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Section Two The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, December 7,1983 3 Editorial Comment What Reassessment Means It's an unfortunate fact of life that not every issue appearing on the agenda for public discussion gets the kind of attention it deserves. We all know that a story of a neighbourhood fighting to save one maple tree from being cut down to make room for a freeway will get more attention than a thoughtfully- written editorial on how to halt the nuclear arms race. And that brings us to the subject of market value assessment. It's a good example of a local political issue that doesn't get the attention it deserves because of its complexity complexity (there are too many numbers involved) involved) and because it represents something intangible (plans, policies, and finances are tough to visualize and therefore they only occasionally strike a responsive note from the voters.) So, now that council has voted 4-2 in favor of updating assessment to 1980 values, there's a good chance that the move will go almost unnoticed. unnoticed. Don't look for delegations to council meetings, letters to the editor, or members of the public generally beating down council's door. But let's look at some of the facts connected with the market value system: Market value assessment is based on the belief that the fairest way to set taxes is to place a value on a piece of property and charge taxes according to that value. Under this principle, ifyour holdings holdings are worth a lot, then you'll pay a lot. If they're worth a little, then you'll pay a little. In 1978, Newcastle council voted to alter its taxation system by moving moving to updated market values and doing away with an older system in which assessment bore little relationship relationship to property values. When màrket value was introduced, it was based on property values in effect during 1975. And there were many cases of tax bills going up or down in order to reflect property values. The move to 1980 values is based on the fact that some members of council see a need to fine-tune the assessment system to match the most recent possible property values. Proponents of the move to mdre recent market value suggest that the principle of market value demands that taxes be based on the most up to date worth of a property. If property has gone down in value since 1975, then you deserve a tax break, if it has gone up, then you will pay more. Overall, about 44 per cent of the taxpayers are paying top much, based on 1980 assessment. But that statement is not as startling as it may first appear to be. Most of the re-assessment will amount to just a few dollars per household up or down. In fact, for about 72 per cent of all residential properties, the new assessment will produce changes varying between a $39 decline and a $44 increase, if memory serves correctly. But one of the most telling arguments arguments against the change in assessment assessment is the provincial attitude to market value. If this system were such a splendid idea, how do you explain the fact that the Province of Ontario hasn't bothered to introduce introduce it on a blanket basis? Why is the Province passing the job to the local municipalities? There are some political pitfalls to market value, especially when lands which have long been assessed assessed at one level are increased to higher values based on the market. There is some truth to the claim that if municipalities introduce this system, they are merely making an unpopular move for which the Province will not be held responsible. responsible. Why should town councils be asked to take all of the flak? And, in the case of the Town of Newcastle, re-assessment means that 56 per cent of the populace will be faced with some kind of increase in the tax bill. It's the kind of political political decision that won't win many friends. Moreover, market value assessment assessment requires an update of assessment assessment about every four or five years. And such attention to the assessment assessment process will cause more upheaval than strict adherence to the longstanding assessment values. It also seems as though market value is a rather insidious form of tax increase because it guarantees that rates will rise with market value. And since we all hope that our property will go up in value, then we can expect to see higher land values resulting in higher taxes. When all is said and done, the fact remains that 56 per cent of the residential residential tax-paying population will be facing two tax increases this year. One increase will be caused by the upgrading of property values which will raise taxes for 56 per cent of the residential population. The other increase will be caused by the annual mill rate passed by council from year to year. Probably what will happen is this: A few people who get extremely extremely large tax hikes under 1980 values will complain to town council council and the few who had very large decreases will keep quiet in the hope that if a mistake has been made, perhaps nobody will find out about it. The rest of us will probably pay the next tax bill, with its upwards or downwards adjustments, unflinchingly. unflinchingly. We believe, after all, that death and taxes are inevitable. More Nonsense from Parrot How would, you like to have an employee who out of the goodness of his heart decides you, the owner or manager of a business is charging too much for his products and he plans to cut your prices by two thirds for a week. That in essence is what Postal Union President Jean-Claude Parrot has done by telling the public that his union members will process letters for only 10 cents instead of the regular rate of 32 cents. His reasoning behind the move is that large volume businesses receive special rates below the 32 cents so he'll play Santa Claus and follow suit. So far, his proposal hasn't gone over too well with either the public or the postal authorities. And it's not difficult to see why it hasn't caught on with too much fervor. If it was costing Mr. Parrot and his union members some money, many could understand and appreciate the move, but there's been no such commitment to date. He's just being generous with somebody else's money, most of it belonging to the taxpayers. Frankly, we suggest that it would be inadvisable to take him up on his offer. It quite probably would result in the recipient of your letter being charged double the amount shortchanged, or 44 cents per letter. The gamble is just not worth it. You don't suppose that Mr. Parrot and his advisers have been indulging in some pre-Christmas egg nog that was spiked with holly juice or something else. It certainly sounds like it. Wonder if the heads of other unions are contemplating similar actions. Maybe there's one in the income tax department that would like to send out millions in unexpected rebates as a good will gesture. Now that might certainly go over well with the public. Sanabian ^talesman 623-3303 (*CNA Durham County's Great Family Journal Established 129 years ago In 1654. Also Incorporating The Bowmanville News The Newcastle Independent The Orono News Second class mall registration number 1561 Produced every Wednesday by THE JAMES PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED 62-66 King St. W,, Bowmanville, Ontario L1C 3K9 .no V LA JOHN M. JAMES Editor -- Publisher RICHARD A. JAMES Assistant Publisher GEO. P. MORHIS Business Mgr. BRIAN PURDY Advertising Mgr. DONALD BISHOP Plant Mgr. All liyouli »nd compotlllon o! •d»erlli»m»nli produced by lhe employées ol The Canadian Slelesmen, The Newceitle Independent end The Jemee Publishing Compeny Urnlled ere protected by cupyrlghl end must itol be reproduced without written permission ol the publishers. S 15.00 e yeer -- 6 months «1.00 strictly In edvencc foreign -145,00 e yeer Although every precaution will be taken to avoid error, The Canadian Statesman accupls advertising In Ils columns on the understanding lirai II will not be liable lor any error In lire advertisement published hereunder unless a proof ol such adverllsemenl Is requested In writing by Ipe advertiser and relumed lo lire Canadian Statesman business office duly signed by the advertiser and with such error or corrections plainly rioted In writing thereon, and In that case II any error so noted Is not corrected by The Canadian Statesman Its liability shall not exceed such a portion ol the entire cost ol such advertisement as the space occupied by the holed error bears lo the whole space occupied by such adverllsemenl. Raging River SUGAR and SPICE Ode to November I don't know anyone who has written an "Ode to November." It is just possible that some idiot in Florida or California or Portugal, or the West Indies, has done so, because that is the month their oranges, grapes, or sugar-cane achieved their finest flavour. \ Long gone *re Thanksgiving, 'thé glories of autumn foliage, the bright, yellow sun of October. Instead, there are the withered fields. There are the black, accusing branches, like witches' fingers, of the stark and naked trees. There is the first snow, turned to dirty slush. Fittingly, November has no holiday. The only thing near it is Remembrance Day, a day of mourning, of remembering old slaughters and young men caught in them. There are the first obscene Christmas carols, the first phoney Santas, the intricate arrangements of coloured lights, to remind us that if we spend, spend, spend; buy, buy, buy, we are supporting those two great edifices of the western world, Christianity and free enterprise. November, for most Canadians, is a time of fearful, tentative waiting, shoulders metaphorically hunched. Waiting to see what The Lord has in store for us. There is no promise in November, no hope. Only more of the same for the next five, months. Grey, greasy, unyielding, November grips us to the bone with its certainty that we have sinned, and now we are going "'ttfsùffer. Even with modern heating and lighting, with the tranquilizers of television and frozen dinners, and no trips to the backyard john necessary, November makes us cringe. Probably it's a legacy from our pioneer ancestors. I can't help thinking what November meant to them. The closing in of days. The black of the morning. The wet chill of the air. The worry about enough hay for the beasts, enough wood in the woodpile, enough salted meat for the winter, enough spuds and turnips in the cold-cellar. It was no time for watching the Grey Cup, or the Dallas Cowboys, on a Saturday afternoon. It must have been a time of frantic scrambling for those pioneers. Chinking the draughts between the logs. Cutting wood like mad. Slaughtering and smoking and "putting down" food for the long bitter days ahead. There was no running over to the supermarket for a few bags of flour, a bag of sugar, and eight cartons of margarine. It was a siege ahead that could last seemingly indefinitely, with no relief force just over the horizon. It must have been especially frightening for the women. For those long, dark months ahead, they would be virtually locked in their cabins, with almost no social intercourse outside the family. Endless days of preparing hot meals, knitting warm' clothes, with no company after the childred were bedded down except that of a sullen, exhausted husband. For the men at least, there was some escape; the daily chores, the battening down of hatches against the coming storms, perhaps a trip to the village for supplies, the tending of animals. As we turn up the thermostat, flip on the lights, or flush the toilet, we should remember with a touch 'of awe, what November must have been like for our grand and great- grandparents. Now, I know not everybody will agree with me. That's as should be. For aficionados of curling, November means the opening of a new season, with the slap of brooms, the conviviality of the bar, the urge for competition beckoning them out of their cosy homes into the dark, cold night. For the skiing crowd, November does hold promise. They sniff the air like beagles, cheer like children when the first flakes fall, and generally irritate the rest of us. It's even a rather exciting time for merchants. They anticipate the jangling of cash registers, the pushing of hot, sweaty mobs through their aisles. It enables them to blot out for a brief time, the doldrums of January that lurk ahead. And of course November holds no fears for the deer hunters and those idiots who stand in icy water to the waist, trying to catch one last big rainbow trout. "Best time of the year", they chortle heartily. But for golfers, boatsmen, and most old people, November could be left right off the calendar. For sailors on the Great Lakes, and at sea, it is a month fraught with discomfort and even peril, with storms howling out of the northwest. You may have gathered that I don't like November and I'm glad it's over. Editor 140 Ontario St., Bowmanville, Ontario, Dec. 3,1983. Dear John; Well, at last, after approximately approximately four weeks I have received received a reply from the Council and if you recall I only asked a couple of questions such as: 1. Is a week of vacation five working days or seven? 2. Did you pay a bonus to a person who was absent approximately three months out of six? Now, I am sure that you will agree that these simple questions should not take a month to reply, let alone turn it over to staff for a report as they did. The answer in brief is as follows: 1. A week's vacation is five working days, 2. Yes, we did pay a person a bonus even though the person was absent for approximately three months out of six, Further, they have informed me that the personnel files on staff are confidential and as such are not open to the public. In plain English, wl|at they are saying is'that we as taxpayers supply the money but It is none of our business how they spend it. They forget when they were trying to get elected, they said we are servants servants of the people and they wanted to represent the people and see that the tax dollar was spent properly. But, they failed failed to tell us thut they had no intention of telling us how they were going to spend it, In plain words, as I see it, it is none of your business as a taxpayer. Now, John, let me tell you what I think actually happened happened in my opinion. According to a document dated Aug. 24, 1983 from the administrator,, the seventh name down the list was listed as Not Applicable and I have to assume that because of the absence from work, did not justify paying the bonus. Mr, Smith then left the employment employment of the Town and a new administrator took office on Sept. 26, 1983. Sometime, between between Sept. 26 and Oct. 2, the same person's name was put through for the same payment that was previously rejected and as this was now a new administrator who, rightfully so, would hardly have had his chair warmed up, approved the bonus, In most places you would have to say that it looked like he was taken by someone, This is how I see it and no doubt if I am wrong the administrator will advise. Incidentally, on Oct. 3, 1983 the payroll dept, was instructed instructed to process a bonus payment payment of $250 on the pay for the person in question. In all fairness, when the issue came up first, don't you think the proper way would tiavc been to say 'yes we did pay the bonus by mistake' and then recover it back as l understand it would not be the first time they have paid out money and later took It hack. When I find that somebody deliberately tries to, in my opinion, cover up such things as $250, then it makes me wonder what else can there be and as Con. Hamre has said in the past: Figures Speak for Themselves. Next, John, was the question of vacations and as the council always says they are looking for ways to save our tax dollars, maybe they should take a good look at some of the vacations that have been taken and will be taken. Then, they will be as confused as I am when they tell me that five working days is a week's holidays. holidays. You know, John, if I were employed by you and let us use the month of July and I only worked seven days in the whole month and was only entitled to 10 days vacation, then I am quite sure that you would start to wonder whether there was even a job there, Well, I had better close now as if I tell you much more of all the information that I have I am afraid that the officials will spend more time trying to find out wliut mid where my information comes from, and after nil they do owe me another another reply, So, there it is, John, another another day with the people who lire the servants of the people, But, don't usk any questions ns It seems to be none of our business as taxpayers. Yours Truly Ken Hooper P.S. If everything goes as planned, maybe we will be able to sit in the new park at the north side of the city hall and watch our tax dollars go out the window. There I go again, telling you tilings out of school. Monday, November 28,1983 Dear Editor: Since you're always wanting to know "what happened" at Bowmanville High School, I'm telling you about our. trip to the University of Toronto today. Our visit to the University of Western Ontario last Thursday was very interesting though we didn't get to see the residences, so we made sure we saw the U. of TVs Some were clean and tidy; others looked like some of our rooms I Students are students everywhere. The organization of the U of T is quite complex, University within a university, colleges within colleges, colleges in faculties, commerce within art and sciences: what an ' administration! This campus is n mosaic of old and modern architectural styles. The very immense and overwhelming size of the Kobnrts Library (it looks like a turtle) is quite n contrast to the Bowmanville Libary's mid it is modern. The Trinity and St. Michael's Colleges are very ancient buildings groomed by nlumne Into fine edifices, The university covers about 30 city blocks. Students have 10 minutes between classes to cover the distance if one class is at one end of the campus and the next is at the other. And we thought we had it rough at B.H.S.! Wc toured some of the colleges in the University and were treated to lunch. Some of us then left for home for play practise. Wc would have loved to have spent more time exploring the university since it impressed us but the piny is next week sometime and you know what a picky perfectionist Mr. Sheridan is! I regret that I won't be seeing the play "Sec How They Run" but I did attend the practises and the actors were quite good. Wtiy don't you go to the dress rehearsal and write a review next week? You won't be wasting your time. Well, I've got to study for Mr. Thompson's Economies test now. Good luck on this week's column, Yours, sincerely, Colette Deux Dear Sir: I would like to reply to Wes Hills' letter which was in Inst week's paper and lo congratulate congratulate him on his remarks. 1 thought seriously of writing such a letter myself, hut it seems to me I'm always writing In complaints and by now 1 must have the reputa tion of being a narrow old witch. On the oilier hand, perhaps people don't complain enough where it will do some good. They talk among themselves, to their families and close friends, but not to the people concerned. I have attended most of the plays staged by the Drama Club for over 25 years and this is the first time I've been disappointed and everyone, lo whom I've spoken, is of the same opinion. Wc cannot blame the young people for using such language if wc, their parents and grandparents condone it and perhaps even use it ourselves. Let us try to keep up a higher standard of morals even if society docs seem to be going down the drain with frightening speed. Yours truly, Dorothy Payne J RED CROSS Humanity x in action