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PAGE 6. WHITBY FREE PRESS. WEDNESDAY APRIL 22;,1987 f.e w VOICE OF THE COUNTY TOWNq Theoiy W,'hitbyYnewspaper independently ow ned and operated b% 'Whitby residents for M hidh% re.ident ir ~ww Published every Wednesday By 677209 Ontario Inc. Phone: 668-6111 DOUG ANDERSON Publisher MAURICE PIFHER Editor PETER IRVINE Advertising Manager The unforeseen helped boost taxes Town and Region and Durham Board of Education each managed to avoid double-digit budget increases, although the combined effect will.be substantial enough to allow residents their annual moan and stomp - in moderation, we recommend. The largest share of the tax biIl goes for education, which will undergo an 8.5 per cent tax hike in Whitby in '87. That's not bad, just as the Region increase of 9.1 per cent for Whitby and the Town's share, up about 8 per cent, aren't that steep either. For each is now dealing with what can be termed as "exter- nal" influences that have to be met with tax- payers' money. For the board, Bill 30 (which extended public funding to Roman Catholic elementary schools) meant substantial lost assessment and that alone accounted for 3 per cent of the mill rate increase. For the Region, the 911 telephone system to be provided down the road and an increase of only 2 per cent in provincial grants may be regarded as two outside determinants that affected the budget. (Perhaps more internal is the start of ex- tensive repairs to ever busy regional roads, repairs for which the cost was provided in the budget, as well as reserves for a possible new headquarters building and new landfill site to be shared with Metro Toronto.) In Whitby, more and more new residents have brought a demand for expanded services in ail areas. And a second, totally unforeseen circum- stance - last August's flooding that has forced storm sewer repairs - accounts for a good part of the increase in this year's Town share of the tax bill. (A new Town computer, and land for both a new rec complex and as yet undisclosed plans for Port Whitby, are among the acquisitions in the capital budget for 1987. The Town should indicate to ratepayers just what the property and building plans are at Port Whitby. Perhaps also to be ex- plained is a Town committee decision to recon- sider the treasury department recommendation of a specific new computer system - at the request of a competing firm whose bid was not recommen- ded. Should ail those who tender for any Town project be allowed to make similar pleas?) The necessary, perhaps unanticipated extras, come on top of regular increases such as salary hikes for employees and new staff-additions to meet increased workloads. Moreover, both the Region and public school board remain steadfast in adopting a policy of "pay as you go" which makes residents pay now to produce a cleah, debt-free balance sheet within five years. Yes, it's difficult to swallow now but future residents, in- cluding the children to of many current ratepayers, will reap the rewards someday - at least, we would hope "our" sacrifice pays off. The argument in education given by Whitby school trustee Ian Brown, who chairs the board's finance committee and budget deliberations, is that money can either be "invested" now to en- sure quality education to pay future dividends, or money can be spent later. Spend now, he suggests, "in a preventative sense" or later "in a remedial sense, where unemployment and other social concerns have financial and human costs." If municipal politicians and trustees say their budgets will result in improved -services to residents, they're partly right. Our budget-makers are scrambling to play catch-up with the growth that is going on, and with those extras that have been imposed. And as Region finance chairman Jim Witty has noted, we're paying more dollars now to get less work done. Taxes go up - municipal and school reps tell us that things could get worse. Some painful last minute cuts in spending were made, they will claim. It's the usual plea and it does come after some gulping and soul-searching by our reps who may begrudgingly have to abandon a personal project or one put forth by a group of ratepayers. So while we reluctantly accept that "unfair" tax bill, and seek to lay blame, we should do with some understanding that fault may not always be with representative money managers, but to. a large degree, from without. In defence of our trustees To the editor: Recently our Whitby School trustees have been taking quite an "editorial" beating stemming from their proposed solution to over- crowding in our schools. The specific issue I refer to here in- volves the boundary changes affec- ting Palmerston Avenue Public School and the subsequent effect the change has had on the school's much-needed addition. In this regard, trustee Ian Brown has taken considerable flack from many parents and he has been ac- cused of not acting in our children's best interests. We do not agree and can speak from personal experien- ce that this is not the case. Two years ago Mr. Brown pulled out all the stops when he backed Palmerston parents 100 per cent in their efforts to obtain a school library. The ordinary course of events at a school board meeting is for parents to present their proposal and then leave the meeting. However, at this par- ticular meeting, trustee Brown placed his position in jeopardy by calling for an immediate vote with parents still in attendance. Despite remarks from other members of the board such as "protocol is not being followed here" and "we can- not give in to every parent group that exerts pressure" Mr. Brown persisted. He initiated a vote and we got our library. Palmerston parents were most grateful to him that night. To return to the matter at hand, although we support the proposed boundary changes and do believe they will relieve some of the pressure at Palmerston, existing facilities will still be overtaxed. The present staff room serves also as an academic resource room and a parent-teacher interview room. We have absolutely no storage space and the principal's small of- fice who have volunteered their time to provide remedial assistan- ce to students but are limited by the shortage of classroom space. The above situation will become more serious as new developments are completed to the north of the school. In spite of the way we feel about Palmerston, we have to realize that our school is only one part in the plan for the whole of Whitby. We, the undersigned, are satisfied that the Whitby trustees are aware of the situation and will make the best possible decisions for everyone concerned. Sincerely, Mike and Penny Scuse Whitby "You gotta' be quick, son, if you wanna' cross Thickson!" LETTERS The Whitby Free Press welcomes letters to the Editor on any subject of concern to our readers. Letters should be brief and to the point - rarely more than 300 words. Al letters must be accompanied by the name, address and phone number of the writer; however, on request, your name may be withheld from publication if we agree that there is a valid reason. The paper reserves the right to reject or edit all letters. Send to: The Editor, Whitby Free Press, Box 206, Whitby, Ontario LiN 5S1 or drop through our mailslot at 131 Brock St. N. . . . . .............. ........... ........... --------------- rhe Free Press Building 131 Brock Street North P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont.