The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

OVER 70% OFF R.A.M. Lighting 300 Bronte Street South Milton, Ontario (905) 878-0777 ext. 27 MILTONS LARGEST LIGHTING SALE EVER! w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER Th ur sd ay , Se pt em be r 3 0, 2 01 0 1 0 How should the Town finance the local share of the new Oakville Hospital? We can carry the costs of our donation in 2015 of up to $130 million with new non-tax income sources. We should spread payments over the period 2015-2045. Future resi- dents should pay their share of the safer, mod- ern hospital. We debt financed our contribution in 1948 to build the first hospital. We afforded it then. We can afford it again. Our other commitment is up to $40 million over 30 years from operating funds. From 2015 to 2045, Oakville will spend about $30 billion we can manage $1.3 million a year. For our donation, I got the old hospital and its 14 acres for the Town. Renting it to the Province to create a new Centre of Excellence for Seniors Care would create healthy new non-tax revenue and meet our need for long-term care beds. This income would be enough to carry the Towns donation of up to $130 million in 2015. We also will have new revenues from busi- nesses we are developing through our utility. Of the $105 million the Town realized from the sale of Blink Communications, $65 million is being invested in new projects to generate new rev- enues, part of my vision of more financial sus- tainability. Oakville needs this hospital, theres no ques- tion. We also need a solid plan to pay our share about $200 million. Town government admits (in its latest annual report) it has no such plan. Without one, unimaginative town government will simply resort to borrowing the money or raising property taxes. Neither of these options is acceptable to me. I certainly dont want to saddle Oakville taxpay- ers with $200 million in debt, paid off over many years. Nor do I want to increase our property taxes. I want once more to make growth pay for our hospital. Development charges fees charged by the Town and the Region to builders to pay for new infrastructure, are supposed to help us with vital improvements like our hospital. But the provincial government took away our power to do so. My plan is straightforward. We must take on the provincial government to give us back our power to use development charges to pay for our hospital. Theres a provincial election next year, giving us a perfect opportunity to pressure the Ontario government to make this change. I wont miss it. Then we must assign part of the development charges we collect to pay our $200 million commitment.John McLaughlin Ann Mulvale Oakville has been asked to fund a portion of the more than $500 mil- lion estimated local share of the new hospital and has agreed to donate up to $200 million dollars, beginning in 2015 towards that estimate. The Town's payment pro- posal is for $130 million payable in 2015, $40 mil- lion payable over the next 30 years, and $30 mil- lion in 2015, if necessary. This $200 million financial commitment should not be met by higher taxes or debt which could increase the final costs for Oakville. I propose funding Oakville's "donation" by: reducing the Town's spending by six per cent annually, over the next five years. That meas- ure could raise about $18 million per year or $95 million by 2015 (including earned interest). apply the $40 million dollar proceeds from the recent Blink sale (including earned interest until 2015), to the local share. Those two measures fund the initial $130 mil- lion needed by 2015 without debt or additional taxation. The $40 million payable over the next 30 years can be funded by a minor annual budg- et cut, or by revenue measures such as revenue from alternative energy projects like the recently approved development of photovoltaic installa- tions on Town properties by Oakville Hydro. Editors note: In the weeks leading to the Oct. 25 municipal election, The Oakville Beaver will be asking the mayoralty candidates a weekly question. If you have any sugges- tions for questions, please send them to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. Rob Burton Ann Mulvale John McLaughlin Politicians are reluc- tant to take their hands out of our pockets. Increasing taxes or introducing a new tax is their way to deal with their mismanagement of our limited tax dol- lars. The hospital's $200- million loan and town's existing massive debt will grow close to $1 bil- lion with interest in 30 years. Forcing the developers to pay our debt will not work as at the end we are the ones who end up paying. Town politicians will continue to add to the debt when candidates start to collect their campaign costs from the town. To pay off the town's debt and the $200 million for the hospital, I will look to the pri- vate sector and alternative sources to raise funds. Finally, I will utilize charitable lottery, on line gaming and organize concert and shows to make the town debt free like Mississauga or Richmond Hill. Raymond Ray Raymond Ray Rob Burton