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Knechtafs For Meat That Don More Than Compote The Hills HERALD Florists MOTHERS DAY IN THE UK is MARCH 1091 ST GEORGETOWN CENTRE 8776901 14500 DISTRIBUTION 32 PAGES FRIDAY MARCH 1991 Home Newspaper of Halton Hills Established 1 866 IN STORES Region tax rate set for 1991 The average Halton household will pay just over more in Regional taxes this year over representing an average 74 per cent increase to the 1991 tax rate Regional Council Wednesday approved a 631 combined average tax rate for households in Halton The average household Is bas ed on the average assessment of Haltons four municipalities Hills assessment is estimated at slightly lower than that of Burlington and Milton That means Town residents Regional tax rate jumps 7 7 per cent from last year to 264 14 in Regional Chairman Peter said during a press conference preceding coun cils vote on the budget the in crease could have been smaller but to do so would have meant significantly jeopardizing the ex I leve service now ed by government To- Seep average combined tax rate under per cent which is almost four per cent less than that of marginal areas of service had to be reduced I think the level in key areas is at the same level as in the past said the chairman The combined Regional tax rate is comprised of the tax rate for Regional services and that for water and sewage The Regions budget commit tee showed great restraint to keep the increase as low as it did since a lot of the Regions ex penses are beyond its control said the chairman Provincial legislation require the Region to budget for an array of expenditures Chairman Pomeroy pointed to the federal governments decision to raise Unemployment Insurance Premiums saying the increase will cost the Region this Joe year and up to 400000 in 1992 Meanwhile the Region tightened its belt this year through such measures as im a rigid hiring system to limit the number of replaced job vacancies to a bare necessity he said To further prove the Region was limited in its ability to reduce expenditures he provided the following example consider uig only tax money for Regional services each household on average will pay more over last year Except for 226 that in crease goes toward Halton Regional police budget and General Welfare Payments two expenditures Halton has no con trolover said the chairman Asked if Council will be able to keep the 1992 budget increase as low as that of this year Chair man Pomeroy said it wiH depend on the economy An improved economy said Chairman will mean less General Welfare payments He predicted however people shouldnt be op timistic Treasurer Joe is predicting an equally difficult tax year in 1992 or even worse said the chairman Hospital shuts down waste incinerator Georgetown and District Memorial Hospital announced Wednesday it has closed its in and will not be con ducting any further burning The existing incinerator will be demolished and the space made available will be used for storage of waste awaiting haulage andor recycling John Oliver executive director at the hospital reported that the hospital conducted an engineer ing study of the At the February meeting of the hospital s board of directors the decision was made to shut down the incinerator in the interests of protecting the environment and alleviating concerns raised by neighbors The hospital will be expending capital funds to demolish the in cuierator to improve the storage for waste and to acquire a shredder to ensure that con fidential patient and staff documents are not released from the hospital Georgetown and District Memorial Hospital is a 112bed primary acute care and long term care facility As a preliminary health care pro vider the hospital is committed to health Care needs for Halton Hills and developing programs in cooperation with other health agencies Established in Georgetown Hospital celebrates its 30th anniversary this year New commissioner named Region has a new Public Works Commissioner Regional Chairman Peter Pomeroy announced Wednesday Art the current Public Works Commissioner of Durham Region will take over his new position from Acting Public Works Commis sioner Bruce Kitchen in late April Mr brings to the Region extensive experience in Regional Government and a strong set of qualifications experience and skills said chairman Pomeroy Mr holds both Bachelors and Masters Degrees In Engineer in addition to a Masters Degree in Business Administration Citizen of the Year Mrs Siena Van was the guest of honor last Tuesday evening at the Georgetown Lions Club Hall as she was recognized as Georgetown Citizen of the Year by the Georgetown Lions Club which has sponsored the event since 1972 The Lions Club Hall was filled to overflowing In tribute to Mrs Van who received accolades from North Halton Noel Duigndn on behalf of Ontario Premier Bob Rae Halton Region Chairman Peter Pomeroy and Town of Hills Mayor Russ Miller In the picture above Lions Club member Man Mitera who acted as Master of Ceremonies for the evening presents Mrs Van Hoekelen with the Citizen of the Year plaque For more on the Citizen of the Year din ner please see page 8 Herald photo by Colin Gib son Town road reconstruction raising residents ire By BEN The Herald Hills Engineering staff Tuesday was unable to convince some Georgetown residents that a proposal to reconstruct Mam from Maple Avenue to 10 is the environmentally safest way to accommodate future growth in Georgetown South However staff has been able to bring a majority Town councillors on side Town General Committee which is comprised of coun cillors recommended the en dorsement of a reconstruction plan that would ultimately result In Mam Street being upgraded to a twolane road metres wide from Maple Avenue to Sideroad At this juncture the road will eventually be rebuilt to a four lane roadway extending to Sideroad The proposed four lane strip would only happen when Georgetown South reaches its residential development capacity and more than 50 per cent of its industrial development capacity according to the staff report presented to committee Town engineer Bob Austin predicted this growth wouldnt happen until after the year 2000 Asked by Councillor Pat Mc Carthy a critic of the reconstruc tion proposal why the Town should consider a four lane highway that wont be required for a long tune Mr Austin replied it prudent planning General Committee s recom mendatlon will go before Council for final approval this Monday Residents attending Tuesdays Committee meeting either outright rejected the proposal or questioned the process Town staff has used to arrive at the chosen reconstruction plan One Main Street South Eighth Line resident told committee en dorsement of the reconstruction design would be one more step in the destruction of Georgetowns small town atmosphere the primary reason people move to the community in the first place The gentleman predicted the Eighth Line would be transform into a death trap if con struction went ahead Its virtual ly impossible to enter onto the road from his driveway now because traffic is travelling too quickly the man said He also feared increased truck traffic resulting from the new road would present a danger to local residents currently using the roadway Town Engineer Peter Linn said the road construction would prove traffic safety the wake of an unavoidable increase in traffic as Georgetown South grows Mr Linn found support from Acton Coun Norm Elliott who said he travels along the Eighth Line and the traffic problems ex now will only get worse with time He lamented those people in the audience who claim the studies done so far on the road reconstruction project are just a waste of taxpayers money The community expects the Town to plan for the future but then turns around and accuses the municipality of losing money when it does take action said the councillor He said its a waste of money when the Town spends money to plan for future growth and then is asked to disgregard the work that is done Georgetown resident Marilyn King complained the Towns ap proach to coming up with a plan to reconstruct the road is incor According to Mr Linn the Town is following the guidelines as set down by the province That means it decided on a preferred road construction design that minimizes any environmental social and economic impact Once council endorses the prefer red design a report is written in corporating the technical data Continued on Page An Inside Look But n P3 PtaoJas Hum P11 CmclBitifs PS PS Maw PIS TnraGarifMf pb EstntaiMiis PIS n Spalls P1922 P2330 no Tart Pap