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Vol. 119 No. 12 Tuesday, Feb. 19, 1985 36 pages Over $500,000 in unpaid 1984 taxes Scugog Township is still waiting for over half a million dollars in un- paid property taxes from 1984. | A year-end financial "| don't mind shovelling what comes down from the sky," says Queen Street resi- dent Ray Litt, 'but | don't like shovelling the stuff that gets ploughed onto the sidewalk, every time | clear it off." Although he manages to shovel the sidewalks in front of his house whenever it fills with snow, he says he resents doing it because Township snowplows are the culprits which overflow the sidewalks each morning. He thinks the Township's snow by-law. is "'ridiculous,'"' put- ting him in a position where he could be charged by the Township for not removing snow Township trucks put there in the first place. statement presented to Township council at the meeting February 11 shows that as of December 31, there was $552,013 in outstanding tax revenues that had not yet been paid to the municipality. That represents about eight per cent of the total 1984 levy, according to - the statement, and while some councillors wondered if this is a high figure, Township ad- ministrator Earl Cuddie said the eight per cent is actually a slight im- - provement over the un- - paid balance at the end of 1983. \ The statement also shows that there is $808,000 in unpaid taxes owing the municipality from 1984 and previous years as well as $116,000 in interest on this unpaid total. Mr. Cuddie told the council the unpaid tax total of $552,000 is well within guidelines for municipalities and not an indication that Scugog Township property owners are refusing to pay their taxes. He add- ed that if the municipali- ty attempted to vigorous- ly reduce this amount it would require more full time staff and a com- puterized system. ~The statement shows that at the end of 1984, the Township had work- ing capital of $135,000; a sick leave fund of $59,000 and the municipal pro- _jects fund of $381,000. Bank balances included . $199,000 in the develop- ment fund; $29,000 in the parks fund and $30,000 in other accounts. As of the end of the year, the Township was faced with short term borrowing of $210,000 in the general account for operating ex- penses until interim levies are received. Councillor Lawrence 'Malcolm noted that this $210,000 over-draft is con- siderably lower than the figure of several years ago. Councillor Don Cochrane added that if just half the unpaid taxes had come into the municipal coffers by the end of the year, the need for short term borrowing could be eliminated. But members of coun- cil indicated generally that they are satisfied with the Township finan- cial position at the end of the year. The financial state- ment shows that actual expenditures by the municipality in 1984 ex- ceeded the budget by .11 per cent. The total Township budget in 1984, including contributions to the Region and schools was $8,381,475. Expen- ditures amounted to $8,390,432. Mr. Cuddietold council last week that the year- ly audit of revenues and expenses has been com- pleted and the audited statement is expected in the next couple of weeks. Township council will probably set its new budget in late March or April, | Another attempt by Township council to get that sidewalk snow removal by-law on the books Monday afternoon, failed. The vote to give third and final reading to the controversial by-law ended up in a three-three tie, but those councillors who support the issue say it will be back on the agenda when council meets again on March 11. The by-law, which v %' N ; , 4 "ye i \, A ' , f) (4 YY : J Vv ; MA / i oY, L - . % . EEE aa El hs All heart "we Pretty Tara Bailey was named Heart Queen by her peers at Cartwright High School Friday evening during a dance at the Blackstock Rec Centre. Her princesses included Angela Dvuivesteyn and Cathy Paisley. For more pictures, see inside. would require residents of Ward 2 to shovel cer- tain designated sidewalks in front of their property, has been on the council agenda for the past three meetings, and has triggered reac- tion in the community (see letters to the editor this week). Support for the by-law has come from Ward 2 councillor Jack Cottrell, Ward 3 councillor Don Cochrane and Ward 4 councillor Harvey Hot tempers do little to melt snow removal issue Graham, who all argued Monday afternoon that this is the only way to make sidewalks in the community passable for pedestrians. Strong opposition to the by-law has come from area councillor John Wolters and regional councillor Lawrence Malcolm. At the meeting Mon- - day to give third and final reading, Scugog Mayor Jerry Taylor threw his vote with coun- Apprehend two men after police chase Two young men are facing several charges after an early morning police chase that began in Caesarea and ended in a farmer's field on Scugog Island. According to a Durham Police spokesman, Const. Wolfgang Palleske spot- ted a truck in Caesarea about 5:00 AM February 14 which had been reported stolen from Oshawa. The occupants refused to pull over and drove east on Highway 7A to the Scugog Island road. Near Concession 13, the driver attempted to turn into a laneway and became stuck in the SNOW. The occupants fled on foot and were ap- prehended a short time later by Const. Palleske and other members of the Durham Police. One was hiding behind a farm silo and the other in a nearby field. Charged by police with dangerous driving, fail- ing to stop and posses- sion of stolen property is Daniel Ruff, 21, of no fix- ed address. Ralph H. Lawrence, 22, of Oshawa has been charged with possession of stolen property. cillors Wolters and Malcolm, which forced the tie and the defeat of third reading. However, Mayor Taylor said he was voting against third reading until other alter- natives for cleaning sidewalks have been closely studied. He said he would like the roads department to prepare a detailed report on what it would cost the Township to clean sidewalks and bill all residents of Ward 2 on their taxes. However, that report the mayor once prepared may not hit the council table, as the three coun- cillors in favour of the by-law voted against the preparation of the report. If all this sounds a lit- tle confusing, the issue is causing some frayed tempers on the part of council members, as well. Councillors Graham and Wolters had a running argument dur- ing the meeting Monday, and councillor Wolters also had a sharp ex- change of words with (Turn to page 9)