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12 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER FITNESS AEROBICS SWIMMING â€"FOR FITNESS FOR HEALTH FOR YOU! Call 632â€"4800 " Q‘éfimuri, 8# RACOUET SDORTSCLUB 960 Cumberland Ave. Burlington OUR WISHES FOR A HEALTHY 1995 TENNIS SQUASH RACQOUET BALL WE ExAE ol ol o ol i Eus t oi o ie Eie ol ie Et ie o ie Eie i ie Ed ie ol ie o o Ee El hh El e Oe OEA OSR C BOXING WEEK NO G.S5.1 NO P.S.T December 29, 1 eleaas o wew w wo ie n ooo ce ho P g ion ok‘s $ 3 8 4 budget for police By ANGELA BLACKBURN Special to the Beaver Halton Regional Council has approved the $38.2â€"million police operating budget. For 1995, the amount is $87,200 higher than council guidelines. Debate focused not on the 1995 budget, but a call for police to bring next year‘s budget in on target â€" when police will face an added $1.5â€"million in staff benefits costs with the end of the Social Contract. A semantics game broke out when Burlington councillor Rob MacIsaac "massaged" his commitâ€" tee level recommendation from last week, that asked police work with the Region to "meet" council‘s 1996 budget guidelines, to ask the Region work with police to "conâ€" sider" council guidelines. Halton Police Chief Peter Campbell has warned the expiry of the Social Contract in April 1996 will mean officers will expect beneâ€" fits they‘ve been foregoing â€" overâ€" time, paid statutory holidays, uniâ€" form and equipment replacements, and raises â€" at a $1.5â€"million cost. "I don‘t believe the community is overpoliced," the chief told counâ€" WE PAY THE GST PST * ON DEC. 29, 30, 31 A [ ALL SHEEPSKIN KIDS COATS LEATHER WOOL MEN‘S LADIES MEN‘S LEATHER WOOL VARSITY JACKETS [ VARSITY JACKETS PLUS HUNDREDS OF OTHER ITEMS â€" ALL REDUCED o NiE | MUisovines LEATHER OAKVILLE NORTH YORK _ (416)661â€"7746 SCARBOROUGH (416)296â€"5031 BURLINGTON _ (905)632â€"9944 GUELPH (519)766â€"9805 LONDON (519)657â€"2403 TILLSONBURG (519)688â€"7780 5050 Dufferin (Just South Steeles) Burlington Mall (Inside Robinson‘s) Stone Road Mall (435 Stone Road) Tillsonburg Town Centre (200 Broadway St.) Scarborough Town Centre (300 Burough Dr.) Quality Selection Service and Value Guaranteed! (905)338'7738 166 South Service Road (Next to Trafalgar Village) Westmount Shopping Centre (785 Wonderland Rd.) cillors. Halton has 1.17 police 0 cers for every 1,000 people. 1995, that will drop to 1.15 offic or 17 below provinciallyâ€"authori levels. Police will keep eight those jobs vacant in 1995 to of! the $87,200 they‘re overâ€"budget. Burlington councillor and Hal Regional Police Services Bo chair Barry Quinn, said police h cooperated with the Region, and ing costs directly result from provincial guidelines and fund decreases. "By having such strong wordi I think we‘re sending the wr message," he said, adding Ontario‘s Police Services Act mately governs police and that effectively setting the police budg the Region would fly in the face the legislation. "I believe what we‘ll be doing setting the stage that will, in fd deter us working together," he s Last year, the Region narrow avoided court battles with bd police and Halton Regio Conservation Authority (HRCA) refusing to hand over total bud requests of both. The HRCA issues a levy to c lect funding from the Region, i police make a requisiti Mulkewich said the Region directly accountable to taxpayd "for policing which represents 0 half the Region‘s taxâ€"support budget. And he said other regio departments, if overâ€"budgeted, hal to prove their case to get mol money. "Some of the sensitivities bei expressed are almost childig There are rough times ahead for and the police board will have share the load and be part of Obviously, there‘s been some d cussion over the course of the wel because someone felt offended insulted," said Oakville council Kevin Flynn. Oakville Mayor Ann Muly said the message should go to t province, not police. But council Keith Bird of Oakvilleâ€"said, simple change of words has be used to open up the police servid budget and former wounds." I said police should be treated 1i other regional boards and agencid that the Region wasn‘t being hai nosed and was, in fact, approving higher than directed 1995 budget. When the dust cleared, coun approved the 1995 budget a asked police to "consider" 19 regional council budget guideline Halton budge will cost you extra $10.50 By ANGELA BLACKBURN Special to the Beaver After clearing the hurdles the previous regional council a newly elected council committel last week, Halton Region‘s $19 million operating budget for 19 was rubber stamped, when arrived at regional cound Wednesday. There was no debate of t budget which holds no prope tax increases but does hi water/wastewater user fees I 3.1% â€" adding $10.50 to t average household‘s tax bill. The water rate increase w raise $9.46â€"million to upgrad aging water infrastructure (st $1.43â€"million short of identifid 1995 needs); and pay for the bu of a fiveâ€"year, $4.6â€"millid watermain upgrade plan. That‘s to ensure adequa water supply for firefighting, pr| dominantly in Burlington whe firefighters couldn‘t access wat to battle a house fire earlier t year. The 1995 regional taxes property taxes and user ratd combined â€" will tally $741.46 f the average Halton residence $387.85 in property taxes a $535.61 water/wastewater usd rates. Regional property taxes ha actually dropped by $1.98 sind 1993, but so far, they‘ve droppel by only four cents for 1995 ovd last year. The regional budget meets noâ€"tax increase target set b council earlier this year; a targd preferred over regional staff‘s bil for a 1.5% hike to offset infla tion; a move that would hav added $2.34 on the tax bill. Water/wastewater user rat hikes will see taxpayers diggin deeper for an extra $5 a year t pay for water system infrastrud ture upgrades and another $5 year for fire protection. Â¥ +