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st wekmem0mi6x i in this corner council and sos group square off over local fiscal issues i town says sos ad had countless- inaccuracies several staff bosses and the mayor are appalled shocked and disgusted by misinforma tion and countless factual errors printed in a fullpage weekender advertisement last saturday the ad paid for by residents group save our stouffville sos invites ratepayers to a meeting at lemonville commu nity centre next week to discuss fiscal issues and alleged lack of control in town affairs but mayor fran sainsbury and head staffers say the group is using underhanded tactics to deceive and lure new members there is more to this group than nieets the eye this is no ratepayers group sainsbury said during an interview in her office wednesday to discuss the ads countless inaccuracies also present were fire chief bill brown chief administrative officer bob panizza and finance director ed blackburn their intention is obviously not for the best interests of this town i thought they were trying to help resolve some of the prob lems here in a reasonable fash ion sos is not attacking issues they are attacking peo ple this is no longer on the bor ders of democracy this is a mild form of harassment sainsbury said the mayor is furious the ad which she said is geared to raise unnecessary fear is based on wrong unqualified and untrue propaganda panizza chastised sos for making no effort to speak to town staff and warned taxpay ers against taking the groups information as gospel they have never once come in and asked for information they have never talked to us if a group is going to make com ments in an ad they should at least give us the courtesy to get their facts correct theyve just listed their interpretation of facts panizza said sos spokesman marion wells however said she resents the town taking its beef to the tri bune wells said she did come to the town nov 21 and made a 15minute delegation in front of many residents which outlined the groups concerns but council made it perfectly clear they wont listen to us they never answered our con cerns and said we wouldnt get any answers until after the bud get wells said its now up to the town to make a move whats really really hurting is that the town is not commu nicating with us i told them during my speech that i stand to be corrected its right there in black and white sos is willing to accept correction but the town is not listening to us wells said we gave them the things we wanted but instead of coming to the people who are causing all the problems they go to the paper why dont they go to the source its not our place to con tact them now wells said at issue with sos and town fire truck what the town says whitchurchstouffville needs to upgrade its present- equipment and to think ahead for the next 20 years there is no other com munity willing to give up a truck unless its life expectancy is limit ed there is already 250000 saved for the purpose of a new aerial truck debt incurred would amount to about 228000 over a 10year period already approved by york region this would work out to about 2 a year per person at a nine per cent loan rate if ordered today or 20 a person up front no new truck has yet been approved by council there is no expensive fire hydrant upgrade necessary and regular maintenance is paid for through urban water bills the new truck would be designed to service both rural and urban homes effectively and would pump water at the same rate as the present vehicle information based on inter views with town fire chief bill brown and finance director ed blackburn what sos says whitchurchstouffville will end up paying 11 million through hidden undetermined costs if a 6i there is more to this group than meets the eye this is no ratepayers group mayor fran sainsbury new truck is purchased the town should not saddle taxpay ers with this massive longterm debt during tough uncertain economic times the town should look at buying a used truck from another town whose needs have outgrown its use the upkeep on a new truck loan interest and maintenace will ring in at about 130000 a year the truck proposed would not ade quately service rural areas information based on inter views with sos group mem bers salary increases what sos says town staff should take a cut in salary to 1 991 levels and leave their posts if not satisfied a parks superintendent should not have been hired the towns cao and finance director are making an effort to hire people who live outside the municipality information based on inter views with sos members and an sos paid advertisement what the town says under provincial labor laws the town cannot discriminate against people because of where they live the town adver tises for jobs available at the town and chooses applicants who are best suited for a partic ular position the towns 1991 payroll ate up about 34 per cent of its 13 million budget far less percentage than what many other corporations pay out to employees information based on inter views with blackburn and the mayor reserve accounts what the town says it is a misappropriation of funds to use reserve account money for uses other than intended and the town does not draw on reserves to allow for more spending for example the towns largest savings account is the lot levy or devel opment charges account with a balance of about 1 million developers must contribute funds to this account in lieu of land for development to be used exclusively for new parks and recreation projects reserve accounts mean the town is securing funds for the future information based on inter views with blackburn what sos says the town should cut spending and not draw on reserves information based on sos published documents sos is willing to accept correction but the town is not listening to us if sos marion wells ball placed in towns court sos sos members dont have the experience the expertise nor the qualifications to make financial decisions on behalf of the town said mayor fran sainsbury this week with all due respect to sos spokesman marion wells what does a farmers wife know about fire equipment the mayor asked the town on the other hand she said has a 20year fire expert who lives and breathes fire equipment and rescue meth ods day in and day out what expert does sos have sainsbury said the mayor chief administrative officer bob panizza finance director ed blackburn and fire chief bill brown met with the tri bune this week to discuss what they call misinformation presented by sos in a jan 9 fullpage ad published in the weekender the mayor is angry that the group singles out blackburn and panizza in the ad this is a mild form of harrassment theyre not attacking issues theyre attack ing people sainsbury said sos states in the ad it is clear the cao and the treasurer have attempted to j discredit and discourage a large and grow ing number of taxpayers concerned with the spending and lack of control in town affairs thats completely untrue and unfounded the mayor says i know of nothing i did to discredit or discourage anybody in any way shape or form blackburn said we have never discredited anyone how can we discredit people if we dont know who they are sainsbury added but sos spokesman marion wells said it doesnt matter if the town knows every mem ber of the group and should not have ignored the groups concerns weve placed the ball in their court wells said wells added the mayor and staff members who are offended by the ad should pay for their own ad out of their own pockets to correct the misinformation instead of going to the press sainsbury said sos members fail to under stand the municipal government process regarding reserve accounts services and staff and salary processes sos believes town officials unresponsive to ratepayers a local residents group sos pushing for fiscal restraint for 1993 questions whether the local mayor really cares what people have to say because she didnt answer any of their concerns sos members also say the town has evaded their ques tions which were brought before council last fall i cant be all things to all people and i never said i was a 10 said mayor fran sains bury this week the mayor is angry that an sos advertisment questions whether the mayor really cares and depicts councillors and its staff as having a secret hidden agenda thats just not true the mayor said i do care i sleep and drink this whole job this mayors seat is my home away from home said the mayor who points out that she has been active in local volunteer work and politics since 1974 the mayor said people should understand that local govern ment often gets hit with higher costs from york region because of legislation or funding cuts at the provincial level rising welfare costs are a prime example sainsbury said york region pays about 20 per cent 9 million last year of the regional welfare budget queens park pays the balance the more people who require the service the higher the costs the higher the costs the more each municipality gets charged she said outside forces keep chipping away at our bank account sainsbury said the town also denies an sos allegation that town finance director ed blackburn draws on reserves instead of slash ing spending and cutting cor ners sos makes it look like i have a choice in decision mak ing i do what the council of the day instructs me to do blackburn said reserves are for looking ahead we must put money away to fix and maintain the complex roads parks equip ment etc but the myth is that there was more i spent in 1992 than there was in 1991 we did not rob the reserves blackburn said chief administrative officer bob panizza said- sos is caus ing undue concern and fear in citizens when expenditures have not been approved yet and the mayor said its cow ardly for sos to choose tues day night the same evening as council sessions for its next big meeting its all about headlines sainsbury said the balls been placed in their court sos spokeman marion wells contends who says its wrong for the mayor to go to the paper instead of the source