6 THE OSHAWA TIMES, Saturday, December 5, 1964 IS TAX RATE REALISTIC?» (Continued from Page 1) Following in alphabetical order, are the views of the candidates on the tax rate question: . Ald. Gordon B: Attersley: "As 'an incumbent alderman and a taxpayer, I am always ex- tremely anxious to strike a mill rate as low as possible. The mill rate is calculated from the esti- » mates submitted by the various : civic departments and the + Board of Education. The esti- pared where peseinie, Tocluded . Pared where ible. Include in the estimates are fixed ex- penditures such as wages, debt . Yetirement etc., that cannot be reduced. Council and Board of Education current policiés as to work to be done -- schools to be built has an effect on current and future mill rates. As to/ whether the current tax rate is! realistic ur not would depend on individuals' opinions of the Council's and Board of Educa- tion's program--determine what} is desirable and what is essen-| \rate is realistic, although, like) Alex Shestowsky: levery other taxpayer, I com-jeyes of any taxpayer, no tax plain about the problem of pay-|rate is realistic if it is consist- ever, and as usual, the Poor ing my taxes. It seems to mejently rising. With the rapid suffer more than the rich. It is| at times, that our tax rate is a absolutely essential that steps|place in which we may com- be taken to prevent a further| Pla rise. If elected, I shall make it|$cape my business to study the whole| system and do whatever pos-) sible to keep our taxation at a reasonable level." Ald. John Dyer: '"'I certainly | think the current tax rate is) realistic, and moreover, hav- ing watched the manner in) which the taxrate is 'struck, I believe it is struck at no higher) figure than is necessary to) cover necessary expenditures) for the current year in com-} pliance with the Municipal Act.| My.. observations have always| been that, in arriving at current) year's necessary expenditures,| the council has always erred on| the side of understanding in order to keep the tax rate within | the limits of the city taxpayer's pay. Projects that should have been done this year have been jby eliminating waste, duplica- | ition and unnecessary frills." | lem, but the.same complaint is' payer. Since the education costs not particularly heard when wejare the largest single item in | want \life."" "Every. effort should be made to administer the affairs of our| \eity w lof this the assessment increases | thereby placing additional m ies in the city treasury. On t other hand if the public is going throughout the city when these|reduce our debentures substan- unanimously by council re- questing a private firm be en: gaged to undertake a compre- hensive assessment of the city) with the purpose of bringing! land and property t fair with the tax dollars. The millrate should have been re- |duced proportionately and this Ald. A. Hayward Murdoch: was not done." "Yes, I believe the current tax ing with the city's ment Equaziization program, It could be better implemented. All small i Douglas Wilson: 'While agree- Reassess- h and owner-) "In , the in line with a more realistic 0c ied homes sessed at standard of values, and this up- to-date assessment would en- sure a more equitable assess- ment in the future than what existed at that time. It stands to reason that increased assess- ment would reduce the mill- vate but not necessarily in- crease the tax revenue." |growth of our city we could jexpect further increases in in and possibly make ajcosts which will become a goat of a finncial prob-| greater burden to the city tax- in|the city budget I would recom- imend that requests be made Pilkey; |through our provincial and fed- 'eral representatives to our gov- ernment to introduce legislation ithin the framework of that ; they -- the federal and j in.|provincial governments -- as- iodo pati dadiny ar ace |sume moce financial responsibil- expanding rapidly and thecause iY in our education costs. personal pleasures "Ernest Whiting: 'I believe that the present tax rate is realistic, however, I also be- lieve that it worked undue hardship in subdivisions that did not have prepaid services to the extent that these people jare very heavily taxed as com- pared to a similar house with Ald.' Clifford G. millions of dollars each year) Rene M. Thiebaud: "Our tax $5000 or Jess should be exempt- ed from taxes. With a graduated tax sca'e based on ability to pay, the taxes on homes could be cut and the tax load shifted to big business who can afford it. Home improvements should be exempt from five years. This would elimin- ate the. penalty for home im- provements and contribute to the general improvement of the community." the Reassessment Equalization} program of taxes taxation. for stable in most cases. There was|INTER - AMERICAN MEETS some increase in some areas, spersed with frequent consulta- tions on common matters, cmaeas' SATURDAY One of Canade's BOBBY MINNS ond his Orchestra COUPLES ONLY Dencing 9 P.M, tilt 12 Reservations 725-1348 723-2143 'Since 1890, the American re- publics have held 10 Inter- American conferences inte r- WANTED STAMPS & COINS CANADIAN s FOREIGN We will Buy Collections, Ac: || curulations or Dealers Stock. but this was due in the main to the fact that reassessment of land and building had not been brought up to date for some years and not necessarily bad cause of the equalization pro- gram. The taxation increase since 1961 has been caused by the very rapid growth of our city and the need for greatly- improvel services in many areas. The current tax rate is realistic in the light of the finan-| cial needs of our city. Edward Zalewski: "Under| |] Ports on your Furnace when you 1961, the . actual| Sorry -- Sold Out Saturday, Dec. 12th . For « Fair evaluation of your | WESTERN OIL Co. Material. : @ FREE @ Cleaning & 24-Hour Service @ FREE @e purchase our fuel oil, 725-1212 paid remained fairly' prepaid services. The Apple) Hill Subdivision is a good exam-) ple of this hardship. .Our tax: rate at the present time is! reasonably fair, although I be- lieve we 'should strive to get better value for our tax dollar." COSENS & MARTIN Insurance on-|rate is not realisitc; we do not he get the value from our tax dol- lar and this will be so as long to insist on additional services|@8-our city council does not services must be paid for. Which|tially. The policy of our pres- means the current tax rate ent Mayor 'pay-as-you-go' has would not be realistic." my approval, but more empha- " sis has tu be put on paying our Ald. Mrs. Alice Reardon: "As ** ut a member of council for the last |"ebts. Any private _ enterprise ae a +>. / running ia debt the way we are year and partially responsible wp A ? wather ta for the. tax rate, I would say doing, will have no difficulty in tial. It is difficult to operate on|laid aside to another year and a fixed 'eve' unless rs cab) they, cost more to do than they control tue City's growth. Our! should haye cost," latest figures show a growth in| Ald. Cephas B. Gay: "'It is one year of 4,500 persons." very unfortunate that the in- ad. Ciel =m 2 crease had to be but to cover . Cecil Bint: "The city Re- for schools and demands by assessment, png mage Ppro-'the people for roads, curbs, gram was not set up with any ~4ditinns to the sewage plant, hope of a reduction in taxation new buses, buildings and addi. considering our present develop- - ire a must for a fast- ment program, but. to equalize growing city." the assessment and in the the city as a whole this end was pouglas Gower: "Yes, as we attained. Yes, with our present are getting a fair amount for expansion of services, ie miles' oyr tax dollar. It would be very of roads, sewers, schools, etc." n°.» if we were able te keep .., taxes at the same level but if Ald. John Brady: 'Yes. The!w. are to progress, then the city council pho ae i PYO- taxes will go up and more will p ll gedesave aot ie ae way be done to further the progress to cut taxes is to anes of Oshawa sewers, unless, of course, the : + Martin: "TY ' senior levels of government see FPS nig Rehan ge ons: fit to take over education, wel- 40, of ways, however I do feel fare and health services. If this, the tay rate i fitted were done then the tax 'rate ve tax rate is realistic, | could be reduced. However, |Pased on the hansen --~ nthe | -- dager methods of 10% | taxpayers which is dictated by) ation, the city mus? iv) "economic growth, increased| these services. The rate, unfor lati ed | tunately, is most realistic." population and the current in-| 4 ionary trend beyond our con- | such as increased cost of! 'ovial, salaries, etc. Further | proof is the fact that home-| © ers and business establish-| ments are able to pay their! , and it is a falacy that} jit is cheaper to rent than own) unicipal waste, such as/#S the tenant-has to absorb the Sintication of service and ef-|Wner's tax. I strongly advocate| ficiency. It would not be too dif-|Holding the tax line, adopt-| ficult to reduce the budget of at/iMg @ 'pay-as-you-go' policy and least one municipal department|With the co-operation of all de- by $150,000 a year. I will always| partments and the Board of fight to avoid layoffs but there| Education, where close liaison have been several occasions in|is essential, this can be done, the past when superfluous per- | guyeeeeees a meee sonnel could have been transfer- red to another municipal de-! partment to effect a more eco- | MURDOCH nomical municipal govern-| Alderman John DeHart: 'The growth of '0 the city involves new municipal expenditures such as schools, services, but despite this our tax rate most emphatically is) unrealistic and unfair. It is un- realistic because it allows for a ment." Richard H. Donald: 'The tax | im Oshawa are extremely high and we do not receive enough| for our money. In Oshawa there} are too many things that we do/| not have. In the matter of rec-| reation we only have two artifi-| cial ice rinks and a third is) being built. City council should take no credit for this, how- 67 King St. E., Oshawa yes. Together with the increas- going barkrupt. ed assessment and taxes we i wa have had new areas opened,| Mrs. Christine Thomas: "In| Res: 725-2802 er 725-7413 increased population, increased|1959 @ motion was approved: educational costs and increased demands for services. In my opinion the increase in taxes VOTE still does not provide enough for All lines of 728-7515 Mrs. Margaret Shaw: "I be- lieve the council did not play money to cover the increased demands." PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION 10 Years' Experience on City Council VOTE Rock Just where 'Rock/iupson | #¢ DORisDay »* TORY Senp me no FLowers A MARTIN MELCHER Production « & UNIVERSAL Picture Tec mico€or® has Doris... she wants him....! aNDale ¢ Now Playing FEATURE TIMES -- 1:30 - 3:30 PHONE 723-2843 LAST COMPLETE SHOW 9:20 5:30 - 7:35 - 9:45 9 SHOPPERS -- Come os Late as 9:20 p.m, and See "GET" A Complete Show -- We Will Gladly Check Your Parcels THIS WEEK - AS USUAL DAVID J. POWLESS |] McCallum F. X | CLus Bayview | SOLD OUT : TONIGHT Make Reservations Now for Dec, {2th NEW YEAR'S EVE TICKETS Now on Sale BOARD OF EDUCATION Sound Administration for Your Family and Mine. Dancing 9.30-2.30 $10.00 Per Couple There's Nothing Can Beat The COMFORT ALL-ELECTRIC HOME HEATING For YOUR Home!! 56 PRINCE ST. 50¢ Members ) 75¢ Non-Members DRESS ~ SHIRT and TIE DECEMBER 12th JOE POPEIL and the CHECKMATES "WUTHERING HEIGHTS" "WHO'S CUCKOO" -- Ist. Run @ STARTS SUNDAY ® FIRST OSHAIWA SHOWING ! LAST TIMES TODAY! FIRST OSHAWA SHOWING ! ALL LAUGHS! ~--Newsweek "A MATTER OF WHO" ~--with-- TERRY THOMAS Big Cast SONIA ZIEMANN ADULT ENTERTAINMENT ALEX NICOL BILTMORE;;." hg SATURDAY " 725-5833 A a mM. Expert Shocker! ---N.Y. Daily News "LORD OF THE FLIES" 0 BEST-SELLING NOVEL BY WILLIAM GOLDING Don't have « home That's Obsolete Make |t Modern with ELECTROHEAT! PHONE 728-4611 For Detailed lef. ' OSHAWA OPEN DOORS 6:30 P.M. ever, because they were con- tent to let the people of Osh- awa do without. If we are pay- ing such high taxes and not get- ting anything for our money, it! must be that there is waste at} City Hall." | Ald. Norman Down: '"'Our/ present tax rate is as realistic] as can be, in view of the sub-/ atantial economic expansion! that this growing city has exper- ienced. In other. words, more people mean more demand for essential services and educa- tional facilities. Somebody has to pay for it Jan Drygala: 'I do not think the current tax rate reasonable. Since the re-evaluation of the city's assessment some years ago, it was hoped that this would stem the rising trend in taxation. This has not hdappen-) ed. Our taxes are heavier than) FREE ELECTRIC HEF \Te Pee. IN-DOOR <7 77, our-poor (Mille TONIGHT | | Old Time - Modern | oO ADMISSION--$1.25 ig RED BARN | | Motor Gity Car Club presents 'THE TWILIGHTS SUNDAY, DEC. 6th 8:30 P.M. till 11:30 P.M. with membership eord--$1 25 ubil 2 Jt we" Make your next home a MEDALLION ALL-ELECTRIC HOME. 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