The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Vol. 128 No. 14 Copy 65¢ ©1¢+4¢ GSD Council aims for zero budget, but won't promise it By Scott Anderson Port Perry Star There will be no surprises in this year's municipal budget, Scugog's Finance Committee Chairman says. In fact, if it looks at all similar to last year's budget, you aren 't mistaken. "The budget i is going to resem- ble last year's (budget) very, very closely," said Regional Councillor Yvonne Christie. "The budget will hardly be dif- ferent." Last year, Scugog's budget saw a tax increase of less than one per cent (0.894). The 1993 budget saw expenditures of $6.5 million and revenues of $3 mil- lion. A general tax levy of $3.5 million was required. Councillor Christie is hoping to go one step further this year by implementing no raise in the municipal document. "Our aim is to come in at zero, but I can't promise it," she told the Port Perry Star last week. There are a lot of uncertain- ties involved in drafting the township's budget including the uncertainty of the federal and provincial government's own budget announcements. Councillor Christie said Scu- gog, as well as many communi- ties, learned a lesson last year in drafting a budget before all the parameters were known. Most were forced to re-open their documents after the pro- vincial government announced its Social Contract legislation - which included a cut in transfer payments. "When we don't know about the plans of the federal and pro- vincial governments, I. would hate to promise (a zero-per cent increase,)" she said. Councillor Christie township officials will work cau- tiously until all the variables are known. Once these are de- termined, she said they can then work quickly in putting the Turnto Page 12 had won big. Stop in Manchester to buy lottery ticket nets $25,000 An Ajax woman passing through Scugog made an unsched- uled stop at the Manchester Convenience Store last Saturday and ended up winning $25,000 in the Bingo Scratch lottery. Gayle Carruthers didn't realize she was a winner until she returned home and her son scratched the ticket to find they But winning big is not new for the family, as Mrs. Carruthers told The Star her husband won $50,000 ten years ago in a lottery then known as Super Lotto. The lucky family picked up their winnings Monday morn- ing in Toronto. Immediate plans for the money include paying off some of their mortgage and a trip to Florida. Mrs. Carruthers said she and her husband have been play- ing lotteries for years, spending about $30 a week on tickets. "We definitely plan to keep buying the tickets," she said said Durham MP against changes to federal riding By Scott Anderson Port Perry Star Ontario's federal riding struc- ture could change, adding one new seat tothe area. But Durham Riding's MP 1s not in support of these meas- ures. Last week, the Electoral Boundaries Commission for On- tario unveiled details of a major overhaul of the electoral ndings in the province. Under this scheme, most nd- ings in Ontario would see boun- dary changes. Four new seats would be added to the province, increasing to 103, the number in Ontario. But Durham MP Alex Shep- herd opposes the move which will add another seat to the re- gion. "I don't really support in- creasing the number of mem- bers at this time," he said. Mr. Shepherd argues the de- aston will add to the costs of running government at a time when the party is looking for ways tocut expenses. According to Mr. Shepherd, the move could cost more than $600,000 per year in Ontario. He estimates an expense of $200,000 per member including travel and expenses. "If we're going through this austerity process, then we must live by the fruits of our endeav- ors." Instead, Mr. Shepherd said the existing members should be willing to take on a larger popu- lation area, without increasing the numberofseats. Despite his opposition to the idea, he approves of the boun- darychanges. Under the new scheme, Dur- New seat if boundaries shifted ham Riding's boundary would move north to Taunton Road as well as take in Brock Township. In exchange, Uxbridge Town- ship would be dropped from the area. "I think demographically, it's very similar 'o the present rid- ing," he said. But, he said a good number of members in Ottawa are opposed to the creation of new seats at this time. The three-person commission argued the changes were need- ed due to Ontario's burgeoning population. According to statis- tics, the province has grown by 17 per centin the past 10 years. Leading the growth was Dur- ham, York, Peel and Halton. Durham has been granted one new seat, York two additional representatives and Peel three new seats. One seat from Metropolitan Toronto and one seat from the North will be redistributed. The new boundaries become effective at the first dissolution of Parliament which oecurs at least one year after the repre- sentation orderis proclaimed.