PAGE 4" WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2à , 1978, WHITBY FREE PRESS w hitby UT Voice of. the Cou nty Town Michae Theonly Whiby newspaper mndependentiy owned and ol SERVINO OVER 28,000 READERSC 1.11Ian Burgess, Pubiisher-Managing Editor >perateu oy VunrDy resiaents for Wflstby residents. Pubishd eer Wenesay Community Edfitor -Brion W nter Publsbe evry WdnedayContrigjting Editor -Jim GUAIl Production Manager -Marie Burgest Print & Promotional by M.B.M. PubiShingt Mangr -Robin Ly.on. and Photography me.- Classif ied Ad Manager '-S. Dar1eie Phone 668-6111 'Circulation Manager 'ýnrwdn LY-tix 1 - Mailing Permit No. 460 Ille Free PresBuilding, Member of the: 131 Brock Street North, Better Business Bureau of Toronto -P.O.,Box.206.WhîtbY, Ont. Whiitby Cha mber, of Comrnerc~ C onmunity Care program showing succeiss DJear Sir: The residents of Whitby can cangratulate them- selves on the success of the Communlty Care programme for senior citizens. It shows what ca n be d one' wten we work- together -for the common good, and the "Iwel" includes _this news- paper which lent us so much support. We have also, demonstrated ln a practîcal way that this community cares about its eideriy citizens. Our board now feels prep ared ta reach out to another segment of aur soclety by helping aduits under severe emotional stress, those recoverlng fromn mental illness and those who just can't cape with life at the moment. The -service w1i be provided under Commurilty Involvement and Volunteer Programme (C. I.V.P.) and operates qulte differ- ently 'tram regular Com- munity Care- work. Ftfteen hours af training is offered and each volunteer wl1 have a pro- fessional supervisor taa. dvise themn. Each volun- teer wili wark with only one client at a time, usualiy an a once a week basis over a three manth periad or less. MaIe and female volunteers are needed.1 Our Regionat Ca-- ordinatar, Richard Johnston, will be canduct- ing an information ses- sion In the Community Care off ice at 220 Dundas Street, West (St. Berna rd's School) from 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September .6th. Please cail the Community Care office, 668-6223 weekday mornings for more Information. Yours sincerely, (Mr.) Jim Speers, Chairman C.î.V.P. Committee Whitby Community Care Few surpri',ses at Psych A Saturday night inCident at the Whitby Psychiatrie Hospital involving injuries to three ward personnel has caused some stirring of the union ire. . .and rightfully so. But it ail goes back anumber of years (back in the days of the Civil Service Association of Ont.) when the medical hierarchy opted to start reducing the number* of attendan 'ts an nurse aids, supposedly replacing them with more highly trained (and more costly) people, and also integrating maie & female staff on wards. It used to be that the maie wards had maie staff and the female wards had female staff. . .but women's lib, equal pay, and an excess of registered nurses won out-and things were changed. l,r In those days, when a patient got a little upset (and despite what anybody says to the contrary, psychiatrie patients have a habit of getting a littie upset, even violent, from time to time) two or three (or more) maie staff couid restrain a maie, and sometimes even female, patient. But now, and no offence meant to any women's iibbers,'it's not too surprising to find a 65 year oid lady and another woman just returned from an absence due to surgery come out on the loosing end of a brawi with a 21-year-oid maie mental patient. ..and that in a nut shel is what happened Saturday night. Atip of our hat to the downtown A tip of the hat goes out to the downtown businesses who made an effort this summer to dlean up and re-ramp their images. We're pieased to say that we honestly can't remember anytime in the last five or six years that.we've been on the main street in downtown Whitby that so many merchanits have made such an ail out effort. A lot of credit goes to the association for coming up with and PROPERTY TAX REFORM - CONCLIBION This is the final in a series of seven articles on property tax reform, that I have prepared for submission ta this publication. Over the past wecks, I have discussed the necd for the property tax, why reforni is necessary and have outlined very generally Uic problemsfindustrial property, farms, vacant land and governmcnt property. I have also touched very briefly on provincial grants and outlined for you a few of the alternatives to the present systeni that are being considered. These are the issues that I believe affect Uic resident of Durham West to thc greatest extent. Howevcr, they arc by no means thc only issues surrounding the propcrty tax. I could probably devote another five colurnns ta cottage properties; mining properties; railways and pipelines; unorganized am-as and thc sha ring of property taxes betwcen lower and upper tier municipal govcrnments. As well, many questions my .constituents ire asked remain ipianswcred. ~ 4- F1or instance, there appears t6 b a fa lyw espread belief that assessment at market value would encourage higher prices for houses. The answer to this question lies with the definition~ of "market value" in the legisiation. We must çiearly state that the "market" dictates the assessment value, and provide for the proper procedure to ensure this is the case. Peopiewho prescntiy'live in a home situated on a large lot very anxious about an increase in taxes. To these people I w ould say it is true, your taxes will likely increase with reform. but not by too much because the Government of Ontariç is adament that the residential propcrty owner wiii carry less of the overail property tax burden. And any increase that does occur wiii probably be phased in over a period of up to live years providing ample time to adjust. .Many cottage owners have told me they do not feel they shouid have topay full taxes on cottage property, because they only use their cottage for a few months out of each year. If this argument were considered valid, then likewise permanent c'sidents in cottage areas could dlaim they do not require the -sophisticatcd roadway system lcading to and fromn cottage treas, and therefore they shouid not be obliged to contribute lirough taxes to the cost of providing this service. Lack of use ,)f essential services, such as roads, fi-e and police, does not reduce the cost of providing such services. A cottage and the land it is on is a permanent fullîme investment and shouid not carry with it part timne costs. It is aiso a fact that more and more people are using their recreation property on a partial year-round basis. For the forcgoing reasons, it is anticipatcd that with reforni, property taxes on cottages will be calec'ulated the sanie way as residences, and would in most instances be increased. Just to touch briefly on oui- immediate neighbour to the west, -Metro Toronto, it is in this communlty wlth the largest implementing the idea of hiring a couple of students for the summer to aid in this project. The downtown in any town is always a probiem, but as we predicted a few years ago the weaker, less progressive businesses wili give way (and have) to those newer, more aggressive (usuaily better capitaiized> businesses who wili push, promote and do what is necessary. Those that are not progressing are in fact regressing. concentration of population in Ontario, that the most outstanding inequities are to be found, particularly in the City îitself . Many single famuly residences in the City of Toronto are 'o severely underassessed that if property tax reform based on mar 'ket value assessment were to be introduced today,it would cause the average taxes to rise by close to $160. Presently there are homes in the City taxes at 1940 values, and about 47,000 homes benefit froni the preferred rate given to vetcran's residences shortly after World War I. In very few instances is the original owner stili in residence. Because of this, tax relief is now being given to taxpayers whose income dme not warrant it, and whose homes are valued as high as $150.000. This is just another indication of how inequitable the présent property tax system really is. Even though reforni bas been indefinitely postponed, I believe it is my obligation ta, present the facts to my constituents, as clearly as possible, and ta stress to you that solutions must be found. If, and when, we proceed with reforni measures, I intend to conduct open meetings within the Durham West Riding, to provide my constituents with an opportunity to ask questions, so that I can address ini more depth individual specific concerns. It is my hope that these articles have succeeded in giving you at ieast a general idea of the inequities within the present systeni, and the direction that I would like ta 3S the Governmcnt take to correct these inequities. It is my personal opinion that we must procccd with property tax'reformn just as quickly as possible, and I wfil continue ta iîmpress this upon my colleagues in the Government at every opportunity. If you believe as I do that equity is thc only fair base for any tax systeni, then I hope you will openly support the concept of property tax reforni, even though there is no doubt that such reformn will brlng with It «"wlnners" and losers". j limbi..-