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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2018 11THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 201810 Around Town Around Town ROCKWOODTh e Miller By: Vivien Fleisher Praising staff for their diligent work on this year's budget, Guelph/Er- amosa Mayor Chris White was pleased with the mod- est 1.94 per cent increase, a raise of $123,812. Over- all revenues were down, but so were overall ex- penditures. In a special presentation to council on January 10, finance director Linda Cheyne explained the percentage is even lower when the increase in new construc- tion and new industrial assessments is taken into account--which takes pressure off the residen- tial taxpayer--at 1.82 per cent. The average assess- ment for a home in GET is up to $494,000, which Cheyne says works out to a $4.83/$100,000 assess- ment increase, or roughly $24.00 per home. Last year's increase was equal- ly modest at 1.90 per cent. Wi t h 2 . 2 p e r c e n t growth, a variety of fac- tors explained the rise. Insurance was up due to "cyber liability" costs; market value changes have had an impact on pre- miums; a few Provincial initiatives like free pre- scriptions for those under 25 and the minimum wage increase have driven up some costs. But the good news was the increase in the Ontario Commun- ity Infrastructure Fund to $291,000 from last year's $205,000. Cheyne said by 2019 they'll see $450,000 in funds. Gas tax funds increased by $17,000 to $394,000. Fire Department high- lights included three expenditures: pricey new bunker gear, a compressor replacement, and a Fire Masterplan that the depart- ment hopes to implement this year. New require- ments for certification mean more seminars and training, adding $5000 to the tab. Full dispatch out of Guelph increased costs, but quality documentation is critical when dealing with potential litigation. Of interest, the arson spree did not inflate costs great- ly, and salary and wages have decreased. The total proposed budget for fire came out to $111,000. Public works proposed a $2.67 million transpor- tation budget, and while items like road resurfacing are subject to the fluctua- tions of commodity pricing on asphalt, the switch to LED lighting last year was the feel-good item in that department. Mayor White said he heard "nothing but positive feedback", mak- ing it the gift that keeps on giving through reduced hydro costs. Line items in this budget included dust suppression--$47,000-- and fleet licensing and repair--$170,000--but another bright spot was the elimination of telephones. VOIP is used now for a cost reduction. The water and wastew- ater budget came in at just over $2 million, largely due to a new pumping sta- tion coming online soon. The proposed budget for parks and rec came out to $1.35 million; that figure was largely absorbed by the continued implemen- tation of the Rockmosa Masterplan at $1.1 mil- lion, with the rest a grab bag of roof replacements and equipment acquisi- tions, etc. A standalone public meeting is sched- uled for January 29, to be followed by implementa- tion February 5 pending objections. GET proposes modest budget increase with Vivien Fleisher On Christmas Day, a car with a toddler inside was stolen from a gas station in Fergus when the child's mother left the car unlocked and running while she paid inside. The child was returned safely and an arrest was made, but do you believe the parent should also be held accountable? Ed Pollock: "Yes. You shouldn't leave a child in the car whether the car is running or not. You should just take the child into the store with you." Stephany Wade: "Oh yeah, they should be." Laerke S. Donson: "Yes. Well, I can only tell you I would never ever dream of leaving my child alone, especially in the car; that is the worst." Suzy Armstrong: "Yes. Why would you leave your kid in the car? Even if nobody took the car, it's a terrible thing to do." Halton Hills residents have eclectic tastes when it comes to their reading and movie interests. Today, the Library re- leased its top 10 titles in adult fiction/non-fiction, children's fiction, and the top DVD rentals for 2017. The lists demonstrate the wide range of interests among the people of Hal- ton Hills when it comes to spending their leisure time with a great read or movie. Billed as a must-read summer thriller in the vein of Agatha Christie, Ruth Ware's "The Woman In Cabin 10" took the top spot as most requested title of the year. Scrappy actress Anna Kendrick's collection of hilarious autobiograph- ical essays took the third most-read spot in adult non-fiction with "Scrappy Little Nobody". As far as kids are con- cerned, Jeff Kinney's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series is still a hands- down winner. His books took seven of the top spots for children's fiction. A m o n g t h e m o s t checked-out DVDs were the Hollywood dream musical "La La Land", Hugh Jackman's final Wolver ine out ing in "Logan", and "Hidden Figures"--a story of the first black female engin- eers who were the unsung heroes of the space age. "It's always exciting and very revealing to find out which titles were most popular each year," noted Chief Librarian Geoff Cannon. "Our community certainly enjoys myster- ies and thrillers; books with TV connections, and books about kids who are wimpy, dorky or wizards." Top 10 adult fiction 1. Woman in Cabin 10, by Ruth Ware (2016) 2. Couple Next Door, by Shari Lapena (2016) 3. Whistler, by John Gr- isham (2016) 4. Night School, by Lee Child (2016) 5. Small Great Things, b y J o d i P i c o u l t (2016) 6. Come Sundown, by Nora Roberts (2017) 7. Cross the Line, by J a m e s P a t t e r s o n (2016) 8. Never, Never, by James Patterson and Candice Fox (2016) 9. My Not So Perfect Life, by Sophie Kin- sella (2017) 10. (A tie) Heartbreak Hotel, by Jonathan Kellerman (2017), and The Girl Before, by J.P. Delaney (2017) Top 10 adult non-fiction 1. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, by Trevor Noah (2016) 2. The Zookeepe r 's Wife: a War Story, by Diane Ackerman (2007)* 3. Scrappy Little No- b o d y , b y A n n a Kendrick (2016) 4. When Breath Be- comes Air, by Paul Kalanithi (2016) 5. Finding Gobi: A Lit- tle Dog With a Very Big Heart, by Dion Leonard (2017) 6. Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Gi r l s to Gi lmore Girls and Everything In Between, by Lau- ren Graham (2016) 7. Milk and Honey, by Rupi Kaut (2015) 8. R e a l F o o d , R e a l Good: Eat Well with O v e r 1 0 0 o f M y Simple, Wholesome Recipes, by Michael Smith (2016) 9. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, by J.D. Vance (2016) 10. The Stranger in the Woods: The Extra- ordinary Story of the Last True Hermit, by Michael Finkel (2017) Top 10 children's fiction 1. Double Down (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), by Jeff Kinney (2016) 2. Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), by Jeff Kinney (2011) 3. Tales From a Not- so-Friendly Frenemy (Dork Diaries), by Rachel Renee Rus- sell (2016) 4. Old School (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), by Jeff Kinney (2015) 5. Dog Days (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), by Jeff Kinney (2009) 6. Hard Luck (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), by Jeff Kinney (2013) 7. T h e L a s t S t r a w (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), by Jeff Kinney (2017) 8. Diary of a Wimpy Kid, by Jeff Kinney (2007) 9. Tales from a Not-So- Dorky Drama Queen (Dork Diaries), by Rachel Renee Rus- sell (2015) 10. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, by J .K . Rowl ing (1997) Library's top 10 lists of 2017 reveal Town's enthusiasm for great reads WORD IN THE VILLAGE