The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

- -u MILTON Join us for Downtown Milton's Classic Car &Motorcycle So Friday JuIy 17, 2009 6:0Opm to 1 0:OOpm (Patios open until. midnight) w.downtownmiton.com ION CURRIE /METROLAND WEST MEDIA GROUP Sîgns like the one worn by this man were in abundance at Halton Region head- quarters Wednesday. Debate Iasts hours before vote taken from SAVE on page Al But as debate dragged on for bours at council's finance commit- tee, the tcdituîn of defiberauive poli- tics iook its tofi on the we li- behavcd observers. The crowded chamibers thinncd out as lime wore on. Workcrs snuck oui for smnokc breaks or sirnply feft. At 4:30, the quîîttng \vhistfe apparentlV sound- cd, and the workcrs filed hack (on to the buses and bicadcd homne. two hours bel ore tbe finance comninittee finallv voîed, wîtb ibe staff recoin- ineclcation losing on a 4-4 tic. Thbe report ocîtltning the extra cosi to cvclopers \vill no% go to foul council for a voie \Vccnescla\s. At tbe heari of tbe ongoing bat- tic twccn resiclential devcfopers and Hiafton Region is tbe $8.000 surcharge Regional staff say resi- dential devefopcrs must pay to c)ver the cost of necessary roads, watcr and wastewater infrastruc- ture to bc buili over the ncxt decade or so. The fc is on top of tbe $29,000 fin devefopment charges homebuilders fn nortb Oakvif le and Milton already pay the region for such 'bard services.' The rnoney can be broken down into two compontents: eA $1,061 per unit cash flow charge - essentially an foteresi free loan given to the Region [rom the developers - 10 cover the eost of new water and wastewaster serv- ices and a $2.238 per unit roads cash flow charge for residential growîh in Oakvf île nortb of Upper Middl e Road and in Milton. Developers are concerned about the timing that ibis would bc paid to the Regfon. The Region wants somte of tbe cash up front before devefopers bave even got planning approvals from the locaf municipal- ities, money from the bank for their projecîs, or can start selling ibef r bouses. The Region doesn't wish to debt finance residential-relatcd tirastruccture, for lear of increasing ils debt ratio and jeopardizing its own AAA credît raîîng. It docs cindertake sucb debt financing to bcîifd tbe roads and sewers for employment lands, bowever, as t secs ihat as an investiment. -A $4.590 'olutnarv' contribu- tion paîd by resîdential de\ elopers to cover tbe cosi of- mandatorv and cfiscrctionarv exemppuons given to nion-residential clevefopers. The tnandatorv exemptions stemn froin the Pros mces Deveflopmcnî Chbarges Act, whichi specifies the Region can't colleci growth-rclated cosis for roads and water and sewcvr ptpes going to nexv scbools. mtcnic- ipal buildings, or expansions to cxisting indusîriaf operations. Regionaf counicil also approved some discretionary exemptions lasi May when iî pot in place uts current development charges bylaw. That bylaw gave exemptions 10 farm operations, places of worsbip, sea- sonal structures, conservatton authorities and a break on the cost of roads 10 industrial developers. Maitamy's lawyer argued its unfair for residential developers only in nortb Oakvilf e and Milton to pick up tbese costs. Regional staff told commiîîee it could try to spread the cost to developers across the Region but there would be no way to make tbem pay it. Only 1,600 of the expected 9,500 sewer and water pipes need- ed to build new homes in nortb Oakville and Milton over the next few years have been requested by developers, indicating eitber a seri- ous financing problem or a uniîed front fromn tbe major bomebuilders to proiesi the surcharge by refusfng to take part in the affocation pro- grain. Councif wilf have to decide whether its a bluff or a f egîttînate economie problcm. Tim Forait con be reoaclcef at tforanC-miltoncanadianchanpion.eom. riALLINLifR