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22 stoiifivilie dunttnbune fhurscfaytiov to 2005 town municipal budget 2006 hiring road projects prompt 20m tally by hannelore volpe staff writer whitchurchstouffville coun cillors recommended the largest budget in town history more than 20 million at talks held monday and tuesday but residents wont know how much tax theyll pay to the munic ipality until february both the recommended capital and operating budgets which are about 3 million higher than last year would pave the way for hiring 10 new town staff including five more firefighters and moving ahead with major roads projects the bone of contention among some councillors was how to pay for addi tional expenses next year concerns about additional hir ing on an unprecedented level and other expenses led to an unsuc cessful call by councillor phil bannon to delay setting the tax rate until yearend figures for 2005 are in but that would mean waiting until march or april making it difficult to hire new staff needed for upcoming projects towns treasurer and administrator nick kristoffy said the budget was moved up for hiring purposes and so town staff could go to tender for construc tion projects and get better quotes hiring plans must be made now since hiring a junior employee can take up to two months that increases to six months for senior staff the bone of contention among some councillors was how to pay for additional expenses next year the 2005 budget surplus should come in at more than 900000 mr kristoffy said and around 200000 would be used to offset taxes for residents and businesses some expenses are also being covered by development charges which are coming in at an unprecedented rate because of burgeoning growth in residential development councillor rob hargrave told the suntribune he favours delay ing tax increases and setting up a staffing and departmental review he was concerned if the sur plus is used to defray taxes when income from development charges dries up you have spent susanne hilton new hirings highlight of next years budget councillor says your future today it will be expensive to maintain facilities that will be funded through development charges especially when construction starts slow down as well as less income from this source the town will also be on the hook for the operating costs and upkeep of the new facilities he said last year the municipal tax hike was set at 49 percent but more income than anticipated meant the increase was actually 43 per cent but residents werent informed ofthat mr bannon said mayor sue sherban remem bered the high municipal tax increase during her first year of office after the previous council had come in with several zero increase budgets and the cost- cutting that had to take place two years ago we were wor ried about people being put out of their homes through high taxes mrs sherban said the budget will be reexam ined in february she noted to see how increases will be dealt with and which budget increases are actually necessary for 2006 giving the stamp of approval for the new hirings was a high point of the budget councillor susanne hilton noted the extra firefighters give the town 12houraday coverage by fulltimers seven days a week fire service could also be improved in vandorf and preston lake and hwy 404 north of bloomington when an agree ment with york central fire services operated by newmarket and aurora is completed to cover diose areas resident cliff dunkeld sug gested the administration centre planned for the whitchurch- stouffville museum in 2010 be pushed ahead to 2008 a sugges tion that found favour with coun cil the estimated cost would be around 600000 key numbers five more firefighters will be hired giving the town 12hour coverage seven days a week an extra 100000 was put into reserves for the stouffville arena mccowan road will be reconstructed starting in the spring from bloomington road as far north as possible to vivian sideroad at a cost of 490000 another 150000 has been set aside for downtown revitalization projects which council will decide on later the budget also contains 150000 to cover the cost of the towns newly- expanded municipal offices parks for musselmans lake could be in the cards after councillor bannon pushed to have 20000 put in the budget for a study and 100000 earmarked for 2006 and 2007 for acquiring parkland in the area a ballantrae branch of the library is projected for 2009 with 951000 earmarked in that years budget and another 10000 in furnishings a new project in town communities in bloom received 7000 for 2006 the budget also contains 150000 to cover the cost of the towns newly- expanded municipal offices council voted to give the silver jubilee seniors club 15000 for renovations this year instead of the 1000 originally marked in the budget mflmffiimp 1000sof new dvds now f s instock free membership mags toys fine selection of marital aids more 2 for 1 rentals on sundays tuesdays 3 for 10 all other days biggest best i of gay videos this side of toronto over 5000 videos in stock lowest prices in york region j adult vmdbq- depot 5261 hwy 7 markham 905 4710221 gpen 1 0 am to midnight 7 days a week hwyi7 qqqqqoqqqqqoqoooqqoo information tenant a protection act call7132696 housing help centre this message brought to you as a community service of the economist sunsuntribune look ofiriy insert in november 12th paper i promise to put a smile on your facejf aridsave you up to 400 tflpc municipal property assessment corporation extended hours of operation november 14 to november 25 2005 mpac office york region 45 vogell rd suite 400 richmond hill 800 am to 700 pm representatives from mpac will be in the office to discuss the assessment notices recently sent to property owners in york region 1 866 296mpac 6722