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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 10 ,2 01 9 | 10 Public Input Meetings on the 2019 Regional Budget Public Input meetings are scheduled to gather input on the 2019 Regional Budget. The meetings will be held on: Wednesday, January 16, 2019 6:00 p.m. and Wednesday, February 6, 2019 6:00 p.m. Both Meetings will be held at: Regional Council Chamber 150 Frederick Street, 2nd Floor, Kitchener If you are interested in Regional services you may wish to attend. Final approval of the Region's 2019 Operating Budget and Ten-Year Capital Program is scheduled for Tuesday, February 19, 2019, with the meeting starting at 4:30pm. Notice of these meetings is being given in accordance with the "Municipal Act" as amended and the Region's Notice Policy. Please visit our website for more information on the Regional Budget: https://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/regional-government/budget-and-finance-archives.aspx or view the 2019 Preliminary Budget Book and 2019 Budget Issue Paper Package after December 11, 2018 at the Council and Administrative Services Office, 150 Frederick Street, 2nd Floor, Kitchener. To speak to a staff person in Corporate Budgets regarding the budget, please call Cheryl Braan at 519-575-4705 or email CBraan@regionofwaterloo.ca. You are welcome to attend any of the scheduled budget meetings or Council meetings. For a copy of the budget schedule please visit our website, as above. Members of the public may register as a delegation at the two public meetings on January 16th and February 6th, 2019. Please contact the Regional Clerk's Office at 519-575-4400 or regionalclerk@regionofwaterloo.ca to register to speak at the public meetings by 4:30 p.m. on Monday, January 14th (for the January 16th meeting) and Monday, February 4th (for the February 6th meeting). If you require accessible services to participate in thesemeetings, please contact the Regional Clerk's Office by the Friday prior to the meeting. Unable to attend the Budget Public Input meetings? Join the conversation online at www.engageregionofwaterloo.ca by January 16th to provide your feedback on the Region's 2019 Budget. Kris Fletcher Regional Clerk All comments and information received from individuals, stakeholder groups and agencies regarding the budget are being collected to assist the Region of Waterloo in making a decision. Under the "Municipal Act", personal information such as name, address, telephone number, and property location that may be included in a submission becomes part of the public record. Questions regarding the collection of this information should be referred to Cheryl Braan, as above. Weather-wise, rain and mild temperatures are what stand out for Decem- ber. While the University of Waterloo Weather Sta- tion's monthly report shows precipitation levels were normal for the time of year, most of what fell was rain - not snow. "I think people, just think back and realize, yeah, I haven't had to shov- el my sidewalk very much in December, just once or twice," said Frank Segle- nieks, weather station co- ordinator. Out of the 71.2 milli- metres of precipitation last month, only 11.5 milli- metres fell as snow. The rest was rain. The weather station calculates its weather averages based on Waterloo Wellington Air- port data from 1981 to 2010. Region residents will recall a very rainy New Year's Eve, which caused the City of Waterloo to can- cel its outdoor celebra- tions in Waterloo Public Square. With the rain, tempera- tures were a bit warmer than usual. The weather station reports that the average temperature for December was two degrees above average, which was a factor in the late opening of the Chicopee ski hill. The hill typically opens around the Christmas holi- day but didn't open until the New Year's Day, as mild temperatures made it diffi- cult to make snow. Seglenieks said we can expect mild temperatures and a mix of rain and snow for the first half of January as well. "(It's) kind of the mixed bag we've seen in Decem- ber - at least for the first part of January," he said. Environment Canada shows temperature highs between -1C and 4C over the next seven days, with lows dipping to -5C. DECEMBER IN WATERLOO REGION WAS WET AND MILD Few skaters were on the rink at Kitchener City Hall on New Year's Eve as the rain kept people away. Andrej Ivanov, Special to The Record LOCAL American politics domi- nated the non-fiction sec- tion as the Waterloo Public Library released its annual list of most borrowed books of 2018 on Wednesday. Broken Promise by Lin- wood Barclay topped the list as the most popular fic- tion book while Fear: Trump in the White House- by Bob Woodward was the most-borrowed non-fiction book. Newly-released Becom- ing, an autobiographical memoir penned by former U.S. first lady Michelle Oba- ma, already made its way to No. 2, despite debuting near the end of the year. THE LIST: NON-FICTION: 1. Fear: Trump in the White House (Bob Wood- ward) 2. Becoming (Michelle Obama) 3. Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House (Michael Wolff) 4.12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos (Jordan B. Peterson) 5. Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the Ameri- can Republic (David Frum) FICTION: 1. Broken Promise (Lin- wood Barclay) 2. Kingdom of the Blind (Louise Penny) 3. Past Tense (Lee Child) 4. The Reckoning (John Grisham) 5. Women Talking (Mi- riam Toews) For the full list, vis- it: https://www.wpl.ca/ most_popular_2018 WATERLOO LIBRARY'S MOST POPULAR BOOKS OF 2018