Review-Mirror

By Margaret Brand The Review-Mirror At Monday's council meeting Township of Rideau Lakes councilors voted six to four in favour of passing the 2016 budget with a bylaw setting town- ship and county tax rates. The township had intended to complete pas- sage of the bylaw in March when it assumed the province may have completed setting the edu- cation rate. The budget anticipates the township will raise $9,355,995 in taxation for township purposes – 16 per cent more than last year – and $7,820,826 for county purposes. The amount Rideau Lakes taxpayers will be paying to the township on behalf of the province for education is not yet known. Estimates of the com- bined rate of the three levies would increase the overall tax rate by 4.9 per cent over 2015 rates with the anticipated fall in the education tax rate which are at least a month behind in being announced. "The municipalities throughout Ontario are frustrated. All municipali- ties are facing the same thing," said Mayor Ron Holman of the provinces delay in releasing the rate. Holman's budget frus- tration with the provincial government was also related to policing costs, which this year added an extra $390,000 to the 2016 budget and another $300K to last year's budget esti- mates. The township has also been hit with an estimated $250,000 budgeted cost to close the Delta landfill site. "In my 33 years of pol- itics this is the highest increase that I've ever been asked to bring for- ward," said Holman after hearing objections to the amount of budget or the budget process by Coun- cillors Jeff Banks, Doug Good, Arie Hoogenboom and Bob Lavoie. "What we are doing tonight is fufulling what we've previously agreed to do," said Holman of a decision at a council meet- ing in February to go to the bylaw stage. "We do have low taxes in our municipality but try to tell that to someone on the street," said Hoogen- boom who noted the bud- get was achieving some progress on meeting tar- gets of the township's asset management plan. Holman noted some urgency in passing the Local municipalities won't be deciding the schedule but they will have more choice in how they conduct their next municipal election. Legislation was tabled on Monday which among other options allows ranked ballots, regulates third party spending and shortens the nomination period from May 1 to the end of July. Local municipalities will be able to decide if electors will be able to rank their favorite candi- dates instead of the current 'first past the post' system. Ranked ballots could increase the public's inter- est in municipal elections and candidates' interest in courting every voter. "Looking at it I don't see any negatives. I think it will be very important to get out and get name recognition. People would be looking for first and second," said Rideau Lakes councilor Bob Lavoie who achieved a second term in 2014. "Candidates are going to have to work a lot hard- er than in the past if you have ranked ballots," he said. While candidates could unofficially begin their campaign before May 1, nomination papers can begin to be registered on that date. Candidates will need to collect at least 25 signatures from eligible electors to qualify to run. Rideau Lakes Mayor Ron Holman, who in years past has declared his can- didacy at the start of the year, is pleased the cam- paign period has been shortened. "I think that was a cor- rect move. Obviously that was shared by many through the province I think the public in my esti- mation was just having too long a campaign," he said. Municipal election offi- cials will have a whole new schedule to deal with and, in the coming months councils will need to meet specific dates to give pre- scribed notice for electoral changes. Justin Martin President 613-530-0773 RR 2 Westport, ON K0G 1X0 jtmartin@kingston.net 4 Septic Systems 4 Excavating 4 Landscaping 4 Road Work 4 Rock Excavating 4 Trucking 4 Residential & Commercial Snow Plowing & Sanding 4 Damp Proofing LTD. Mirror The Review Thursday, April 7, 2016 Serving North Leeds and area since 1893 Vol. 125, No. 14 $1 incl. tax •Continued on page 3 Municipalities frustrated by provincial delay in setting education property tax rates Township passes delayed 2016 budget in 6 to 4 vote Municipalities can opt for ranked ballots starting with 2018 election Country Roads Community Health Centre's once-a-month Community Kitchen brings together people of all ages to meet new friends and socialize, gain confidence in the kitchen, and learn more about nutrition. On Tuesday Vol- unteer Lucy Gee and participant Jishini Pattyil Keerangade were making a chickpea curry as part of an Indian inspired menu. See page 2 for the story. 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