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www.independentfreepress.com Michael Chong ...... 7 Calendar ..........8, 10 Sports .................... 11 Directory ............... 13 Classifieds ... 14, 15 50 Cents (+ GST) Circulation: 22,800 TOYS FOR TOTS Halton Police and Canadian Tire team up for annual fundraiser PAGE 5 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Georgetown and Acton Light up the Hills 8-PAGE SECTION 40 Pages Halton Hills' award-winning newspaper THE INDEPENDENT & FREE PRESS TUESDAY, December 7, 2010 Expect hike in town fees for 2011 By CYNTHIA GAMBLE Staff Writer Season's gr(eat)ings When seven-year-old Kayla Patey heard she was going to have breakfast with Santa, she didn't think it would be the big guy himself feeding her pancakes. Kayla and dozen of other kids enjoyed pancakes with Santa at the Georgetown Girl Guides fundraiser held at Knox Presbyterian Church in Georgetown Saturday. Photo by Jon Borgstrom Town user fees, licensing fees and service charges will likely go up again, starting January 1, 2011. Town staff gave notice of a pending report for the Dec. 16 council meeting outlining the changes. Residents can get a preview by going to www.haltonhills.ca/calendars/2010/CS-2010-0094.pdf Generally, fees in the Clerk's and Revenue and Taxation departments are going up the recommended 3 per cent indexing, but some have increased by more to recover the costs of providing the service. They are: · replacement dog tag ($4.72 to $5) · commissioning non-Town related documents ($15 to $20) · marriage licences ($120 to $135) · out-of-town death registration ($20 to $25) · detailed or summary statement of taxes ($20 to $25) · mortgage company requests (with and without roll numbers) A new $25 fee for after hours burial permit will also be introduced to cover staff time costs during weekend or holiday closures. The majority of this cost is mileage and overtime. Recreational skating and swimming fees admission fees will remain at 2010 levels to keep them affordable, and the rest of the fees have generally been kept at the recommended 3 per cent indexing. However there are some exceptions: sports field rentals with lights will go up 5% to absorb the hydro costs. See TOWN, pg. 4 Vi s i t o u r s h o w r o o m · your window & door professionals · 341 Guelph St., Unit 3 Georgetown 905.873.0236 www.buy-wise.ca info@buy-wise.ca · awarded readers choice 14 times · 33 MOUNTAINVIEW RD. N., GEORGETOWN 905-877-6944 Quality & Service You Can Count On! 332 Guelph Street, Georgetown (Across from Canadian Tire) 905-702-0885 www.bathstudio .ca