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ecommto smjribune mugibf news tfuesdatfjan 25 200 t j f x f r t f ttt v s councillor outraged by amalgamation plan nse art just afar ofibe oret too litvrrdaied illnesses oat ibreaini ibe ires of more than 2 million canadian mot vomen and children for j5inrr note the canadian luvr foundation bas been leading tbe frgbl against luvr disease and to continue uv need wurbetp one simple act of kindness can go so leri fir 1320 yongo street suite 301 toronto ontario m4t1x2 18005635483 this message brought to you as a community servcie of the economisttribune by kathleen griffin staff writer deputy mayor frank scarpitti is outraged at a secret plan by six gta mayors including markham mayor don cousens to eliminate regional governments and merge 24 cities and towns into eight to 12 new municipalities across the 905 area the widely criticized plan seen by detractors as nothing more than a scheme to save the mayors own jobs was unveiled last week while scarpitti was vacationing in florida scarpitti vented his wrath directly at cousens friday i dont think the mayor cousens has any eliminate the worry of remembering to replace your smoke alarm batteries by installing an electric interlpcked smoke alarm system in your home today with this system smoke alarms are installed on each level of your home and are electrically interlocked this means that if one unit detects smoke all units will alarm call today for your free estimate jtl and son limited metro ucse18 24 years experience mandate to go off in secret negotiations and make recommendations without hearing from council and the residents scarpitti fumed suggesting the demise of the town of markham at the drop of a hat to get rid of a 200yearold town without pub lic consultation well its just ridiculous i couldnt believe they did this on their own he went on there was no consultation with any of the councils in the region there was no involve ment by many of the mayors in the region and there was no public consultation at all scarpitti who urged the province to give 905 municipalities adequate time to investigate options isnt alone in his views york region chair person bill fisch andother york mayors including auroras tim jones stouffvilles wayne emmerson and kings margaret black have all slammed the plan and it seems the province isnt taking the pitch- too seriously either municipal affairs minister tony clement announced late last week he wont make a move in 905 until receiving a report from greater toronto services board chairperson alan tonks not expect ed until december a month after the municipal election the mayors who also include vaughans lorna jackson and newmarkets torri taylor had called for legislation wiping out the regions as soon as april and recommending new municipalities be in place in time for the fall election if not they suggested postponing the election for six months to a year weve got 200 years of history in this town if we take another year to decide on the governance model for the future theres nothing wrong with that scarpitti said adding the mayors dont even have the facts they need to sell their plan like the bottom line cash savings to taxpayers the mayors say their plan could save between 50 and 100 million a year by eliminating duplica tion but admit solid numbers remain vague theyre afraid once the people have all the information they will come to a different conclu sion scarpitti charged secret meetings aire not the wayto go but cousens defended the report and his role in its creation its absurd to think i would ever do anything to hurt the town of markham its unthinkable and untrue most of the media have accused me of try ing to put markhams interests ahead of everybody elses he also said many 905 mayors declined invita tions to come to the table that he updated markham council on the groups progress on at least two occasions while scarpitti was away and that one of the reports key recommendations is any change must invite public dialogue we have begun that process he said its no different than the rural mayors meeting regularly or regional chairs meeting regularly except unlike those meetings we put out a report for discus sion cousens said now that clement has put 905 amalgamation on the back burner the opportuni ty for public dialogue has become greater restaurant llbo banquet hall pasta festival all you can eat pastas breads salads desserts friday january 2812000 saturday january 2912000 67 edward st stouftviiie call 905 6426524 ii ne inserts for biway white rose sears catalogue tuesday january 252000 caripro tax and accounting swisschalet no one can deliver results llke vve do markham 905 2948244 markham economist 8csvm to book your flyer distribution call stouffville 905 6402100 v stoufivtuetwbune c selected areas only ar huge selection of fashion fabrics up t0660ff ou regular price sale in effect january 26february 15 2000 on instock merchandise only sorry no special orders look for the red sale tags membership pays at 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