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a ---- ------------ 5. I ---------- a -------------- --_-- --_ --- ---- 4 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, May 10, 1988 Editorial Comments Another Bad Budget When it comes to affairs of Regional government, it is not too often we find ourselves agreeing with the Mayor of Oshawa. But Allan Pilkey and his colleagues from the City were quite right when they voted en masse last week against the 1988 Durham Regional budget.. The good Mayor, who usually can be counted on for some sharp verbal barbs pointed at somebody was in fine feather when he called the budget "a disaster." "The Region," he went on to say "is digging so deep into the pockets of the tax-payers, you can feel their shoes." Dramatic over-statement that will make a dandy head- line for voters in Oshawa? To be sure. Pilkey and many councillors from Oshawa are masters at using the Region as a whipping boy for votes on their home turf. But this time, Pilkey is right. The budget is a disaster. What Durham Region has done for 1988 is increase its gross spending by 19.6 per cent. For every $100 the Re- gion spent last year, it will spend $120 this year. And that is too much. It is an inflationary budget, a full 11 per cent higher than the projected growth rate in Dur- ham this year. Now, by the time this increase is filtered through the system and winds up on your tax bill, most tax-payers in the Region will hardly notice it. Thanks to a 22 per cent hike in revenues and subsidies, and a very healthy growth in the assessment base, the ac- tual tax increase on average is 7.3 per cent. That's still well above the inflation rate, but within reason. Part of Pilkey's anger was due to the fact that the Re- gional tax increase is unequal among the eight municipali- ties in Durham. Due to a strange phenomenon known as equalization factors (which nobody really understands) 'Oshawa tax-payers will be hit with an 11.8 per cent hike in their Regional taxes, while Scugog's will be 6.9 per cent. But that happens every year. Some pay more, some pay less. The bottom line on this budget is the overall spending increase. Twenty per cent is just too much. One might be able to argue a case that with an assess- ment growth rate of 8.6 per cent, which presumably means 8.6 per cent more dollars flowing into the Region's coffers, should there be any tax increase at all? Sure, as Durham Region grows, the Regional go- vertnment must keep up with the increased demand for services. But when overall spending out-runs the growth rate by 12 per cent, something is out of whack, somewhere. Tax-payers are getting angry in Ontario. David Peter- son's budget gouged all of us. Durham Public School Board spending increase is up in double digits, and now the Region with a 19.6 per cent hike. Are your wage increases going up this fast? Budgets like the ones handed down in the last few weeks are a (Turn to page 8) Port Perry STAR 235 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO Phone 985-7383 P.0.Box90 LOB 1NO J. PETER HVIDSTEN } Publisher Advertising Manager (C CNA (ll - ch Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association and Ontario Community Newspaper Association. Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Ltd., Port Perry, Ontario. J.B. McCLELLAND Editor Authorized as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, and for cash CATHY OLLIFFE payment of postage in cash. News & Features: Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 ve A Subscription Rate: In Canada $20.00 per year. Ri2a 000s 550 inE Elsewhere $60.00 per year. Single Copy 50° © COPYRIGHT -- All layout and composition of advertisements produced by the adver- tising department of the Port Perry Star Company Limited are protected under copyright and may not be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. | == fe ™ \ \ -- BUDGEF-- _ PROVINCIAL ain rd > - Et LOSES Chatterbox y Cathy Olliffe CATHY THE JINX It's 2:45 on a beautiful Wednesday after- dicted they would easily win in Detroit. noon, May 4, 1988, and I'm trying to decide Byt they didn't, of course, because | was whether or not | should go to the MoJacks there. Cathy The Jinx. Feared and loathed by game tonight. both professional and amateur athletes. | really want to go. Need more evidence? _ It's game three in the fateful all-Ontario Jun- Brian Orser was the favourite to win the gold ior C championship series between the Port meqa| in figure skating, until | tuned in Olympic Perry MoJacks (YAY GUYS!) and the Moore- coverage on my TV set. Then he made a gold- town Flags. en mistake, a fatal glitch. So far, Port's down two, but | just know | was rooting for down-to-earth Debi Thomas they're gonna win tonight. to clean the clock of too-perfect (and probably And | want to be there, at the Scugog Are- snobby) Katarina Witt, when Thomas came up na, to see them claim victory. with her worst performance ever. The trouble is, if | show, the MoJacks won't Fortunately that particular instance was be victorious. They'll lose, just as sure as I'm good--Thomas's dismal failure left room for Ca- sitting here. nadian sweetheart Elizabeth Manley to claim | know, it sure is self-centred of me to think Silver. that my presence at the arena will determine But still, the person or team | cheer for al- the outcome of the game. But self-centred or ways loses. not, my attendance would foreshadow the de- This is a terrible fact of life for me. Do you mise of the MoJacks. | think any of my school teams ever won? Yeah, Why? Because I'm a sports jinx. as soon as | graduated. I'm not a regular and avid sports junkie, but And y'know why the Maple Leafs are such every time | do get interested in a certain losers?.Why else? | like 'em. team, it starts losing. And the mystery of the year was why the Ca- Take the Toronto .Blue Jays, for example, nadian Olympic hockey team, so red-hot at Is- and that team's inexplicable slide in the vestia, would do so poorly at the Olympics. homestretch of the pennant race last year. Well that's easy. | wasn't even aware the Is- | mean, those guys were doing great, wer- vestia tournament was going on, but | actually en't they? Unbeatable, almost. The Jays were watched the Olympic hockey. heroes, and everybody caught Blue Jay fe- ye never seen any team I've liked win any- ver. thing. Never. So there it is. I'm jinxed. Including me. Me, who'd never watched a | can't go to that MoJacks game tonight, as ball game all season, actually forsook a Cosby much as I want to see Port Perry win. Because Show re-run for a Jays game. if I really want to see them win, if | really want to And they lost. be a good fan, | should stay at home and for- So | watched another game. get all about the hockey game. Not even think But they lost about it. ' som. | know, maybe this jinx stuff is all in my head. And for some reason, | kept watching, and : watching...only to see the once mighty Jays Maybe L could go io the game tonight and the crumble. i 2 Then there's the time | went to Detroit's Sil- But what if they lose verdome to watch the Dallas Cowboys play Can | take that chance? Am | willing to have the loss of an all-Ontario crown on my con- football. science? Am | willing to take the wrath of hun | couldn't give a fig about football at the time 4.04 and hundreds of faithful fans--not to (still can't), but the doorknob | was dating : dragged me south of the border to see his eatin hockey ayer 2 whole bunch of BIG, idol team, th bovs, who e unbeatable Cowboy Are you kidding? -were in the middle of some amazingly long winning streak. (Well, it's Thursday morning. Sigh. The Mo- It was the year when the Cowboys were on Jacks lost a close game last night despite my everybody's lips (and posters of the Dallas best efforts of staying away from the arena Cowboys Cheerleaders were on every wall). and not thinking about the game. Maybe this And everyone, including the doorknob, pre- means I'm not such a jinx after all...doubt it.)