The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

economists suntribune regional news saturday feb 12 2000 region freezes taxes cant agree on reserves by patrick casey staff writer york region council has ratified its 817million operating budget but councillors remain uncertain whether to spend money from their swelling reserve funds on thursday council froze property taxes for the second consecutive year thanks in large part to the regions surging growth assessment increased by 44 per cent or 16 million over last year however with nearly 19 million in working capital in reserves by the end of the year plus another 1 2 million in sur plus funds markham mayor don cousens reiterated his plan to dedicate a portion of those dollars to purchasing land on the oak ridges moraine to save it from future housing develop ment but markham regional councillor frank scarpitti called cousens idea a duplication of the york region greening initiative council passed last month which allows for a land acquisition fund we got it we voted on it and we passed it explained scarpitti it relates not only to the oak ridges moraine but a number of greenland areas identified in york regions official plan i hope we are not revisiting the debate because we have agreed to do it already scarpitti suggested the regions three hospitals deserve some of the reserve funds especially since changes to the development charges act in 1997 disqualified hospitals from receiving a portion of lot levies with construction plans identified totalling nearly 80 mil lion hospital officials in newmarket richmond hill and markham must raise 28 million on their own by the end of june to qualify for 65 million worth of capital funding from the province the clock is ticking the older we get the more demand we put on the hospitals said scarpitti with changes to the development charges it took away the ability for municipali ties to include hospital capital costs that was a big mistake we need sewers and roads but we also need hospital infrastructure this is a chance for the region to come to the table hospitals cant fundraise for this type of dollars they raise their money for new equipment i dont mean to downplay the moraine but health care is a big issue after council approved the budget georgina mayor rob grossi failed in an attempt to have the budget reopened to propose a tax cut i cant see why we cant have a reduction this year i would be pleased to have a reduction of at least 1 per cent said grossi many of my constituents are at a hardship they are at the end of the road over the next two months the regions finance committee will analyse options for reserve funds according to york region treasurer sandra cartwright reserves at the end of 2000 will total 408 million including 189 million in unused development charges another 1246 million in waste and water reserves 185 million in social assistance and another 12 million in social housing funds but she warned against spending reserves noting the funds should be bumped up further over the next two years as a safe guard against economic downturns profits in your pocket get after iwinetf at the after- houw networking lub meet 60 people and introduce your firw in a relaxed afterwork retting then get a copy of all their hsimf card to follow up oh or build your contact lirtyou can do thir and wre at the markhaa board of trade after hour networking all the mpt today to get the dates of the next networking event and more info on meniberfhip 105 44030 one more reason why 1he markham board of trade if markkamr leading bmtoett and networking medahon we will have nearly 20 million in working capital reserves by the end of 2000 compared to 4 million in 1997 said cartwright on the surface it looks like a healthy reserve but we have identified a reserve fund of 33 million based on this budget with 33 million in that reserve it means we wont have to borrow and incur interest rate charges budget highlights include 250 million in road water and sewer capital programs the redevelopment of the newmarket health centre advanced training for paramedics 41 new police officers and a police helicopter unit that should be in the air next month i all athletic footwear mtns mam kids off mu mmws kids mm iii iv i tfis lowest littti prist mwsmm i ski eqmeffl off lowtsllitlii fiiu j a mi cyvinni 40 vy -r-vs- m them authority 14 martindale crescent ancaster 1650 victoria street east whitby 2460 winston churchill blvd oakville 3275 highway 7 east markham sho regula hours all sales final