Page 6., Whltby Free Press, Wednesday, September 25, 1996 The only Newspaper owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents! MEMBER 0F: - Canadien Community Newspaper Association (d M ý Ilffl ýRp Ontario community Newspaper Association Whitby Whitby usiness Oshawa-Durham Home Chamber of Commerce in Action Buiders' Association The Whitby Free Press is distnibuted free to 99% of the homes in Whitby, Brooklin,. Ashbumn & Myrtie as weiI as numerous public and commercial ouiets in Whitby, Oshawa, Ajax, Pickering & Port Pery. J 28500COPES ELIVERED WEEKLY MAIL suBscRip.TIONS AVAILABLE Canada $36 + GST - Outside Canada $85 + GST ISSN#0844-3gaX Published every Wednesday by 677209 Ontario lnC. 900 Hopkins St. /Box 206, Whitby, Ontario Li N 5S1 Phone: 668-611il Fax: 668-0594 Doug Anderson - Publisher Maurice Pifher - Editor Donald G. Hinton - Sales Manager *Alexandra Martin - Production Manager Printed on newsprint with minimum 20% Ob recycled content using vegetabie based inks. %si CAil written material, illustrations and advertising conlained herein is protected by copyright. Any reproduction by an y means for commercial purposes without the express permission of the newspaper is prohlbited and ls a violation oft Canadian copyright law. Reproduction for non-commercial distribution should bear a credil fie Io the Whtby Free Press. Left smth eiling f- 1 r~~o to edîtr tdg vIewrtndexloeristatlng my aifews andexpe rle ncewt auomotîv I e Insrance7 S1mp96 es Itn ofthe Apri 17 Fee Press. It wasqut obvious ta anyone who read dlsgruntled WAth my hi Insurance rates and just - wanteil ta have my say. On the samhe day that was -TICpubllshed, 1 recelved a phone cal from State Farm Insurance ln Brooklin.i1 recolvod an insurance quote, and a much botter onelmimght.add. Naw that I was motlvatod, 1 stalted ta saVe mney ovêrthe - 'nexi four months ta take up the ompany representatlve on her Squote. Sa thars what 1 dld, and t was the flrst Urne I ever left an "Back to the sidewalks?" nurnecmpanynwng Oshawa To the edîtor: Re: Durhiam Education wlns Bertelsmann Award Board 0f the Carl Foundation We should ail be proud that the Durham Board 0f Education won the Carl Bertelsmann Award. But before w. slap anyone on the back, perhaps we rnlght find out what it means. Who is Carl Bertelsrnann and doos ho know anythlng about what constitutes good education?, Was the froe tuip ta Gormany for Audrey, Grant, Kay, Norm and Doug really free or wdi the taxpayer b. on the hook for that also? Consîdfer these five are playing With resîdonts' tax money. Without it, they- wauld not. b. considered for any award. But the reakty Is that nobody actually studied the overpniced operation af thîs board. To the editor: Sa aur sohool trustees want t0 Impose a "gag order." These people, Uke most politicians, forget that they work for the taxpayer and we have evory right ta know what bs happening with our tax dollars. They constantly abuse powers and a "gag order" bs the ultimate insuIt. Megadollars are spent for a monument on Taunton, complote wiîth an wepnsive scrolling sign. Thon they build an addiional school ln an area that already has. suffidiern schools because they want ta The award seer been assessed videotape Of Secondary School new mausaleum c0 Read, and the gran, pnize seems ta b. lnterpretation of the f wha are on the pai board.. Why bs the Duihai Education gettlng accolades, when fa Durham Catholic 1 plovided what many superior educatiori students at signl1c cost for each? < isRtlime for thi Board 0f Educalion their self-aggra campalgn and get praviding the beic oducatlon ait ft reasonable pnice tanqayes deserve ft, the students. offer 1 2-month sch could have been bul would 1M11 ta irnmeditely. During elections, these people do not lot the electorate kr they are and wt represont. Fifty per dent of my laxes goos. ta the board. If these people interested in advanc own agenda *ar representing thosei the shot, thon ma should have soma ne John 13YPaul Pagnuelo *Ad valorem, 15 the assessment standard af Most praperty. tax systems. SImply put~ the assossment base is tied, ta some extent, ta the market value af the [roperty. Ad vaiorem systems ai assume a vald relatlonshlp exlsts Tis ta have between a property's market fram a value and the amount af taxes, Sinclair each property should pay. next ta the But there is one system )n Taunton which takes a very different deu 0fthe appraach. Rather than uslng anly in the monetay values, the ive crnothe assessment base is fiveçroies dotermlnod lnstead by the yril ai the physical size of eh property. lm Boarci 0? Unit assessment .(UA) uses j ail the the equlty approach that l )r years the praperties of similar size should board has be assessed the same. The consider a assossment base lis compluted, n far the purely an square footage or antly lower moters. The - type 0f noighbourhood or location, the ý ie Durham nge, condition or use 0f the ita get off property don't alter the tndlzemnent assessment but are factors 1on mIth that can be usedin sett.g the et quallty tax rate. me most Conversely, unit value d B? The assessment (UVA), which is % and sa do often confused with the UA fi system, starts out with the a in Yong vphrical dimensions but thon on jaun adjusts themn by the factorsh .jx mentioned as a proxy for arriving at a market value ( assessment lsrael adopted UA for P household and business h properties because it wanted ta booling. n koep its assossment systemro ll ilit where it simple, mhe assessment is thi caact calculated uslng floor area and k lImprovedu yard areas such as a Most of swfimmin pools and garages. w bother taUo erthe srael model 0f UA, <ý now who the assessment only changes ffe jhat they when there Is an addition ta orw demolition of the measured yeî y propertv area. ié séhod le are anly King their ind not who pay iybe we ew blood. n Brooks Whltby The Whitby Free Presswelcomes leters to the editor on any subject ai cancem ta our readers. Letters should be brief and ta the paint -- rareiy more than 300 words. AIl letters mnust be aoeompanied by the name,, address and telephane number af the writer. Hawever, on request, your name may be withheld tram publication if we agree there is a valid reasan. The newspaper reserves the nrght ta reject ar edit al letters. Send ta: The Editar, Whitby Free Press, Box 206, Whitby, Ont. LUN 5S1, or drap through.aur mail siat at 900 Hopkins St., et Bums St. in lsrael, local councils determine the tax rate per square metre with variations determinod on a palicy basis by location and type of buildllng, refloctlng their J udgrnent of -ability ta payf Newer buildings and praporlies in weathier areas pay higher taxes.- For example, -pay abwer tai rae per square. metre than the more affluent districts. Local tax rate stnjctures are subjoct ta ovlew by the national gavemment as a moans of protectlng the public lrom subjective tax pollcy decisions adthte local leveL. 1The unitkssmn system,1 If t were ta b. consld.red for1 look at -unit assessment Ontario, could be modified ta alow for différent combinatians af building size and lot area. The amount of property tax ta be paid could be based solely on the size of the building, or on bath the building and bot size. Tax pollcy would be determlned, not through the assessment base, but by dlfferlng tax rates, say,. for buildings versus land, with further variations for usage and lot-i of1hiOtajoTaoaro ' The current debate about property tax rolorm in Ontano cornes down ta the simple question 0f what Is fair when t cornes ta sharing the costs of municipal govomment. bs a fairsystem one where the assossment base Is stable, eqialunderstandabîe and efficent?' Should fair mean apportionlng th e. costs of govemment on the basis af the Or" dmosà it man cistributing the tax load on the; basis 0f the Worth 0f.the property, or the occupantrs alty. ta pay? Shouki a fair tax .polk4 be detorminod thrpug'i tax rates, the assossrnt base, or bath? What Is it that taxpayors want ln a fair tax system? lPaul Pagnueblo la a membe, -About welfare, etc. I have been readlng a Io about pople agalnst workfare food bank lovels low, legal aic br dnJnk dà 191, wantlng mnore Iaycare/jufflor kindergarten, oveffare fraud and ngerprtntlng, etc. Weil here ire my 'top 130 opinions: 1 . Against vmrkfare? You lave a cholce. Wark and get lald.* Refuse and you don't get pald). 2. Agalnst fingerprinting, ta revent wolfare fraud? You wae a cholce. See above. 3. How bong shauki a persan cove welfaro benefits? Weil, le local food bank director icad that the average Uime persan recolvos welfare bs tpproximately15 rnonths.0 ka% lots mako the maximum etirne bonefits payable two id a haifflimes longer (three )ars). Once that Uime is used ),an more, periad. 4. Logai aid for drunk drivers insane. If you can afford a ilcie ta drive, the gas ta run andalso the cost ofthe cze, thon you can dam well lrd ta pay for a lawyer. iats espoclly the case for Ssecond offenders who are ng ta jail. Belore you drink idrive,. you mnake the 5Free daycare and Junior dergarten, -no. Socialistse ems and we taxpayers have )wyforthlose programis. Yau ut these prograins, pay for ný dlrectly fram your wallet; the laxpayers. *Food banks. If luey buildl they wAI corne - and rtunately more fraud. Give' responsibikly back ta the Up, vl it bc Thi tho gail anc Cho dix to p war flot1 6. Ut* uNlc. churches ta malintain them on a more porsonal basis. 7. Welfare frauci, autornauically go ta JailI. No further dlaims aocepted, evor. 8. Prognant bocause- you were too caroless ta use blrth contraI, thon want tax dollars ta pay for the abortion? No. Ninety per cent 0f the lime w. are paylng for your carelessnoss. 9. Your parents kick you out because they 'vorbaiiy aue yau and Impose rules and curfews. No weffare. 10. AIDS. Bggest Ie.f the '90s and '80s. Valuable taxpayors', money is' boing wastod on the squeak wheev4olltcanly correct. Stop having gay sex without condoms and stop uslng dlrty neodies. 11. Reduce the amount of Let public decide another 20 Per cent Havlng ai prospocting .empboyee teli yau h. 15 botter off an welfare, lnstead of working, is wrong. We stilI, ln Ontario, pay the mnost Of any Of the provinces. 12. Uborals and sodialists want ta, run/ruin aur ives abusing Our tax pald dollars areating more non-productive Jobs through anll-lamily, anti- Christian means. 13. Why are union dues and contributions ta paliticai parties 100 per cent tax-doductible while donations ta churchos and a ther fine- institutions grantod 17 ta 29 per cent Incomi'e tax deductions? Why are 'Union dues deductible anyway? Unions do not croate jobs, only protess and obstruction against dernocracy. Tred Greenflecg Whtby Having read "Ludicrous deforise* (letter - by Dan McTeague, Free Press, Sept. 18), I see the old Ubomai prieoaicalllng people raclst ta direct attention away frorn thoir own laults Is sdli ln vague. Vos, -Mr. McTeague, I have read theé Socurity Intelligence RoeW« Cammitte. repart, The Herftage Front Affair, espocally the sections you mentioned. How much stock cari Mr. Mceaue place ln arpr geeaoby so PC an Liboral patronage. appointees with thOlr own polt"a agenda? They are investigatlng why CSIS Startod the Heritage Front and why it actively tried ta Place racsts Inta a rival Canadian politIcal party ta try and discredit-it, actions which, by Mr. McTeague's ler, he seerns ta b. supportlng. if ho roaliy wants ta, clear the air, lild be happy ta debate him in public, anytime, anywhore and Wwle'ot the public docide Who tolls the truth. Andrew Davier Whltby Get on with it An "vinsuit"f 1 To tile editor 1 -Fo t-ile ed i tor -Iro the editor: To the editor: