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PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, February 2, 1988 -- 5 S Viewpoint by John B. McClelland - TAXES AND GROWTH So, it looks like the Regional portion of your taxes will be going up about eight per cent in 1988, nearly four full points above the rate of inflation. Durham Region councillors last week (Jan. 27), spent less than an hour in rather tame debate about the coming tax hike. During the same meeting, they also voted themselves a 4.4 per cent salary increase retroac- tive to January 1 of this year. What's a bit troublesome about the eight per cent hike in taxes is that it comes at a time when Durham Region is undergoing unprecedented growth in all sec- tors -- homes, business and industry. In fact, the assessment growth is also about eight per cent. The increase in the Durham Region budget this year is closer to 16 per cent. But when the assessment growth factor of eight per cent is subtracted, the next increase in taxes is eight per cent. / How come, you might ask, that when inflation is running at just about 4.5 per cent and the assessment base is growing by nearly eight per cent, can the net tax hike be eight per cent too? A good question, and one for which there are several answers. Right off the bat, it is obvious that a growing assessment base does not automatically mean lower taxes. Quite the opposite. Growth means a bigger and bigger demand on services provided not just at the Regional level, but at the local level and in the school system as well. With new subdivisions popping up in Durham Region like weeds in a corn field on a hot Juhe day, the people moving into these subdivisions need municipal services like police protection, improved roads, garbage collection and so on. The taxes. generated by these new subdivisions don't come close to paying for the increased demand in services. In N Durham's case this year, a large reason for. te gnding eight per cent tax hike is because Regional councillors have decided to set aside $700,000 for the 911 system and a further $1 million in a fund that will be needed to find . and open a new garbage dump. There is also another reason for the eight per cent tax hike this year at the Regional level. During the "debate" last week, finance committee chairman Jim Witty put it quite nicely. He noted that in good times, municipal governments feel more comfortable with tax hikes of this size. In bad times, like the early 1980s, local councils are loathe to increase taxes and thus order the bureaucrats to curtail their budgets increases, even if they are necessary. : Witty, who is one of the most powerful Regional councillors and even rumoured to be interested in the chairman's job this November, noted last week that in 1987 and 1986 the Regional tax hike was 9.5 and 9.8 per cent. But back in the early 1980's at the peak of the recession, the hikes were less than four per cent, and one year, there was no tax increase at the Regional level at all. Now, Durham Region is paying the price for those lean years and for the huge growth increases that have taken place since 1984. Even though 1988 is an election year, there won't be a big outcry over an eight per cent tax hike or the nearly 16 per cent spending increase. Most people are too busy making money to bitch about an increase in taxes. The economy is booming, factories and houses are popping up everywhere, especially in that corridor from Newcastle to Scarborough where the houses are packed so tightly together, there's hardly room to breathe in the Yuppie Ghettos. BE It's an ironic situation, to say the least, but one that I can understand. People put a strain on municipal' budgets, not to mention school board budgets. And Jim Witty is dead right when he states that councils can much easier live with an eight per cent tax hike in "boom times" than they can in recession years. But here's something hard to believe. If Durham Region is booming, if there are jobs all over the place going begging, how come the projected increase in spen- ding for welfare this year is 39 per cent. The general welfare budget will go from $4.9 million in 1987 to $6.8 million this year, an increase of $1.9 million. The economic boom can have a negative impact. A lot of people are arriving in Durham Region looking for work. A lot of them are unskilled and soon find they can't survive on the hourly rate paid unskilled labour. They can't afford a house and they can't find (or afford) an apartment. They soon find it's easier to sit home and draw welfare than it is to slug it for 40 hours each week at $6 'or $7 per hour. The same things happened in western Canada during the oil boom of the mid-70's when people arrived in Alberta with visions of millions in their eyes and few or no skills to offer. The welfare rolls jumped considerably. I sat through last week's meeting of Regional coun- cil pondering these ironies and wondering whether all the growth in the Region is such a good thing after all. I mean what's the point of an eight per cent growth rate, if spending goes up 16 per cent and taxes must be in- creased eight per cent? The losers are the existing tax- payers in the Region, most of who sure as hell are not picking up eight per cent hikes.in their pay packets. That evening, I was taking photos at the annual meeting of the Port Perry Agriculture Society (Fair Board) when one of the directors cornered me for a mo- ment and asked good naturedly when I was going to start writing columns about the loss of farmland to subdivisions. Bill Cohoon was that director. He is a well known (Turn to page 8) EE ------ vesterday's | l.€ttE rs | i em Memories 70 YEARS AGO Thursday, January 31, 1918 Word has been received that Flight Lieut. George Howsam is now in France, and that he recently brought down a German aeroplane. Due to the town lights failing there was no show this week but tickets will be good for next week when "The Rosary' will be played. 45 YEARS AGO January 28, 1943 - Flight Lieut. James Kerr, R.C.A.F. was in town during th weekend. He was a guest speaker at the Lions Club Meeting on F'ri- day night. : While shoeing a horse, Mr. Cyrus Switzer was knocked down and trampled resulting in a broken leg and a dislocated shoulder. He was taken to the Port Perry Hospital. 35 YEARS AGO January 29, 1953 Jessie McArthur of Blackstock was one of six girls across the Dominion of Canada to attend the Coronation celebrations in England in June. A Port Perry resident, Mrs. Dehl Bentley became the first woman in Ontario County and possibly the province, to be chosen for jury duty. 30 YEARS AGO January 30, 1958 Mr. Ray Cook received burns to his face and nostrils while work- ing on a discarded refrigerator. The accident occurred at the J.J. Gibson Poultry Plant, when the amonia gas in the unit exploded. Mr. Lloyd Fawns reported finding a Canadian Weather Balloon behind his barn. It was about 5 feet high with a radio device attach- ed, and a parachute to let it down slowly when the ballocn breaks. 20 YEARS AGO : Thursday, February 1, 1968 Anna Forder and Richard Stephens, smartly dressed in their Hudson Bay coats and fur hats left on the morning train for Mon- treal where they joined other Olympic team members for their overseas flight to France, to compete in the Winter Olympics in Grenoble. : A well-known resident of Reach Township, Mr. Grant Christie has been awarded a Centennial Medal in recognition of his valuable service to the nation. (Turn to page 6) High and dry at Honey Heights To The Editor: The common observation in our neighbourhood is that water levels are dropping. Some wells have gone dry and several others are experien- cing difficulties. These problems coincide with an increase in development in our area. At Honey's Beach, seasonal residences have become permanent homes and new homes have been built upon once vacant lots. At Castle Harbour, several new homes have been erected. The proposed development of the old Frank Honey farm, which lies between Honey's Beach and Castle Harbour, inteads to double the number of homes in the area. We are concerned that this will adverse- ly affect existing water wells nearby. Perhaps some time ago it would not have been a concern. However, times have changed and so has our daily demand for water. Qur ap- pliances, our taps, our toilets, our daily showers, our garden hoses...they are all connected to our .wells and they move water in only one direction: out of the ground and quickly. It is easy to take water for granted but a building without it can never be a home. Would you buy a house that did not have a consistent water supply? Consider the people who buy a house on a lot that was a corn field only a few months before. The first thing they will do is invest in a lawn and a large number of young shrubs and trees. Of course they'll have to water them all summer or they'll die. Now imagine all their neighbours doing the same, especially on hot' and dry summer days, and you will understand why we are worried about the effects of the proposed development on our water supply. In the plan of subdivi- sion submitted by the applicants it says that they are "seeking a reasonable return on investment." Considering that of the three test wells drilled on the site only one found water, the question is: *'At whose expense?" The Official Plan of our township states that: "It shall be a policy of Council to recommend for approval only those plans of subdivision which can be adequately supplied with required utilities and services such as ... water ... ."" Council also has the responsibility of protecting the interests of existing homes and water is an absolute necessity, If the proposed development is "recom- mended for approval," nearby home owners expect a commitment from Council to supply them with enough water to meet their needs in the event that their wells cannot do so in the future. Over eighty affected property owners have signed a peti- tion to this effect, and it will be presented to Council during the public meeting of February 15. George Gadanidis, Concession 9, R.R. 1, Port Perry. KVA says thanks To The Editor: Last October I was in one of our local coffee shops wearing my hard hard with Korea 1950-53 on it. Mr. Bill Sandiford sat with me and our talk centred on the Port Perry area and Korea, World War II small talk. Bill became upset at veterans not being honoured as they should be. He asked me what was being done for fallen veterans, and I explained the Korea Veterans Association was wanting to put Korea 1950-53 on all cenotaphs. Bill said good, but asked about so- meone who died in Korea. I asked if he knew of someone, and if you know Bill, you know how he opened : up then. He said, "Paul, 1 d . know the date he died and his age. I was a boyhood friend of his. His name was J.R. Bell." I told Bill I would look into this. I felt then Bill did.not believe me, but I set up a meeting between Bill and my Unit President and my"Cenotaph Committee. Then I held two meetings in Stouffville with the Legion and some local people; and I found out Joe Bell's mother was living in the Scugog area. I met with her then, and met with Stouffville Council. On June 5 -- 35 years after his death, Joe Bell's name will be placed on a cross in Stouffville, his hometown. Bill Sandiford, we KVA owe you one. Bill Sandiford, all KVA's raise a glass to you for your help. Paul Saulnier, Public Information Officer, Korea Veterans Association Port Perry CONTINUOUS FORMS Printed and Blank PORT PERRY STAR 235 Queen Street 985-7383