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THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2004 Tawa jumps starts 401 corridor development Trinity United Church ) Silent Auction & Penny Table with Potlock Dessert Saturday February 7th at 7:00 p.m. Items may be dropped off at the church: Thursday and Friday 1L0am-4pm; Or Saturday 10am-12noon CALL 853-2090 FOR MORE INFORMATION At Prosperity ONE we can help eee mettle =y 4 SOAR » Www.prosperityone.ca Prosperity: wlll! Loans at Petes for GiCs, 'Premium --- Escalator Term Deposits, RRSPs & Mutual Funds By FRANCES NIBLOCK The New Tanner Town Council will spend $1.5-million to fast-track de- velopment of a portion of the 401-Steeles Avenue industrial corridor in Halton Hills on Steeles Avenue, east of the Fifth Line. That money, combined with $1-million in pre-paid develop- ment charges from Mold-Masters, and Halton's agreement to use area develop- ment fees to extend the services, will kick start much needed in- dustrial development in Halton Hills, according to Mayor Rick Bonnette. Before unanimous approval of the financing plan last Mon- er is subject to change witheut notice. Certain conditions may apply. Deadline is March Yat, 2004. OAC "Take 10" RRSP Loans a Take 10 years to repay = Affordable payments a Top up your "carry forward" contributions 519.853.0911 Georgetown 905-877.6926 905.878.4168 day at Council, Bonnette said he was "delighted" to see the report come forward, adding the approval to upfront $1.5-mil- lion of the $2.2-million cost to extend the watermain, will probably be the biggest decision made by Council during this term of office. While Halton is commit- ted to bringing water and wastewater services along Steeles Avenue easterly to the Fifth Line this year, this agreement will allow Mold- masters to develop, with municipal water but not sew- ers, its property further east towards Trafalgar Road for a new corporate headquar- ters and production plant as much as six years sooner Ask about Acton Milton than anticipated. "This is a real opportunity, Bonnette said, pointing out that the Town faces a 10 per cent tax increase because it does not have a strong indus- trial/commercial tax base, which corridor development will provide. Ward two Councillor Joan Robson agreed the ensuing industrial development would helped the Town's under- nourished tax coffers. Regional and local Coun- " cillor Jane Fogal said the gap in the industrial/residential tax ratio would shift in fa- vour of homeowners as the water pipe stretches to Tra- falgar Road, and thanked the Region and Mold-Masters for their contributions. "For us, it's a strategic in- vestment," Fogal said, acknowledging that the $1.5-million would affect the Town's already tight capital program, but "we have to keep moving." Region recommends .6% tax increase Halton Regional Council approved the 2004 Operating and Capital Budget, recom- mending a 1.6 per cent property tax increase, and an increase of 9.1 per cent for water and sewer utility rates. Regional Council will con- sider the Police Services budget, which is also funded through property taxes, at an upcoming meeting. If the pre- liminary Police Services budget is approved, the prop- erty tax increase will total 4.0 per cent for all Regional pro- grams and services. The Region accounts for ap- proximately 41 per cent of a Halton homeowner's property tax bill (of which approxi- mately 29 per cent is for | Regional services and 11 per cent for Police Services). The other portions are education (approximately 29 per cent) and the city or town (approximately 31 per cent) based on the 2003 property tax bills. For a homeowner with a property assessed at $250,000, the property tax in- crease related to Regional programs and services will be approximately $13.50 for the average homeowner. An ad- ditional amount will be required for Police Services. The impact of the combined water and sewer bill will be approximately $46.62 per year for a typical household. Highlights of the 2004 Budget include: '$3.5 million to the Regional Roads Program for additional funding for the Road's Capi- tal Program, including major requirements for Regional Road 5 and Regional Road 25; '$3.9 million to the Expansion of the Regional Road Net- work to include all major arterial roads in the Region, as the result of a roads rationali- zation process undertaken with the Area Municipalities. All roads, other than major ar- terial roads, were transferred to the Area Municipalities; '$5.6 million to the Ontario Municipal Employees Retire- ment System (OMERS) for the reintroduction of full OMERS contributions for the tax, rate and Police; '$2.5 million to Waste Manage- ment for the introduction of new services for the commu- nity, mainly focused on waste reduction and recycling ; -$741,300 to two new long-term _Care Facilities. In 2004, Creek Way Village in Burlington and Post Inn Village in Oakville will open for operation; '$1.2 million to Enhanced Public Health Demand, as the Health Department is experiencing sig- nificant pressures with respect to Public Health infrastructure, in- cluding communicable disease, environmental health and risk management. "Regional staff have done an exceptional job in prepar- ing the 2004 Budget", says Brent Marshall, Halton's Chief Administrative Officer. "Tam pleased to say that we have created a budget that we believe is fiscally responsible, and will provide Halton resi- dents with excellent value for their tax dollars." Halton is home to more than 375,220 residents, all of whom use Regional services. The Region is also responsi- ble for the management and delivery of water and sewer services. These rates are sepa- rate from property tax bills, appearing on the bills pro- vided by the local hydro utility providers. Pe ee ee ee ee eee | FISHERMAN' Ss ' LANDING Rockwood ! Phone: 856-4950 "The BEST Fish & Chips" in Rockwood and all surrounding areas. Phone-in orders accepted HOURS: Wed, Thurs. & Sat. 11:00 - 7:30 Fri. 11:00 - 8:30 Eat-in or Take-out