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2 - Orono Weekly Times Subscriptions $38.09 + $1.91 GST = $40.00 per year. No Refunds. Publishing 48 issues annually at the office of publication. "We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Aid to Publishers - Canada Periodical Fund toward our mailing costs." Wednesday, September 29, 2010 ORONO WEEKLY TIMES - 5310 Main St., P.O. Box 209, Orono, ON L0B 1M0 E-mail: oronotimes@rogers.com or Phone/Fax: 905-983-5301 Publisher/Editor Margaret Zwart Production and Display Advertising - Roxanne Johnston Classified/Sports - Sue Weigand The Orono Weekly Times welcomes letters to the editor on subjects of interest to our readers. Opinions expressed to the editor and articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Orono Weekly times. Letters must be signed and contain the address and phone number of the writer. Any letter considered unsuitable will not be acknowledged or returned. We reserve the right to edit for length, libel and slander. If your retail or classified ad appears for the first time, please check carefully. Notice of an error must be given before the next issue goes to print. The Orono Weekly Times will not be responsible for the loss or damage of such items. Tax increases inevitable Who hasn't heard the old adage, "The only sure things in life are death and taxes"? That adage could very safely be amended in the 21st century to read: "The only sure things in life are death and tax increases." Candidates trying to defeat the incumbents in this fall's municipal election are convinced that taxes are too high, and claim they are going to do something about it once elected. Incumbents are equally convinced taxes are right where they should be, and that they have done a good job keeping municipal budgets in line. Keeping in mind when the current politicians were new candidates trying to unseat an incumbent they too used the "taxes are too high" line in their election campaigns. Clarington's director of finance, Nancy Taylor presented a five-year budget forecast to council last April. At that time, Taylor predicted a tax levy increase of 9.83 percent for 2011, 2.24 percent for 2012, 5.65 percent for 2013 and 1.78 percent for 2014. This follows the trend of councils passing the highest tax increase in the first term of a new council mandate, and passing the lowest tax increase in the last year. This current council reinforced the trend when they passed an 8.75 percent tax increase in 2007, the first year of their mandate and a 2.35 percent increase last year. The hope is, by the end of their term we will all have forgotten what happened four years ago. And as it happens, most people do tend to forget what the actual tax increases are from year to year, they just remember the dollar amount of their last tax payment. In fact we might all have forgotten the 8.75 percent tax increase of 2007, if Mayor Jim Abernethy had not tried to spin it into a positive in his election campaign material this year. Abernethy claims in one of his flyers that he reduced tax increases during his term of office from 8.75 percent to 2.35 percent. When he promised us change in his 2006 campaign, we weren't counting on being hit with the largest tax increase in Clarington's history during the first year of his term as Mayor. It would have been better to have held a steady line on tax increases, near the rate of inflation (around 2 percent) from year to year, rather than these wild spikes we are accustomed to seeing every four years. At the Mayor's debate, held in Courtice earlier this month, Councillor Adrian Foster, candidate for the Mayor's seat, said that the previous council got things done, unlike the current council, which he claimed was a wasted term. Remember it was the previous administration that brought us Total Hockey, the doomed hockey museum. The project, unanimously supported by the previous council led by former Mayor John Mutton, officially opened its doors to the public in November 2006, just prior to the last municipal election, and was closed permanently 18 months later, because it was grossly underperforming. The money borrowed for that project is rolled into the municipality's $32 million debt. It was that same council which ignored the consultant's report recommending that Newcastle needed a twin pad hockey arena, not an indoor aquatic facility. Council went ahead and built the aquatic facility, which is now underutilized and accounts for $16 million -- or, one half -- of our total municipal debt. Making matters worse, the previous administration banked on future development charges to fund the debt repayment of its recreation wave. This left the current administration in somewhat of a lurch, when in 2008, we were hit with economic downturn, and those development charge dollars, which were already spent to finance the recreation wave of Mutton's administration, did not materialize. Being a politician is not for the faint of heart, and there are no quick and easy fixes. No one is going to reduce taxes unless they are willing and able to completely shake up town hall, reduce the size of the bureaucracy, which accounts for 47 percent of Clarington's operating budget, and start contracting out some of the services currently performed by municipal staff. The other choice would be reduce services, and who, trying to get elected, and re-elected, would use a platform based on service reduction. If someone on the campaign trail is claiming they will reduce taxes and are not willing to explain exactly how they are going to achieve it, be very sceptical - it has never been done. Be weary of those claiming to be able to reduce taxes ­ it has never been done. As long as we are paying taxes, at least we're alive. Staying in Touch MPP John O'Toole ness has been asked their views on the tax. Last week in the Ontario Legislature Opposition Leader Tim Hudak called on Dalton McGuinty to cancel the tax. Much like Dalton McGuinty's new smart meters for electricity that do nothing to conserve energy or help the environment, his eco tax does nothing to divert waste from landfills. Instead, they are both simply additional tax burdens that Dalton McGuinty has placed on Ontario families to fuel his runaway spending. If Dalton McGuinty used the four weeks remaining on his 90day review to go out and do what he promised, he will hear that Ontario families can no longer afford his expensive experiments like the eco tax and smart meter tax machines. Time Running Out on EcoTax Consultation We all remember the Dalton McGuinty eco tax. This new tax was added to an estimated 9,000 consumer products and household necessities. Strangely, the new eco tax was put in place the same time as the Harmonized Sales Tax on July 1. The question is whether the premier remembers his promise to consult with consumers after cancelling the controversial tax a few weeks after it was introduced last summer. It has been two months since the McGuinty Liberals announced they were taking a 90-day timeout to consult. But, there's no evidence that a single Ontario family or busi- Marj's Meanderings by Marj Lowery, Orono How many times have the people of our little community and others used the Rebekah Hall in Orono for various events like weddings, showers, funerals, card parties, blood clinics, etc.? It is a very accessible building as there are no stairs to climb, although it's a problem at times for parking. The roof of the building is in bad shape and therefore the hall board is trying to raise funds to re-roof it. We have chosen Wednesdays for our fundraising suppers so we can get a new roof. It is very hard to choose dates that don't conflict with all the other worthwhile fundraisers. The following supper dates have been chosen: Wed., Oct. 20th; Wed., Nov. 17th; and Wed., Dec. 15th. Our great cooks will send you home satisfied.