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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, March 29, 2012 · 4 Continued from page 1 Budget and job market promising in Oakville "If the city of Lausanne, Switzerland, population 120,000, can have systems like this then the Region of Halton, which is 600,000 and heading for 800,000, can surely imagine things like this or, for that matter, Oakville, at 182,000 in 2011 and heading for 240,000 in 2031, we, too, can imagine a future like that." Rob Burton, Mayor of Oakville Burton also spoke about the recent council adoption of the new Oakville budget. After the Town's base budget hike of 6.55 per cent was blended with Halton Region's 1.2 per cent tax increase and no hike in education rates for 2012, it translated to a 2.93 per cent increase in Oakville property taxes for 2012. Burton said the increase did not exceed the level of inflation and is in keeping with a promise made during the recent municipal election. He also said Oakville's economic outlook is promising. In 2006, Burton said Oakville's tax-supported debt was $24 million. Today, he said, this debt sits at $17 million and will be eliminated within 10 years if Oakville continues to follow the financial plan Town council has laid out. The Town's unused debt capacity, he said, is currently more than $500 million. Burton said the local job front is also looking good with 325,000 square feet of office development launched in 2011. This development, he said, will eventually yield 2,200 jobs. "This trend is set to continue in 2012 with the development of more than 600,000 square feet of new office space with capacity for 4,000 new employees," said Burton. To watch the Siemens video visit www.youtube.com/ watch?v=MPJzFQ2k86o. are going to do anything big, you have to plan ahead, you have to think ahead. "This would be, relative to Halton's ability, a fairly large undertaking. That means if we are going to go anywhere near something like this, we have to think long and there's nothing wrong with that. "If the city of Lausanne, Switzerland, population 120,000, can have systems like this then the Region of Halton, which is 600,000 and heading for 800,000, can surely imagine things like this or, for that matter, Oakville, at 182,000 in 2011 and heading for 240,000 in 2031, we, too, can imagine a future like that." When asked if he was seriously considering this kind of transit for Oakville, Burton said he, Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr, Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring and their senior staffs had already heard presentations from Siemens and were exploring what they could do to implement Cityval in Halton, Oakville and Burlington. "We're very excited by it," said Burton. DAVID LEA / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @davidlea6 chamber address: Oakville Mayor Rob Burton addresses the audience at an Oakville Chamber of Commerce gathering Tuesday. "The discussions are starting with maybe seeing if there's a way to have a pilot demonstration." Burton qualified these statements by telling the audience both local and Regional council did not work so hard to get tax increases under control to just undue that work now. Cityval was not the only topic of discussion during the Chamber presentation. Congratulations St. Thomas Aquinas y School! Catholic Secondary Now an accredited International Baccalaureate (IB) World School! Currently accepting applications from across Halton for Grades 9 & 10 pre-IB studies, and for the Grade 11 Diploma Programme. For more information, please contact: Jeff Crowell, Vice-Principal, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School 124 Dorval Drive, Oakville, ON | 905-842-9494 | crowellj@hcdsb.org Alice Anne LeMay Chair of the Board Michael W. Pautler Director of Education