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bconomsunstousn wa gotin region wanteatotlo says ivl i 5 us hrom page al that was the most disappointing aspect of this year fife and transit we couldnt really get io hesaicl- s rc while we didstart wedidnt get as far as i had hoped generally taxes got in the way of what we wante9todo thanks to a reassessment of all properties across ontario some small business owners were up in arms over drastic tax increases of as much as 600 per cent responding to concerns that york would see hundreds of small retailers go bankrupt council agreed to a onetime tax rebate for any business facing a tax increase of more than 25 per cent pro viding the hike was at least 1500 but the rebate was too little too late for the provincial government which refused to con tribute its share of every property tax dollar col lected from york businesses the province takes 69 cents in an escalating war of words york mackenzie mpp frank klees accused councillors of failing to use provincial tools to soften the impact of large tax increases but regional officials insisted some tools were useless in york while others may have helped one group of taxpayers they inevitably hurt another the tax rebate program was killed when treasurer ernie eves announced new legislation that will cap commercial and industrial tax increases at 20 per cent over the next three years businesses supposed to receive a tax reduction will have to return some of their windfall to fund the tax cap eves directive produced a whole new round of squabbling between regions and the province bound to continue next year when businesses find out exactly how the legislation affects their bottom line in york for example industries that were sup- posed to enjoy a tax break could actually end up paying higher taxes thats because the region doesnt have enough industries to fund the tax cap now were turning winners into losers said ed hankins the regions director of financial plan ning v the animosity between the province and municipal leaders got so bad that in october markham mayor don couscns convinced greater toronto area mayors to organize a protest on the front steps of queens paik does it take a death in the emergency room for the government to realize theres a crisis in health care does it lake the death of small busi ness for the province to understand we have a tax issue cousens said the rally was eventually cancelled when cooler heads prevailed j jnitiirtii towb avsii uoti amid the controversy over taxes fisch pointed i out the region did mark some achievements this yer-c- j s i i for example york and the province hammered rout a 45rnillion swartthat will see the province spend 165 million building a fourlane exten sion of hwy 404 from davis drive to green lane in return the region will spend 29 million to improve and widen to five lanes a notoriously dangerous section of hwy 9 the region will also construct a newmarket bypass running from the 404 to bathurst street where it will join up with hwy9 meanwhile this month a markham company was awarded a 172million contract to expand the 404 between hwys 401 and 407 afteryears of neglecting regional roads to save money council agreed to boost the roads budget by 10 million this year with increased growth councillors warned motorists face gridlock unless the streets are upgraded and widened residents are lukewarm about how they feel the region is handling growth in a report card aimed at helping the region plan more effectively in the future residents said york must do better in areas such as transit and preserving the environment the region had its share of controversies and upsets in 1998 including councillors hiked their salaries 35 per cent in response to provincial legislation that took away their onethird taxfree allowance many politicians and taxpayers were furious the region must contribute 93 million toward torontos social services while york residents saw their tax bills jump an average of 50 to 100 this year they helped toronto mayor mel lastman keep his election promise of freezing taxes in the city former regional engineering commissioner bob hodgson won an 880000 libel lawsuit against the globe and mail over stories it pub lished linking him to a land deal scandal the decision brought up old wounds for the region which fired hodgson without cause in 1991 the controversy led to an overhaul of the regions administration the fate of markhams buttonvillc airport lemains up in the air in addition to making fire and transit a priority next year fisch argued the region is under pres sure to solve its gaibage disposal crisis the keele valley clump in maple is slated to close in 2002 as part of the everchanging face of municipal politics councillors will also have to deal with the role the new greater toronto services board will play wlnle the board which is expected to hold its first meeting in midjanuary is initially only responsible for gotransit some mayors believe it could evolve into one of the provinces most influ ential political bodies courtesy shuttle service available service hours mon wed thurs fn 730 am 530 pm tues 730 am 800 pm sat 900 am 400 pm see dealer foi more specials ssejoe ejeee3e e3eeeeee3 seeds 461 1 hwy 7 a kccy rd unionviile bring it home to honda llorll built without compromise theres no price like home accelerated service ton sruqrfiijh tejplq bts hijodc i vfrillj ijx ithi3 it ill 11 j watch unii walmart petsmart- h fap shoppers- v jhebay v j ganadiarftire ranarfjantirkmirkhaijrto stouffville sears canadian tire markham- canadiantire k biway price chopper v v bridlewood vf no one can deliver results like we do to book your flyer distribution call markham 905 2948244 stouffville 9056402100 economist sun areas oniy stouffville tribune boxing weel blowout i sat dec 26 to thurs dec 31 iipt steel i golf set tax included s king cobra ii steel irons reg 899 1 fflg sfis 4 shoes apparel off v bags gloves ftr many other instdre specials i v 3 golfers choice v hours 18 mohfrl 106 sat 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