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Scugog Township council has approved the local budget for 1987 at $4,478,760. The approval came late Monday good part of their meeting afternoon after councillors spent a More court time Scugog Township council is preparing itself for a large increase in legal fees over the next year as it appears there will be a number of hearings brought before the courts or On- tario Municipal Board. In 1986 Scugog spent $3,681 in legal fees and although they had budgeted $6,000 for this year, administrator Earl Cud- | die advised council that this would probably not be enough. Councillor Lawrence Malcolm moved that $10,000 be put in the budget for legal fees this year, stating "I told council the day we hired a by-law officer we would have to allow for more in legal fees." The motion passed unanimously with one councillor say- ing they were prepared to spend the money in order to clean- up some of the problem areas in the township. 121 No. 22 Val. Tuesday. April 28, 1987 Council approves budget worth $4.4 M. discussing further additions to the budget which amount "to; about $96,000. The $4.4 million local budget ap- proved on Monday represents a net increase for the average homeowner of 6.8 per:cent, which means an additional $20. on the average tax bill this year for local government purposes. But the total tax increase this year for the average homeowner (assessed value of $3600) will be in the neighbourhood of $100. The in- crease for school purposes is 9.2 per cent net or about $60; while the net impact at the Regional level Just over nine per cent, or $18 on ~ the average tax bill. The total tax increase of about $100 for the average homeowner is the combination of local, school board and Regional government budget hikes. (Turn to page 29) Copy 50 Local hospital facing $200,000 budget deficit Community Memorial Hospital in ~ Port Perry received an additional $120,000 from the provincial Health Ministry in 1986-87, but it was not enough to get the hospital out of the red. Administrator David Brown told the Star last week that even with the deficit-of $65,000 in the fiscal year which ended April 1 and the finan- cial outlook for the current year is equally as gloomy. Mr. Brown estimates the hospital could be as much as $200,000 in the red for the current fiscal year which ends next April. additional funds, the hospital ran a "We appreciate the additional Council beefs up the building dept. The unprecedented construction boom in Scugog Town- ship has forced the council to hire an additional inspector for the building department. Council authorized the hiring Monday afternoon, after receiving a report from Township inspector Paul Milligan who said the work-load has increased beyond his capabilities to keep up with it. "I can't do the job properly. I just can't keep up with the work," Mr Milligan bluntly told members of council. He's responsible for issuing building permits and carrying out the on-site inspections while construc- tion is underway to ensure that all building code, by-law and provincial regulations are being followed. He informed council that in certain instances, he has not been able to go over plans in detail prior to issuing a building permit. These, he said, would be constractors who "know what they are doing." He told council that so far in 1987, 157 permits have been issued and there are a further 55 permit applications 'still sitting on the shelf' in his office waiting for approval. In 1986, there were permits worth $20.4 million issued in Scugog and already this year, the dollar value of permits is approaching half the previous year's total. (Turn to page 29) funds received from the province, but it was not enough,' he stated. He said the reasons for the red ink . are simple: an increasing demand for services and the fact that certain costs are going up at an alarming rate. The total work-load last year increased by eight per cent, he ex- plained, while such things as liabili- ty insurance jumped well over 100 per cent. Mr. Brown said he will be meeting __ with Ministry of Health officials in the near future in an effort "to con- vince them to increase the hospital's base budget." He said the province is asking hospitals to submit budgets this year which are 'realistic and "balanced."" For Community Memorial Hospital, it is not possible to do both. If the budget is realistic in keeping up with increased costs and increased work-loads, there is no way it can be balanced, hé said. He noted that of 37 hospitals in On- tario of similar size to Community Memorial, the work-load here is 37 per cent above the average, while the staff costs are 19 per cent under the average. The hospital this fiscal year is pro- jecting a total budget of about $4 4 million. In the fiscal year just ended, the provincial government allocated an additional $38,000 into the base budget and an extra "one time pay- ment' of $82,000. However, this $82,000 cannot be used in budget calculations for the current fiscal year. 44 Pages -- From garden shears and butcher knives to bare feet and blacked-out teeth, there was plenty of fun and farce at Cartwright High School's program of three one-act plays last Thursday and Friday nights. This unlikely pair won Best Actor (Eric Douma as Dr. Aleric Carver) and Best Actress (Jennifer Fletcher as Cora Mae Frump) awards when the plays were judged Friday evening. For more photos, see inside. Slugging the old-fashioned way, a {tudent shovels a spade full of dirt during the excavation of Port Perry High School's original foundation. The old school burned down in 1926, and now present: day students are digging up its remains for display in the upcom- ing high school reunion. For story and more photos, see inside.