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Karl Herder may not be a downtown businessman, but he certainly has the Halloween spit when it comes to participating in this month's Scare- 1p us from the Reach Tate Park, has decorated his property with a number of scarecrows. Drop by to view some of his creativity. Photo courtesy John Richardson ‘Scugog Realty Ltd., Realtor 144 Queen Street, Port Perry, Ont. For more information call VALERIE EDEN 905-985-4427 905-985-0088 www.valerieeden.com Howard Hall speaks Continued from page 7 for the process. He candidly says, “at this time of the year you always think about it, especially if you don’t think things are running properly, or you feel there is a lack of leadership being shown by the incumbent.” Mr. Hall doesn’t think that municipal politics have changed very much over the past decade. “There seems to be more problems and more demands, but a lot of the local issues haven’t changed,” he said, siting roads, sidewalks and high taxes as ongoing issues. Taxes are always an issue and Mr. Hall said if he were mayor to- day, trying to get the high taxes under control would be a priority. He doesn’t understand why, considering all of the building over the past decade, that tax rates continue to soar, unless the town- ship is spending too much money on staffing, vehicles, parks, projects, etc. Mr. Hall considers the estimated $2 million in casino revenues the township receives each year as “found money,” and feels it should be used on projects that would be of the most benefit to the majority of taxpayers. A proponent of a new municipal office when he was mayor, he now wonders if the new facility needed to be so large and costly. “There was no doubt we needed a new facility, but once again, build what you can afford, not what some architect or consultant thinks you need” he said. Regarding the position of mayor, he said whether it is full or part time really depends on the mayor in office. “In my term of office I was in a position to be a full-time mayor. I believe the job warrants someone who is available full-time and the salary warrants a full-time mayor,” he said. Getting spending under control must be a priority of the new council, the former mayor said. “Cut out the frills, and provide the needs, not the wishes,” he said. Mr. Hall is not happy with the new four-year term future coun- cils will be faced with. “I don’t think it will improve the way council works, and in fact it could be dangerous,” he concluded. He’s also concerned about what would happen if a special inter- est group got into power for such a long time. “Good planning can be done in a two or three year term,” he felt. The former mayor urges anyone interested in politics to do their homework before jumping into the political He suggests they speak to elected and former officials, find out how demanding the job can be and the extent of committment re- quired. “Above all, be prepared to be on call 24/7,” he concluded. By J.Peter Hvidsten 7 FREE COLOURCONSULTATION FREE IN HOME ESTIMATES 14 FOCUS - OCTOBER 2006 focus@observerpub.ca