northern Saskatchewan. Caught a big cold and rode in a taxi through the brooding, teeming wilderness of Toronto. Beat my wife two-out-of-five in golf. Ignored the postal strike by writing 52 columns, even though some will never see print. Teetered through another three terms of teaching. Discovered that in another few years I would be eligible for a category-F pension. F stands for Five cans of pork and beans a week, which such a pension will provide. All in all, a jolly good year, one for which I wouldn't trade anything, except a chance to do it over again. Now for a brief look into the dim distances of 1976. Last year we were bored silly- by Womën's Interna- tional Year. I predict that this year we will be bored right out of our skulls by two mountains of ennui - the American Bicentennial and the Canadian Olympic Games. Not much else can be glimpsed there, in the murk and muddle. Unions will go on threatening, politicians Will go on promising, the rich Will get richer and the poor will get babies. But, gloriousiy, people will go on, being people: despicable and noble anguished and triumphant; hatiný- and loving; being born and dying. It's a great life, and the only one we have. You go on doing your thing, and Fll go on doing mine. At the end of 1976 We'll make out our lists, and compare notes. I predict right here and noxv that we'll have just as many ups as downs, and Will remember the ups and forget the doWns.