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THE INDEPENDENT & FREE PRESS 50 cents (+GST) Friday, March 7, 2008 48 Pages www.independentfreepress.com Rebels finish second at OFSAA swimming Page S/L 1 Turn clocks ahead at 2 a.m. Sunday BMO celebrates reopening with a donation Page 10 Big Brothers/ Big Sisters bowl with mayor Page 5 Editorial 6 Mike Chong 7 Ted Brown 9 Calendar 17, 20 Classifieds 23-26 Sports S/L 1-3, 5 INSIDE Check out our new Question of the Week feature at www.indepen- dentfreepress.com and cast your vote. WEB POLL Halton Region needs a whopping $2.5 billion to cover its growth-related infrastructure projects between now and 2021, and more than half of that is required within the next four years. Now, Halton staff is working on options to finance the necessary water, sewer and roads pro- jects without putting a burden on local taxpayers. Staff presented the staggering figures to a large crowd of local and regional councillors at a growth financing information session recently. Halton CAO Pat Moyle told those in atten- dance that while the Province has identified where development will happen through its Places to Grow plan, there hasnt been any meaningful discussion about how to pay for the infrastructure needed to support the population boom. The Province has got to get back into the municipal infrastructure game, he emphasized. Getting the Province on board is a critical part of the growth financing solution, said Halton Commissioner of Corporate Services and Treas- urer Jane MacCaskill. What we need from the Province is to take away the uncertainty around cash flow, she said. She explained if the Region issues debt for a project and its cash flow to pay the debt back is tied to the pace of development (through development charges), the municipality needs somebody like the Province to pick up the difference if that development doesnt happen. While $2.5 billion is needed over the next 14 years for infrastructure costs, $1.3 billion of that has to be found within the next four years. About $600 million of the latter amount can be covered through the Regions usual financing techniques, said MacCaskill. That means the Region still has to figure out how it will cover the remaining $767 million. We dont know the answer yet, said the trea- surer. Were working on it. The municipality is in the process of updating its development charges and is proposing to raise them by thousands of dollars. Even though the charges would ultimately generate enough money to cover the $767 mil- lion, it wouldnt be in a timely enough fashion, said MacCaskill. Now, the Region is evaluating all of its options, such as phasing the needed infrastruc- ture, getting builders to pay more of their devel- opment charges up front, securing funds from the Province, using GTA pooling savings and issuing debt. A financial implementation report is sched- uled for completion in October. REFINANCING? PURCHASING? BOB WOODS Mortgage Specialist (905) 877-1490 *Rate subject to change 360 Guelph St., Georgetown 5.35% 5YR FIXED RATE GEORGETOWN VOTED #1 FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE 2008 KIA SEDONA FINANCE1.9% CALL THE GEORGETOWN HEADQUARTERS 1-866-364-0697 or 905-877-7818 Up to 60 mos For breaking news go to: www.independentfreepress.com Halton Hills award-winning newspaper $2.5 billion! Thats what Halton Region says it requires to pay for growth-related projects MELANIE HENNESSEY Special to The IFP CN Rail officials stand beside one of the 20 freight cars that derailed on the CN rail line near 10th Line early Wednes- day morning creating havoc with Via and GO Transit commuters. Off- icials worked throughout the day and night Wed- nesday to reopen the line to train traffic early yes- terday (Thursday). No one was injured in the derailment which was caused when a coupler, which links cars together, fell off. See story, photo page 3. Photo courtesy Halton Hills Fire Protection and Prevention Services PAT MOYLE Back on track