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2 -2 Orono Weely Times. Wednesday. August 19, 1998 Subscriptions $21.50 + $1.50 G.S.T. $23.00/year. Publications Mail Registration No. 000368 Publishing 50 Issues Annually at the Office of Publication 5310 Main Street, P.O. Box 209, Orono, Ontario LOB 1MO E-Mail Address: oronotimes@speedline.ca Phone/Fax (905) 983-5301 Publisher/ Editor Marg Zwart Nothing left for the wallet by Roy Forrester In the March 11Ith edition of the Orono Times I had written about how things were shaping up tax-wise local- ly. At the time the Province had just released information on their tax rate being .46 for educational purposes which would be collected through the municipal tax bill. Taking as an example, 6 Mill Lane, now assessed at $140,000.00 and using the .46 tax rate the educational portion of the 1998 tax bill would be $644.00 a savings of $540.78 over that paid for education in 1997. It was suggested that I could put this savings, $540.78, in my wallet for the time being. It was also suggested that the Municipality of Clarington and the Region of Durham would have to increase their tax take by 72 percent to rob the last drop of savings from my wallet, the $540.78. To say the least they have done a good job on 6 Mill Lane. The Regional take using the .00737 tax rate takes out an additional 175.5 percent for Regional purposes and Clarington a further grab of 50.7 percent. I have to admit there could be some change but it won't be major. In 1997 the Regional tax for 6 Mill Lane amounted to $374.23 for Regional purposes - this compares with the 1998 take of $1031.80, up by $657.57. Clarington in 1997 taxed 6 Mill Lane $374.54 plus $122.00 for garbage and street lights. In 1998 the take will be in the area of $564.20 plus $122.00 for garbage and street lights, an increase of $190.00, almost fifty per- cent. It is interesting to note a Clarington report stating that Provincial downloading would add no more than 1.5 per- cent on their tax levy. In 1997 the total tax bill was $2054.00. For the same property the 1998 tax bill at a 1.6 tax rate sets in with an increase of $306.00 to $2360.00. After all is said and down its not tax revenue neutral as suggested by the Province. It reads out with a little over fourteen percent increase. Wanting to know your tax bill multiply your assess- ment by the tax rate of 1.6. You should be close. QRONO WEEKLY TmEs Sevn E as Clrngo an be y sice 937 not have acéess to this publica- tion, I will §ynopsis the results of the 750 responses received: Against tpe Proposal 629 - - (84 %) Support the Proposal 121 - -(16%) Clearly, should this gentle- man find himself supporting the idea that the "Lishman Proposai" is a positive thing for Clarington, he is in the distinct minority. Further, if he feels that Councillor Mutton was lis- tening to the people who responded to the proposal, he is mistaken. Also in your most recent issue was a letter from an author who was feeling some- what unwell due to the preva- lence of negative opinions regarding this "Proposal". This person went on to describe opponents of this idea as not being aware of democratic principles. Again, I suggest that this writer should look at the data described above and recognize 'that Councillor Mutton did not act in a manner consistent with democratic process in that he did not repre- sent the constituents who elect- ed him. This author then pro- ceeds to tell us that "a bit of reality and sanity" enters the debate in the form of a letter published in your July 29th issue. This latter letter makes two points, neither of which makes a lot of sense in my mind: a) we have been pollut- ing the Wilmot Creek for years and the proposed factory will actually help the problem, (I am assuming this is based on the requirement for the factory to use a new waste water tech- nology, details of which are sketchy) and b) that we should allow those elected by us, or those appointed to bureaucratic positions to "full fi (sic) their obligations" presumably with- out public input. Obviously, LETER TO THE EDITOR We have been taking the Orono Times for many years and still look forward to read- ing It Roy's favourite way of spelling lose was loose we always got a chuckle from it. Now we see it real often, did you inherit it. Just wonder- ing. Marion Foster Port Hope Re: Editorial of Aug. 12 on education. Dear Ms. Zwart, I am writing you to explain how the last two issues of your publication and recent articles in the Clarington This Week publication have caused me a significant amount of distress. It is apparent to me that con- tributors to your letters section have not been reading your competitor's articles or perhaps they were not reading the fine details of what was being reported. I will start with a letter from your most recent issue wherein the author, a long time resident in the Mosport area, suggested that he is part of a silent major- ity who might support the so- called "Lishman Proposal". In his letter, this gentleman sug- gested that Councillor Mutton was merely listening to the majority before casting his vote in favour of the "Proposal". I would like to direct this author to July 16th edition of the Clarington This Week (page 5) where the breakdown of sub- missions to the Council were reported. Should your readers this position is contrary to true democratic ideals. The August 12th letter then goes on to dis- cuss the neighboring residents concerns regarding the air traf- fic to be generated as a result of this "Proposal". He is absolutely correct when he comments that the airstrip has been here for several years, indeed predating my arrival in the community; however, given the noise arising from the cur- rent number of planes using the strip and their owners obvious delight in flying over our homes repeatedly as they prac- tice taking off and landing, surely he can understand why the people who live adjacent to the airstrip are reluctant to see an increase in the traffic using the site particularly when that traffic will be primarily a hobby for the plane's owners. There is nothing that can be done about the current strip but the de facto licensing of a pri- vate airport by town council can and will be challenged by those who are unable to enjoy their homes and backyards as a result of noise pollution arising from this form of "entertain- ment". Your July 29th issue also had an article about Councillor John Mutton. While I was dis- heartened to read that he did not consider this a "job" and he only works at it on a part-time basis, 1 saw red when I saw that he was prepared to allow the bureaucrats at the Regional Planning office make the deci- sion about the "Proposal". He was elected to make that deci- sion, not an employee of the region! My blood came to a rolling boil when I read the most recent issue the Clarington This Week where Mr. Mutton is documented as being opposed to a phase-in tax reassessment as it would only benefit 18 percent of the popu- lation. That represents more people who would benefit from a phased-in approach than those in favour of the "Lishman Proposal"! Yet Mr. Mutton supported the "Proposal". This seems very strange to me. I voted for Mr. Mutton because he said during the campaign that he would never support the Lishmans on this matter. I did not vote for Mrs. Dreslinski, a fine and capable Councillor, as she was less vehement in her opposition to the plan. I now wish I had voted differently given Mutton's (and Trim's) betrayal of his supporters. Had Mrs. Dreslinski won the last election and then supported the "Proposai" at least her integrity would be intact. That is not the case with our current represen- tation. I have given serious thought to the Lishman matter. I have seen the site, read some docu- mentation and talked with peo- ple both for and against the idea. In all honesty, the fur garment facility COULD be an enormous boost to Clarington; however, the problems associated with the "Proposai" have not been adequately addressed. For example, the technology to be used in the waste water treat- ment system is apparently new and untested in an indus- trial environment. I need only look to the computer on which I arn writing this letter to realize that any technology can and will fail at some point. Alas, when the waste water treatment system fails, the Wilmot creek will not have a reset button. Mr. Lishman has publicly indicat- ed his desire to be affiliated with the airstrip on this pack- age of land. I am told that when another package of land was identified as a potential site for the fur garment facto- ry and which was zoned for (continued page 3)