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20 economistsunrrribune whitchurchstouffville thursdayfeb282 7th toronto north womens show the largest show of its kind in york region saturday sunday may452 embassy suites hotel convention centre why 7 sal 10am5pm sun 10am4pm markham exhibit hall speakers fashion shows workshops demonstrations daily draws book your booth no sponsorship opportunities available for more information on how you can participate call diana mario at 9054799969 or email dmarlqeconsuncom metroland york region newspaper group yorkregioncom embassy suites homes publishing group lifestyle wellness inspiring rositive changes in your lifestyle wmrjifestykandhriliksmom wwwgotalgofcaidam frompagej it was a tough budget it was difficult to hold the line he said but it was the best we could do i would have liked to have turned out a zeroincrease budget but we couldnt manage it a 250an hour hike in rink user fees for children in hockey and figure skating coupled with the overall state of the streets m stouffville concerned councillor bowes enough that he wouldnt give the budget hisblessing all the hockey players and figure skaters needed was 5000 to prevent a user fee increase mr bowes noted i couldnt agree to pass a budget that made these people pay more as for the condition of downtown and area streets he said some streets espe cially baker street and charles street are a com plete disgrace it was a giveandtake budgetsetting ordeal lost are street vacuuming and leaf blowing from town ditches by eliminating both the town saves about 10000 on the other side of the coin about 75000 in inter est earned from last years sale of whitchurch- stouffville hydro to hydro one was earmarked to help improve street lighting explained mj pourvahidi of the treasury department the municipalitys rev enues for 2002 total 145 million of that 10 million is fromgeneral revenues while 45 million sits in the hydro reserve fund our reserves are very- good said mayor emmerson and future development will help us even more when the big pipe the- yorkdurham sewage system expected to arrive in whitchurch- stouffville next year is here itll mean even more good things prior- to 2001 wwtchurchstouffville taxes were frozen for five years in the past eight years weve seen taxes increase by a total of six per cent mayor emmerson said recently york region set its budget showing a 24per cent tax increase for the average homeowner in whitchurchstouffville this adds an extra 31 to the regional part of the bill there will be no increase in taxes for education why are we taking money from poor people the rich will pay anything on tuesday 37850 was earmarked to keep the new indoor swirnming pool com plex operating in 2002 while 504950 was designated for the new whitchurch stouffville public library both facilities are part of an allpurpose complex that opened last fall in stouffville memorial park other money allocated for 2002 includes 17 million for public works 13 million for fire services 19 million for water and sewer cost 19 million for water andsewer 83000 for animal control and 69000 to the town- owned cemetery councillor pliakes- ques tioned the tax hike saying if we were in- dire straights i could understand this bud gets tax increase but were not why are we taking money from poor people the rich will pay anything we ask of them they dont care but its different for the poor people we ask them for 20 more one year 20 more the next it has to stop looks like a 60000 car drives like a 60000 car costs like a 37950 car not surprisingly the cclass is one popular automobile so stop in soon for a test drive and experience the safety features and performance youve come to expect from a mercedesbenz all for a price you wouldnt please visit us to discover how truly affordable a i mercedesbenz can be a mercedesbenz the future of the automobile mercedesbenz markham 8350 kennedy rd 905 3q51088 wwwmarkhammercedesfoenzca mercedesbenz newmarket 230 muiock dr 9058536868