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8 stouffville suntribune thursday april 8 2004 town council to tackle 12 tax hike next week from page i percent increase the largest in eight years and at the march budget urged staff to submit meeting councillors had another budget in the 5 to reservations about the 12- 7percent range main office 195 main st south newmarket criminal law family law warren skinner barrister solicitor in practice since 1986 stouffville office hours now available 9058954571 9058302367 24 hour mobile parentin join us on saturday april 17 2004 to hear our experts speak on a number of different topics to help you understand your teen better date saturday april 17 2304 time begins at 800 am location springvale baptist church located at the corner of stouffville and kennedy road cost preregistration 15 single 25 couple at the door 20 single 30 couple speakers and topics include paul robertson parenting kids in post modern times helping kids cope with peer pressure music more than noise marta durski mdiv dmin rmft internet addictions marianne deeks ba cyw helping teens cope with female aggression jay sandiford ba youth focus parent teen relationship building ed kamerman bsc rd nutrition with teens karla kamerman mdiv counselling services springvale baptist church boundaries with kids for more information or to register please call the church at 9058875651 or visit our web site wwwspringvaleorg councillor clyde smith said he didnt see why there should be a 12percent tax increase after all town departments except devel opment services received a 109percent increase last year if our goal is to main- tainservices we should be able to have less than a 12- percent tax increase he said several councillors said they had received calls from constituents worried about the proposed tax hike mrs sherban said she has received only one call with councillors trying to keep taxes down the mayor and staff are consid ering a number of scenar ios she is strongly in favour of maintaining the towns level of services and said we are working on what kinds of changes and reductions we can make in preparation for the operat ing budget meeting april 13 it is in the council chambers 37 sandiford dr in stouffville a 95percent increase would be possible if only four fulltime firefighters were added she said that level of increase would also involve delaying some road maintenance and repairs until 2005 and 2006 we need about 14 million in road repairs and maintenance she said the tax increase could further be lowered to 795 per cent if the fire depart ment was presented as a separate issue on the table she said if councillors could find other savings in other areas and be willing to put off certain projects i support that she said staff is also looking at cutting waste and increasing efficiencies if our goal is to maintain services we should be able to have less than a 12percent tax increase former ward 4 council lor cliff dunkeld wants to see services maintained for all age groups especially seniors and young people that said he added if they can put the tax hike down to a single digit that will be fine with me increases in the residen tial tax base are slowing down mrs sherban said since no additional sewage capacity will be available until after the arrival of the york durham trunk sewer line the big pipe antici pated toward the end of the year she estimated only about half as many new homes were built in 2003 compared to the previous year residential properties account for 876 per cent of municipal taxes collected while the commercial and industrial sectors add up to 124 per cent those sectors grew slightiy from 108 per cent in 2002 ike ntbbkad the 1hu cohi tputfa am 2004 mftose sedan 5sfm 80w80800rao510omfac a6ite and alappfataflce1wc tort prtflffljlefrthdadsysl rcfcsmaitffcnsau3spksimtanuti 0ncorvkp0 8a 20000 auto lj