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i 3 ¥ Chamber Of Commerce guest speaker says: Business outlook fairly good for Durham Economic conditions in Ontario and Durham Region will continue to improve in 1984, but the gains may not be as large as those experienc- ed in 1983. Those were the predic- tions of Wayne Cumm- ings and Ted Morgan of the Bank of Montreal's Commercial Banking Division when they ad- dressed the annual meeting of the Scugog Chamber of Commerce last Wednesday night. Speaking on the 1984 outlook for Ontario, Mr. Cummings said the recovery in 1983 for On- tario was "better than most other areas of the country." Except for a few ex- ceptions such as tourism, agriculture, and govern- ment services in health, welfare and education, economic activity in the province last year show- ed gains of up to 25 per cent in some sectors, a marked improvement over what Mr. Cumm- ings called "the disaster of 1982." However, he did say that the number of hous- ing starts likely will not surpass the 55,000 in 1983, partly because there are presently no new govern- ment grants available. Mr. Cummings said there will not be any significant changes in either the prime lending rate or mortgage rates over the next 12 months. Mr. Cummings is a vice-president and district head with the Bank's Commercial Banking Division. He is .based in Belleville. Mr. Morgan, commer- cial bank manager for Durham Region, was very optimistic about the future for the Region, saying there will be more industrial diversifica- tion, and the unemploy- ment rate at 7.5 per cent will be well below the na- tional average of 11 per cent. He also noted that the 3.1 per cent population Tax hike held ftoonly 3% (From page 1) Donald Evans says there are several reasons why the Region is in a position to shoot for this figure in 1984. The inflation rate is ex- pected to remain low this year in comparison to re- cent years and wage hikes for Regional staff are expected to be within the five per cent provin- cial guidelines. Social Services, one of the big budget items within the Region may be looking at an increase of just 4.9 per cent in 1984, a far cry from the 32 per cent increase last year when welfare costs sent the figures soaring upwards. And Durham Region finds itself in the en- viable position of having a projected 1983 surplus of $1.5 million, about $400,000 more than the surplus enjoyed by the Region at the end of 1982. Once the 1984 budget guidelines have been ap- proved by the Regional council, the actual 1984 budget will be presented to council on March 1. Property owners likely will not know until some time after that date just what the actual total tax increase for 1984 will be as that depends on the budgets struck by the School Boards and the local municipalities. - SELECTED- TABLE LAMPS «+ Regular Priced to $189.00 183 Queen St., Port Perry 985-8234 growth rate for Durham is better than both the national and Ontario average. Durham is "doing O.K. There is a real feeling of confidence that we are on the way to bigger and better things," he said. Mr. Morgan did sound one note of concern, however, in the number of labour contracts in the public and private sec- tors which are up for renewal in the Region this year. 'The agricultural sector in Durham was not hit as badly as other areas dur- ing the recession of 1981-82, and he said he expects that agriculture will continue to perform well economically. OTHER BUSINESS In other Chamber of Commerce business at the annual meeting, the members present voted overwhelmingly to in- crease the annual fees from $50 to $75. Presi- dent, Bill Barr said that the $50 figure had not been increased since 1972. In his address to the members, Mr. Barr noted some of the highlights and disap- pointments in Chamber of Commerce activities over the past year. One of the disappoint- ments was the poor response to a request for $25 per member to replace the decorative Christmas lighting in the business section of Port Perry. On the positive side, he said plans are underway for the Canada Day Celebrations, the Bass Derby, and Western Weekend, which will be held in July this year, rather than August. He noted that Western Weekend net revenue was about $2100 last year and said the committee hopes to boost this figure 5 BA Hvidsten. to the Chamber of Com- merce Board of Direc- tors: William Beare, Ruth Dejong, Jim Grieve, Millie Ives, Cathy Kroonenberg, Tom Mitchell, Janet Smith and Peter to $10,000 this year. A vote by secret ballot was held to elect the following eight persons Chamber's annual meeting last Wednesday evening in Port Perry. Both Mr. Cummings and Mr. Morgan told the meeting that the economic outlook for Ontario and Durham Scugog Chamber of Commerce presi- dent Bill Barr (left) and director Janet Smith presented a gift of appreciation to Wayne Cummings and Ted Morgan, both of the Bank of Montreal after they spoke fo the lard OUTERWEAR For the Family WINTER FOOTWEAR Ladies Pullover SWEATERS % Off SEWING SUPPLIES New Arrivals ARROW SHORT SLEEVE SHIRTS ... $23.00 VAGDEN SOCKS Argyle ... $4.95 Twin Sock ... $4.95 Wallabees ... $4.25 McGREGOR SOCKS Tube ... $4.50 Dress ... $3.95 - $4.25 Happy Foot ... $3.25 A.W. BROCK DEPT. STORE QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY (Merchandise Not Necessarily as Illustrated.) QUILTED POLYESTER & COTTON ... $7.50 m. MATCHING PRINTS ... $4.50 m. POLYESTER & VISCOSE ~ LINEN WEAVE ... $8.95t0$13.985 m. CO-ORDINATING POLKA DO) 3 & STRIPES ... $4.50 m. PORT PERRY STAR -- Tues. Janvary 31, 1984 -- 3 There had been 12 peo- ple nominated for the Region is favourable for the coming year. rr 3 . .