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Property owners in Durham will be hit with a tax hike of about eight per cent for Regional purposes in 1988. Regional council last week gave its approval to budget guidelines which call for a tax hike of eight per cent, nearly double the inflation rate of 4.6 per cent annually. The preliminary budget already there is a parking problem. Downtown merchants encourage members to park behind stores Parking in downtown Port Perry was one of the topics of conversation at the recent meeting of the Port Perrry Down- town Merchants Association, and. there are many who feel One of the main concerns of those present, was the num- ber of business people who own or operate stores on Queen - Street and who routinely park in front of their stores. Not only do the owners park in front, but many of their staff members also use the main street to park, it was pointed out. Although there is nothing the PPDMA can do to stop the merchants from using the front street to park, it was agreed that they should encourage the offenders to use parking lots at the rear, and leave the front street spaces open for customers. Parking in Port Perry's downtown is now at a premium with most parking lots and street spaces being | filled to near capacity at peak periods of business. The downtown merchants want to make sure that every available space for customers is available, and that they are not being used by the merchants. "We don't want to drive away our customers because there is no place to park", con- cluded one Queen Street merchant. in front of council actually shows a tax hike of 11 per cent, but council ~ has ordered cuts in the budget in- crease amounting to $1.16 million to reduce the increase to the eight per cent guideline. This will mean reductions of $140,000 in general government, $150,000 in the Works department, $45,000 in Health services, $1 million in Social services and $240,000 from the 1988 police department budget, a budget that already has been trimmed by over $1 million. If the final approved budget for 1988 holds to the eight per cent tax increase, it will add about $15 to the Regional portion of the 1988 tax bill for the average home in Durham. Local governments and the school boards have yet to set their budgets for 1988. Regional council spent about an hour on January 27 discussion the budget guidelines and by an over- whelming margin of 16-4 voted down an amendment from Oshawa coun- cillor John Aker calling for a tax hike at six per cent this year. Councillor Jim Witty of Ajax, chairman of the Region's finance committee, said that to reach that six per cent increase, the Region would have to chop a further $850,000 from the budget estimates this year. He said an eight per cent tax hike "is needed this year because the Region is now catching up for the "lean years" in the early 1980's when tax hikes were in the four per cent range. This message is sponsored by the Port Perry Star. PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, February 2, 1988 -- 9 Some of the big ticket items in the 1988 Regional budget which have pushed the tax hike to eight per cent include $750,000 in a reserve fund for setting up the 911 emergency dial- ing phone system, another $1 million in a fund for establishing anew gar- bage dump in Durham, and an in- crease of $1.9 million in the Region's general welfare budget. Actually, the preliminary Regional budget for 1988 shows an overall spending increase of about 16 per cent over last year. However, with an assessment growth rate of 7.9 per cent, the actual tax hike is reduced to about eight per cent. This is the third year in a row that Durham budget increases have been well above the inflation rate. Regional tax hike eight per cent In 1987, the tax increase for Regional purposes was 9.5 per cent and in 1986, the figure was 9.8 per cent. Even though 1988 is an election year, Regional councillors appeared willing to live with the eight per cent tax hike because of the intense de- mand for better and improved ser- vices for an increasing population and the fact that some departments were '"'under-funded" during the recession years of the early 1980's. There will be some fine tuning of the budget over the next few weeks before Regional council puts its final stamp of approval on it some time in March. However, the eight per cent guideline for a tax increase will not be changed measurably. Color Your Worid Only the look is expensive OPENING SOON! CHECK OUT THE INCREDIBLE SAVINGS ON 87 NOVAS so call our Sales Reps now! Limited Number in Stock ... DENNIS wil Does It Better! CHEVROLET- -OLDSMOBILE LTD. 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