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DURHAM READY TO APPROVE BUDGET Durham Region council will be asked this week to ap- prove a 1990 budget that will in- crease taxes by about $36 on the average home in the Region. The council will meet on Wed. (May 9) in Whitby to de- bate the budget which calls fora net increase in Regional taxes of 11.2 per cent. If the budget gets council approval on Wednesday, the av- erage property in Durham will pay $370 in taxes this year for Regional government purposes. The 11.2 net impact was achieved when the Region's budget committee decided last week to cut 40 new jobs, result- ing in a saving for this year of justover $600,000. While the net impact on ratepayers is projected at 11.2 per cent (if the budget is ap- proved without further cuts or additions on Wednesday) Dur- ham's total spending this year will go up 25 per cent. The gross budget is set at $214 million, up from the $170.8 spent by the Region in 1989. However, the net impact for property owners is reduced to 11.2 per cent by several rea- sons. Projected revenues and subsidies have climbed from $91 million last year to $122 million in 1990. And the Region is predict- ing that the natural growth in overall assessment will go up 6.8 per cent this year, which serves to further reduce the tax bite on existing properties. Some of the major reasons for the budget increases include * inflation factor of $5.4 million; staff approved last year at $3 million; new staff this year at $1.3 million; welfare hikes of $1 million, and the new employer health tax which will cost the Region $900,000 this year. The largest single increase in any department is for polic- ing. That budget is up $6.4 mil- lion over the previous year, and a large part of the increase is due to additional staff hired last year and for 1990. In presenting the budget to council for approval this week, finance committee chairman Don Hadden noted that 1990 proved to be an "abnormally dif- ficult year" for the Region. He cited large increases in demands for welfare assistance during the first three months of 1990 as "unprecedented" and warned that the demand for welfare in Durham will contin- ue through the rest of the year. And he noted increased de- mand for services in such area as policing, roads, homes for the aged and waste management had an impact on the Region's budget this year. n order to keep up with ever increasing demands, the Region will be faced with a sharp increase in borrowing. The budget document says current debt charges of $15 mil- lion this year will double by 1994, and the total debt will hit $110 million in the next four years. The budget that goes in front of Regional council for ap- proval on Wednesday assumes that Durham and Metro Dur- ham can come to an agreement on solid waste (garbage) man- agement. Because of escalating costs for waste management, the Re- gion is also considering a collec- tion fee for the blue box re- cycling program, and "user pay" policies for transfer station in Durham, including Scugog. Turn to Page 2 Vol. 124 No. 24 PORT PERRY, ONT. - TUESDAY, MAY 8, 1990 Copy 50¢ 60 Pages Recreation report to be made public soon The long-awaited report and recommendations on recre- ation facilities in Scugog Town- ship will be made public at the council meeting May 14. The lengthy report of some 70 pages, was presented to council in draft form April 30 by the citizen.steering committee and Sesquaig Inc., the Ottawa consulting company that pre- pared the document. Because of the serious im- plications of the report on fu- ture recreation facilities in Scu- gog, Township council wants the public to have one more chance to make submissions to the Township. - Council has set June 11 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM as the eve- ning to hear verbal and/or writ- ten submissions from any mem- ber of the public. Copies of the full report, along with a shortened "execu- tive summary" will be be availa- ble for public perusal once pre- sented to council in final form this coming Monday (May 14) The report addresses the recreation needs of Scugog Township, including such facili- ties as a second ice pad, banquet room, fitness centre and swim- ming pool. After the June 11 public meeting, it will be up to Town- ship to council to decide wheth- er to proceed with any of the rec- ommendations contained in the report. Police lay 15 Test Hill charges Durham Police havelaid 16 charges for trespassing, liquor offenses and driving without proper licence and insurance af- ter patrolling the Test Hill area on Saturday. Officers using a four-wheel drive vehicle spent several hours Saturday in this rural area of southeast Scugog Town- ship that is popular for "off- road" vehicles. A police spokesman said property owners from this area filed complaints. A few of those charged are from the Township, but the ma- jority came from as far away as : Peterborough and Downsview. Ministry earmarks $3.2 M for anew Catholic elementary school in Scugog Township The provincial Ministry of Education has announced that funds will be made available for a new Catliolic elementary school in Scugog Township. The announcement, which came late Friday afternoon, ear-marks $200, 000 for pur- chase of a site in 1992, and just over $3 million in 1993 for con- struction of the new school. Scugog trustee Cathy Le- fort said she is "very pleased" at the announcement. Mrs. Lefort said that at this time the Separate Board has not identified a site for the new school. As to when the new school will actually open its doors for students, she said construction of such facilities usually takes justunder a year to complete. eg held in Port Perry o success as thousands of art lovers halls high school oe te ar OF Tan Teme ond royal tie alia above) Soon here 7 working on his latest plece. Over sixty artists prising rig Fi 'ond annual Rotary Club Artfest, For slot ait mtg ph tumtopage1d.