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PAGE 4, MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1984, WHITBY FREE PRESS whitby Voice of the County Town Michael Ian Burgess, Publisher.• Managing Editor The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whithv residentç by M.B.M. Publishing and Photography Inc. Phone 668-6111 The Free Press Building, 131 Brock Street North, P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. Second Class Mail PO. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. MICHAEL KNELL Community Editor VALERIE COWEN Advertising Manager Secondclass Mail Registration No. 5351 And give the taxpayers a break Ca» the board follow the town 'Q. 1 mIr1 9 The residents of the Town of Whitby received an early Christmas present the other day when coun- cil held a special meeting and decided not to in- crease its property tax levy next year. This means, that taxes for Town of Whitby pur- poses only will not Jump next year. Coun. Marcel Brunelle, this year's budget chief, has attributed this amazing feat to a combination f sound fiscal management and good planning, whlch resulted ln a 1984 growth rate of 5.7 per cent. This growth in assessment has generated suf- fpcient addtional tax revenue to put the town in a position ta, forgo raising taxes for local purposes Giving thanks By Tony Carlson Much more than New Year's, this season, for man: of us, is a time of new begin nings and reflections on the past year. Millions of students and teachers are settling in for an- other crack at the books. Our most popular sport is gearing up in arenas from Agassiz to St. John's. New colors add brilliant light to our forests and calendars announce Rosh Hashanah and Thanksgiving. it is a fine time, as we digest our holiday feasts, to step back and assess how we're faring, as a country and as individuals. Certainly there is much that is worrisome: horrendous un- employment; increasing pov- erty; a future in which new technologies threaten jobs and new weapons, lives. But balanced against all of that is the reality that for the great majority of us in this country, life offers oppor- tunities unequalled in the world. We love to carp at govern- ment, bureaucrats and politi- cians alike. But the fact that we can launch broadsides at those in power, without fear of reprisal, gives us a leg up on much of the world's population. We crab about our schools, saying they produce unskilled graduates. But we do have universal education at stan- dards that are above most. We rail against Ottawa's deficit. But we can be thank- fui for an inflation rate that is 100 times.lower than the one Israelis live with. We also seem to have no trouble, on the whole, buying luxury goods. More of us own video recorders (12.5 per cent of all households) than ever before; sane with microwave ovens (16 per cent own them), w color televisions (88 per cent) Y and cable converters (31 per - cent). Clearly the good life is e not passing all of us by. Our farmers are among the most productive in the world, allowing us to eat well at relatively low prices. Even in the West, where drought has decimated the giain crops, last mnonth's early snow bodes well for a replenishing winter. While recovery from the re- cession remains fragile, more people are starting businesses today than two years ago, and fewer are going under. Events in the last few months also must give us a boost. For the first time in decades, Canadians have a governing party that truly represents all regions of the country. It is worthwhile, too, to think about the warmth that was sparked by the Pope's visit, a significant outpouring of affection for a spiritual leader who touched us all, re- gardless of faith. We might reflect as well on the lonely trek of Steve Fonyo, the one-legged runner following doggedly in the footsteps of Terry Fox. The determination of these young men is inspirational. Nor should we forget the hockey heroes who recaptured the Canada Cup with stirring play. Their win won't cure cancer, but it provides mil- lions with a sense of pride. This is not to claim we enjoy the best of all possible worlds. Rather it is to give thanks for what we do have. We lose something precious if we allow the mountains of dross to bury the nuggets of gold. CFI Feature Service in 1985. As we have done time and time again over the last few years, this newspaper would like ta remind its readers that while the town hasnt in- creased its taxes - the total tax bill most likely will stil climb because of increased levies imposed by the Region of Durham and the Durham Board of Education. Over the course of the last few years, the Region of Durham has taken the word restraint ta heart and broughtrindsubstantially lw tax in- creases for Whitby residents. In a report prepared for Durham Regional Coun- cil at its meeting last week, chief administrative officer Don Evans indicated that all regional departments are being urged to prepare budgets that are within the current rate of inflation - which rests at about four per cent. While the ultimate net impact on the taxpayer is not yet known, a four per cent increase in expen- ditures should not create that heavy an additional burden. As our readers know, this newspaper has had qualms about the financing of the local education system. Every year, so It seems, we take the board to task because they have invariably failed to follow the restraint shown by the two other levels of local government having direct impact on the Whitby property taxpayer. • The board of education also benefits when the town has solid growth. It, tso, realizes supplemen- tary taxes during the budget year and new sources of revenue in the years following. Yet it seems that the board does not or cannot - for whatever reason - live with the same level of increases imposed by the region and the town. The province has tried in the past year to keep the increases in expenditures, not only by its own agenices but by municipalities in Ontario, to five per cent. That is one point over the rate of inflation and if the board of education cannot live wlthin that, then the polcy makers are going to have to do a great deal of accounting during the next year. Recent negotiations between the board and Its teachers have revealed in the fact finders report that they want ta keep salary and benefit package increases within the five per cent guideline. This would Iead one ta assume that the board is trying to limit othernexpenses to that f ive per cent level as well. It is interesting to note that the fact finder found " ... that the Board annually makes significant over levies on its taxpayers, builds considerable reserve accounts, and pays "cash" for al its capital construction." Let's hope that this year the Board doesn't continue to "over levie". This newspaper believes that Whitby Town Council deserves a pat on the back. Without raising taxes they have increased their level-of service through sound fiscal management and by wisely allocating new revenues derived from our 1984 growth rate of 5.7 per cent. If the Town of Whitby can prepare and execute a budget that meets the immediate needs of the taxpayer without increasing taxes, we see no reason why either the Region of Durham or the Durham Board of Education can't do so as well. After all, Whitby's budget is less than 10 per cent of that of either the region or the board. The solid growth in assessment must be as great a benefit to those levels of government as it, is to Whitby. The town has shown that it is possible to bring in a zero tax hike during a year of economic uncer- tainty. We hope the board and the region follow its lead. iblished every Wednesday - -e - - - "U-1luquiltb. "Ma,,O' qw %.iw v v m J& k-:7 A qq.10 " ILOL é