WWW.PIANOS.CA PIANO HOUSE BURLINGTON 5205 Harvester Rd., Unit 2, Burlington 1-888-PIANO-81 Store Hours: Monday Friday 10am-6pm, Saturday 10am- 5pm 10 Year Warranty, Free Local Delivery, Free Bench, Free First Tuning Used Pianos starting at $995. Adagio digital pianos starting at $595. Your authorized Young Chang dealer RENOVATION SALE SAVINGS ON SELECTED PIANOS PHOTO CANVAS on Any custom size, most pick-ups within one day Turn your Photo into a Holiday Gi Happy Holiday Discount 20% until Dec. 27 88 Lakeshore Rd.W. SouthEast corner at Kerr st. 905 338 1788, www.artprinting.ca Mon-Sat 10am-6:30pm Small Square Canvas Printing Special* x 8 $20.00 10 x 10 $25.00 12 x 12 $30.00 *with 9/16 height bars 13 Thursday , D ecem ber 16, 2010 O A KVILLE BEA V ER w w w .o akvillebeaver .co m is increased revenue in finance. One of the budget recommendations in 2010 was the introduction of ownership change fees, this has resulted in more revenue than we antici- pated and that is contributing to the surplus as well. The projected surplus would likely be high- er if not for the Towns successful legal battle over TransCanadas proposed 900-megawatt natural gas-fueled power plant on Royal Windsor Drive. This costly battle contributed to the Legal Services program coming in more than $1.2 million over budget. In February, staff estimated costs associat- ed with ongoing efforts in relation to power generation facilities and health protection air quality initiatives to be approximately $1 mil- lion with the costs split between litigation and subject matter experts, said Sully in the report. Currently, it is estimated that the corpo- rate litigation portion of the costs will be $1.25 million over budget. Fortunately, this was offset somewhat by last winters mild weather, which contributed towards projected surpluses in three depart- ments. The Roads and Works program should come in $1.2 million under budget mostly because of last years mild winter, which accounted for a savings of $1 million for win- ter control. Town staff saved another $200,000 by conducting certain pavement maintenance activities itself rather than contracting the jobs out. The Facilities and Construction Management program should be $75,000 under budget due to savings on contracted services for snow removal and contracted repairs and maintenance services. The Parks and Open Space program is on target to be $100,000 under budget because of savings in winter control, horticultural activi- ties and some unexpected additional grant funding. The Regulatory Services program shows a surplus of $80,000 thanks to higher than anticipated licence revenue due to the sale of an additional taxi brokerage and increased licencing fees. The Towns Financial Services program is on target for an $80,000 surplus due to the new ownership change fee. The Information Systems and Solutions program should be $120,000 under budget due to a vacant project manager position, and the Regulatory Services program is looking at being $80,000 under budget. The Service Oakville program should be $50,000 under budget because of savings in temporary staffing. The Infrastructure Planning and Improvements program is slated to be $80,000 under budget primarily due to sav- ings in personnel costs and higher than antic- ipated permit revenues. The Building, Planning and Development Engineering Services should enjoy a $2.3 mil- lion surplus because of higher than expected revenues in building permits, inspection fees, zoning fees and subdivision agreements. The Corporate Revenue and Expenses should also enjoy a $2 million surplus largely due to higher than expected supplementary tax revenue. Extra revenue from penalties and interest on unpaid taxes also contributed to the surplus. On the downside, Sully pointed out the Emergency Services program was $260,000 over budget mainly because of overtime pay. Overtime pay was also singled out as the reason behind the Recreation Services pro- gram being $280,000 over budget. Sully also said reduced revenue was a problem for the Recreation Services program this year. Weve seen a decline in ice rental rev- enues from the school boards, she said. The school boards are not using our ice as much as they used to and year over year thats gone down quite a bit and its now impacting our budget. Oakvilles Culture program came in $5,000 over budget because of decreased sponsorship revenue from the Oakville Centre while the Parking program was $100,000 over budget because the Ministry of the Attorney General did not approve pro- posed parking fee increases. Oakville Transit is also expected to be over budget by $245,000 because of a revenue shortfall. Sully said while ridership is up, people are switching to passes and tickets, which provide less revenue to the Town than a cash fare does. The report was received by the committee and will be presented to the entire council on Monday. Fight against power plant more costly than anticipated Continued from page 1 Currently, it is estimated that the corporate litigation portion of the costs will be $1.25 million over budget . Nancy Sully, Town of Oakville, deputy treasurer and director of financial planning