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NitnnnnnnnnninninnniiiiiEEENNNNNNIINIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNINTNENNNNNNTINENNNNINNNTNNRmmICARENNmIERNNNbNNErNN: What confuses us, however, is that MVA means different things to different people. Constitutionally speaking â€" individuals (such as property owners) rate higher than groups (such as councils) â€" but their real interests have not been served in recent years. Councils have allowed property assessments to stay relatively dormant, but have taken whatever funds they wanted by simply inflating the mill rate, which in Oakville, has risen 79% in the period 1984â€"92; whereas the Consumer Price Index (CPI) â€" of which real property values are a part â€" has only risen somewhat more than 40% in the same period. Thus, the mill rate has taken over the "drive" and councils have taken advantage of its associated power. The fundamental problem is that the mill rate is a group parameter, whereas it ought to be a conâ€" stant, although councils have always regarded it as a "variable constant". On the other hand, property values are timeâ€"Variables and spread over a wide range. The larger the group, the wider the possible range. This means that in a typical large group of householders, in a typical town such as Oakville, when their taxes are calculated, owners in the midâ€" Dear Sir: The letters by John Lloyd and Allen Jones (Nov. 28th) are indicative of the devastating effect of the improper use of Market Value Assessment (MVA). Multiply their letters by 10,000 and you will have an idea of what this could mean to the people of Oakville. CHoRCOCZ Ob TJCOACCO T0 Seuealny _ OLâ€"OU I GON T think it ever is, the message and we could then We must do something to obsessed with demonstrating I would think that the inâ€" all enjoy the dance, or concert, bring music back to the people! how LOUD his wonderful equipâ€" charge person would be anxious â€" or shopping mall, or store, or G.W. Bowes Man» C 1 ‘ That is, let‘s get things arranged so that the listener conâ€" trols the loudness of music in halls, theatres, stores and all public places. Especially at dances, the owner of the monâ€" strous technically proficient amplifying systems is usually obsessed with demonstrating how LOUD his wonderful equipâ€" The October/November edition of Ontario Home Builder magazine reported how the cities of Toronto, Etobicoke and Barrie are dealing with development charges and clearly "...abandoned the recomâ€" Music pollution in public places needs controls Dear Sir: Let‘s start a movement to bring music back to the people. Dear Sir: It appears that some municipaliâ€" ties are turning a creative comner to encourage development within their jurisdictions. Creativity helps in encouraging development When the spend, spend, spend 1980s came to a screaming end, there were simply too many clothing and jewelry outlets to serve a consumer who became ‘shopped out‘ and in debt. Consumers long ago started cutting down on debt and that fate has now befallen the retailers in an economic war that takes no prisonâ€" Both chains follow several other major retailers who have had either sought similar protection from creditors or resorted to bankruptcy. Aside from the obviâ€" ous financial problems in a recession where discretionary purchases, like jewelry, have suffered, there were simply too many jewelry stores in a very limited market. It was just two weeks ago that Peoples Jewellers Ltd. filed for similar protecâ€" tion to try and stave off bankruptcy. It will close dozens of its 268 stores in an attempt to cut costs and resume business on a smaller scale. F I The apparent collapse of the Henry Birks & Sons Ltd. jewelry firm is the latest casualty of the mushy economic situation we‘ve been facing for the past couple of years. But more than that, the decision of the venerable old firm to seeking bankruptâ€" cy protection Monday, comes just three years after Jonathan Birks spent $100â€" million to buy out his two brothers for complete control of the familyâ€"owned firm. That, combined with market forces, have brought the company to its knees. It intends to close its O.B. Allan and Ostrander subsidiaries and will close an undetermined number of its main Birks stores. Although the company has already locked the doors on some of its Birks operations, the fate of the Oakville store still isn‘t known. Like Reinsborough, we thought the Board would use its computer cenâ€" tres to upgrade skills of the unemployed or underâ€"employed, not to actively solicit new business from corporations who operate at a profit. No doubt many of the centres‘ corporate clients can‘t believe their good luck at saving money by using publiclyâ€"funded centres to train their staffs. We can hardly wait for the Board‘s response next week. According to Reinsborough, the Board has no mandate to solicit and train people on computers paid for by taxpayers, in premises paid for by taxpayers and instructed by people making seniorâ€"teacher salaries, also paid for with taxpayers‘ funds. On the face of it, she seems to have a good point. Reinsborough told trustees she doesn‘t mind competing for computer training contracts with other firms but she can‘t compete with the Board‘s training centres which are inâ€"effect being subsidized by taxpayer dollars. hen the Halton Board of Education decided to throw open its Wbudget process to the public, it had no idea what to expect. After Monday night‘s sometimesâ€"stormy meeting, trustees and board staff must be wondering what they got themselves into. By far the most interesting aspect of this first of two public input meetâ€" ings, was the presentation of Oakville businesswoman Arleen Reinsborough. The computer trainer complained to the Board that its comâ€" puter training centres, which she helped get up and running, were now in direct competition with the private sector. ?:\w;t*l\\ § & '3};2 167 Sy 8. Cl Public vs. private Another victim EDITORIAL even free of distortion? I haven‘t. I have seen people ask that the volume be turned down a bit â€" but I don‘t think it ever is. Have you ever witnessed the MC, or Band Leader or DJ ask his customers if the amplificaâ€" tion is too loud â€" for comfort or As examples, the report cites Toronto‘s recent suspension of their ment can play. But it is the same at most events where amplificaâ€" tion is used. The magazine report goes on to say that "...it is now apparent that local politicians believe that even the rates they have negotiated ... may be standing in the way of ecoâ€" nomic health." mendations of their consultants and decided to charge less than the Act would allow." How might we effectively change from the arbitrary mill rate drive to the independent market value drive? If we are able to do this efficiently, the whole process will go outside the power of the council (the MVA was never in), and the above inequities should be minimized or disappear. We could attempt to minimize these inequities by reducing the size of a group (going multigroup), so that each group would have its own and betterâ€" matched parameters. Pushing this process to its ultimate case would result in every property having its own individual mill rate, which would then â€" like vicinity and similar factors â€" disappear into the appropriate "constant‘‘. This situation is actually the ultimate endâ€"point in the MVA mode...possibly never achievable in real life. If all properties were "equal", then everybody wouldbetxeatedequallyastolax,inspiteofthe fact, that because of vicinity factors and for instance numbers of children undergoing educaâ€" tion, the values of services received by them in return could be vastly different. dle subgroup are fairly treated (if "average" is "fair"). Owners in the upper subgroup will do well out of it, but owners in the lower subgroup will be penalized â€" especially those with values low and going lower. The Ontario Fair Tax Commission is particularly interested in this subgroup as it usually includes the people who are least able to meet their property tax bills. Now the MVA will be the sole i-r;depcndent So let‘s start the L.A. Movement â€" Less Amplification movement. If each of us who find the loudness of any amplifiâ€" cation system offensive would always let the inâ€"charge person know â€" perhaps they would get the message and we could then all enjoy the dance, or concert, or shopping mall, or store, or to please his customers and theatre, or restaurant. ensure that they enjoy the show. The alternative might be to Alas, I am naive I guess. have the municipal authorities So let‘s start the Lâ€"Aâ€" post decibel maximums (based Movement â€" Less Amplification on medical and industrial experiâ€" mnavement If aumh af ma L2 cial) and also went so far as to refund $2 million in levy collecâ€" tions from the past year. In Barrie, the local Economic Development office is using the "...promise of zero development charges to attract investment." byâ€"laws; in Etobicoke counciliors decided against collecting levies ($4,378 on singleâ€"family houses and $1 per square foot on commerâ€" The Oakville Beaver welcomes your comments. All letters must be signed and include the writer‘s address and phone number. Letters should be typed, doubleâ€"spaced and addressed to: Letters to the Editor, The Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 Fifthly, all property values must be differenâ€" tially updated annually. In spite of Oakville‘s Council‘s contention that this is impossible and prohibitively expensive, it is not too difficult if it is achieved by a combination of real sale or resale values, estimated individual (See ‘Politicians‘ page 7) Fourthly, the actual tax in a given year must be based upon that year‘s "constant", multiplied by that year‘s MVA, multiplied by that year‘s mill rate (now a constant), and billed in that year‘s dollars. Years must not be "crossed". Thirdly, the mill rate must now be a constant and not vulnerable to manipulation by municiâ€" pal adventurers. Whereas a rising curve is hard to read, a deviation of a straight line from the horizontal is instantly visible. Secondly, (and pursuant to the previous), the product of assessment and mill rate immediately after the changeâ€"over must be equal to the same product before. This caveat is necessary in order to forestall exploitation, billionâ€"dollar holdups, and riotous assemblies. Firstly, it is better to make the change instantaâ€" neously (fastâ€"track). Then there is no question of how much of the annual tax differential, or how much of the customary annual inflation should be included. In both cases, the answer is "none". variable, and everything else will be in the conâ€" stant, but there are a number of practicalities involved: 845 vla irC D issified Advertising: 845â€"2809 ulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER 3824 H Fax: 845â€"3085 ence of harm to ones hearing), the same way as each hall or theâ€" atre has a posted maximum allowable number of people. Then the report reminds us of what Premier Bob Rae said, "Lot levies are simply a new method devised by the Liberals to duck responsibility for the provision of important services around the province ... it gets them off the hook and dumps the cost onto new home buyers." Is anyone in Oakville paying attention? T iltinissiinstwos msobniiee inainbdnieas d m Simon Dann Ian Oliver Publisher Robert Glasbey Advertising Dir Norman Alexander Editor Geoff HiH Circulation Director Teri Casas Office Manager Tim Coles Production Manager # »omitiitah I remember how surprised I was when my perception of Bill Clinton changed after he debated George Bush. I hope that there are a lot of Liberals out there who agree with me and will call Audrey Cairns, The Association President at 876â€"4539, to say so. One candidate tried to organize a debate but there was a lot of opposition from the other candidates and I don‘t know why. The riding association is supposed to be holding a "public event" in late January or early February. I hope that it will be a lot more than a media photo and social event. The idea of a public debate between the Liberal candidates sounded great to me. Then I could hear their answers to hard questions and judge for myself how open they are to the demands of this riding‘s people. I can‘t decide that from flyers, ads or articles. inges It looks like thousands of locals are determined to be rid of the Tory government. That can mean that the merit of the indiâ€" vidual candidates may play only a small role in outcome. Similarly, it seems, party nominations are most often won by the candidate whose team recruits the most new members. Individual merit is not always the reason. But no one, including me, has been given much of a chance to compare the four nomâ€" As I see it, the real election is underway right now. The Oakvilleâ€"Milton Liberals will soon elect their candidate from among four hopefuls. Whoever wins is likely going to be our next Member of Parliament and will help form a, badly needed, new government for Canada. This is to voice my appreciation for your coverage of the Federal Liberal nomination process and to comment personally on how I view what has been going on. Liberal candidate debate needed to clear the air 0 AD Dear Sir: Oil Supplies WEEKLY FOCUS LETTER OF THE DAY mmanmmnnn Era of oil M M 2000 Era of fossil fuels 3000 Ken Cyr y 1 Inuar k M py Mo 199