Pare 500000 off 9000000 The Acton Free Press Wed July 31 Halton chops away at budget I TOWN EMPLOYEE Sam Tennant is hard at work putting on the flat coat for the bandshell The effort will be well worth the result Halton Hills Works Committee ordered the facelift for the at the park gates hour budget panne Inst week helped Region Council trim J us I over off lis bud get All four standing com millets of council Finance and Administration Plan Public Works and Com Services sat down to review their individual bud gels at committee meetings Monday Tuesday find Wednesday Councillors had refused to approve the budget at the million figure at a meeting July 17 they approved mo tion calling for an board percent cutback then dumped the budget back into lie lap of a confused rcg treasurer Don Farmer Farmer his staff and the council had been working for months on the budget and had supposedly been Irlm mod as much as possible be fore Ihe 9 million Figure went to council that day Dollar here there But most of the councillor accepted the challenge to cut back by a further percent and for hours last week they pored over figures squeezing a dollar here and a project there delaying hiring of more staff here and finding a few dollars could be laved to 1975 Regional Chairman Allan Masson summed it up as an else in absolute fruslra lion But the chopping and some cuts Community Services Com tackled its challenge first and immediately agreed it could do nothing to cut the budgets of outside groups under lis wing like Children Aid Society and the Three proposals were for cutting back in he social ind family services section of the bull get but none were found One suggestion was 10 percent cut in staff salaries which dldn t find much favor The only saving the com saw was in Manor expenses where though administrator Stan Allen I had time to go over his budget with a fine comb he felt he could tut rants Grants to organizations could not be cut commit tec agreed all but two grants have alreidy been paid out On Tin committee reviewc phases and chopped a trafic study which it felt could be delated to 1975 The planning budget was totalled at SSI so Ihe cut was more than the requested Say region shafted over startup grants Continual from Pago and areas will see a decrease this year while He suggested those in former areas known bick lo Queen as Nassagaweyn and will see an In crease Hates range from a of seven mills in Milton to an increase of four mills in what was Molt In south This year Burlington pays cent of the reefoml levy or S3 Ml lOperccnt Finance and Committee sal down Wednesday morning lo re view the budgets under Its control and the meeting went into overtime before the com a m meeling ran until pit and overlapped a Works Committee meeting thai started at Members decided the ice budget although It is an outside group could be cut S3 60S to round it off at an 700 They tackled legal department and agreed to round it off at over objections from solicitor Bates that the department might run out of money by We take it Word was received the Works Committee that after noon was prepared lo cut short SCO of 10 percent of Us total and Mac Anderson Oakvllle said Well lake it Other budgets were reviewed and committee members decided to leave them intact That afternoon works committee spent hours trimming and culling and some projects were reduced or delayed to 1975 The ended up with cuts totalling 715 more than the Finance Committee had expected that morning They trimmed from the administration section and from road maintenance In addition to several thousand dollars worth of road projects fund Much discussion was held on Ihe start up grants which been finalized last week The lo keep a SI COUNCILLORS have been laboring over budget cutbacks for tlie past week After council ordered a sweeping percent cutback in each committee of council has been agonizing over the final Man in the middle has been treasurer Don Farmer ar row pictured here at a Finance and Administration Committee meeting with deputy clerk John Byrne left councillors George Harrington and Paul Preston foreground and Mac Anderson and Gordon Brown facing camera Some councillors felt the reserve money now fund may be hnn have to borrow and pay t high interest rates if the come through with the total region runs shorl of money startup fund requested by Inter in the while others felt it Many of the areas where would be less cosily lo set councillors wanted lo tall for Animal control called for wounded raccoon cutbacks were in Hie field of spending which made it awkward Treasurer cautioned Ihe com mlltecs hat in cases where per ten provincial grants are received culling a dollar from the budget meant culling In provincial grants lor total or S4 worth of services Council planned to finalize its budget Tuesday Park and asking the politicians to justify million handout Tike Halton had documented its requests Mayor Harry Barrett fell if the region gift I DANNY HILLIER has that concentrated look of a man trying to hammer In two by twos sue This is part of the new railing on the top M0 of the innm Chairman to boycott banks presentation Five major banks will asked to make a presentation confidential lo council Only banks with to Regional branches in arc on the Council s Finance and 1st Administration Committee in September in an effort towin the region bonking lakes 31 per cent while Milton fi57 share is per and Hills share is per cent of regional The provinces offer of million is start up grants received part way through Tuesday meeting upset the councillors Com Morrow Georgetown figured it was per cent of what asked for It Include for the Region to as sees fit for special sewer and water projects In Milton and Burlington in financial grunts to help make up interest due to borrowing earmarked as for Burlmglon 110 Tor Oak 25 for Milton and 000 in special start up rants to Milton and each to compensate for having lo merge several area lilies Not satisfied By comparison Halton wanted million Milton had asked for Hills sought Burlington asked I see no rcaspn why we approved but the vote was different In the ihe whole Mission than it was in the regular council session million reserve fund of the meeting In committee criticized some the vote was 3 for passing We shouldn be the budget in open council a people for the future recorded vote was called and Burlington Councillor Vcrn it was with Councillors told Ihc treasurer Vcm Connell of Burlington Coxe of Hills Anne of Milton Tom Sutherland of Burlington and Laurie of Oak Discussion dldn resolve the vilje in opposition controversy but passage of money province really should have provided children called the police las Wednesday when they discovered a raccoon on the porch of Gordon and Alleen house on Frederick Street The police colled Hills Animal Control Ihc children were warned to keep back In case the animal was rabid It was apparent that the raccoon had Injured its feet In some way The animal control officer thought that the raccoon had burnt possibly from some Industrial chemical The children who reported incident included Marie I aMnrsh Judy Pink Ron and Mark Murchlson frey Kevin and Scott Joel Pink Paul Burlington Tom Sutherland The province is a callous approach to the costs of starting up a regional government The million dollars was a nice round figure but it too cosy too neat He urged council to wait one week before setting its budget but failed We have been shafted we been set up tike sitting ducks chimed Councillor Mac Anderson He said it was starting to sound like something from Alice in Wonderland Treasurer gone Most councillors were in t of sending a delegation hack to Park to argue for more grants Problem is Ontario Treasurer John White left Saturday for a month holiday in England and council tile treasury department to make a move without his say so The budge was finally Couneif quickly approved Michael Daw new motions relating to fund remains a budget one dictating that rcser in mow of shortfall on members of the grans any future council were on capital expenditures must be for Tuesday meeting approved by the finance It originally been committee and council and for morning no further staff will be hired but was postponed to Tuesday until the council approves because not enough members second motion vis a Friday directive to the staff and f Hills members department heads thai no wcre bul Milton overspending of budgets will Councillors Jim Watson and be and infractions werenbsent of the rule will be dcilt with as wcre j rjave severely Coons and Pol McLaughlin of Burlington Cord Brown and Burlington Mayor George Arch of Harrington mover of both Treasurer Don Farmer motions suggested 1974 missed it too on should be a year of holidays austerity for The final budget was The regions 1 million below the estimates reserve fund was also council had refused to pass at fealured in Tuesdays budget a meeting two weeks ago At discussions There was talk of that time members called for using money from Ihis a 10 per cent across count to cover the shortfall on cut but at four committee startup costs but several meetings week a saving objected lo taxing Halton or just six per cent was taxpayers this year for tained 19 MILL ST E ACTON But committee chairman Councillor Ric Morrow of Georgetown won I be there- he plans to boycott the meetings I have no wish enter Into personalities I utterly opposed to this method Morrow told the last week I will base my decisions an their written reports and our treasurer recommendat ion Confidential Treasurer Don Farmer explained each bank will make a written presentation to the committee and follow it up with a persona Some plan to show slides or movies He stressed the meetings would be con fidential I wont sit in the chair or in Ihe room chairman Morrow said I II loin you chimed In MocAnderson an Oakville councillor Anderson later admitted a conflict of interest would likely keep him out of the room anyway a shareholder in The Unity Bonk which beer FREDA HOFFMAN Optometrist Guelph On I I Ttltpharw ion RASPBERRIES PICK TOUR OWN DELICIOUS FARM FRESH GET THE MOST FOR YOUR MONEY AND INSURE THE FINEST QUALITY BY PICKING YOUR OWN Farm located north of Milton- travel north on 25 to Side Road 17 and follow signs about 5 miles north of 401 OPEN WEEKENDS WEDNESDAYS STARTING JULY 13th Glenmar Farms RR 1 ACTON JAKES MIDSUMMER MATTRESS SALE includes Mattress Box Spring Headboard Legs Mattress only 3T includes Mattress Box Spring Headboard Legs Mattress only QUEEN SIZE PAIR Box Spnng Mattress HALTON HILLS FURNITURE and APPLIANCES ILVERS IN DOWNTOWN GEORGETOWN ANNUAL FASHION to 50 Reductions on all summer fashion apparel and footwear