milton

Look whats coming now

Mike Cluett

Town council was told recently by the budget department of Milton that an 8 per cent increase in taxes for 2008 and a further increase of 5 per cent in 2009 will be needed in order to sustain existing service levels.

8 %? Thats not a small increase now is it? Back in 2007 taxes only went up a minimal 2% but that was just before a municipal election. We are now close to a year into the term and this comes up for discussion.

This would mean an approximate increase of $55 for residential taxpayers and $ 46 for rural taxpayers based on $300,000 value of the home. Thats just to keep things where they are now.

The town of Milton recently spent over a million dollars on new transit buses for the town. The question is do we really need them now. The quick answer is yes, but not right now. We could have maintained our transit system with the current buses acquired from the Town of Oakville.
Transit in this town is quite the issue. Some believe we need it and some say, why bother. The only hard part of this is finding out how much its being used. If it is, then it can be justified. If not (and I’m leaning towards the latter) then we can take some time, analyze ridership numbers and make those decisions later. BUT, its a done deal. Now if we didnt buy those buses, could they have come back with a smaller increase in taxes? Quite possible. But we’ll never know.

Over the course of the next few months there will be some public meetings on budget matters, and thats where Milton residents can have their say. Now, we get to see if pre-election promises match post-election actions.

In a statement I found most shocking, Councillor Jan Mowbray of ward 3 stated it would be a waste of time to ask town staff do a report for a zero increase budget. Doing what we can to save taxpayers dollars is never a “waste of time.” Thankfully her motion was defeated and town staff will look at what they can to reduce the impact.

What’s required of us? Communication. It may be summer and at this point dealing with summer vacations, soccer practices, barbq’s, and preparing our kids for school next year might be in the forefront of our minds, but we need to let our elected representatives know what you’re thinking. Phone, fax or email your councillors to let them know what priorities they should have. If the tax increases go through, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

In all reality, the tax increase might not be as high as 8 % because the town staff always asks for more and then its negotiated down to a more reasonable level. Thats just negotiations. But still, one year after a tax increase we’re hit with the possibility of even more money coming out of our pockets is hard to take.

I dont know about you but Im tired of being told its “ONLY going to be another X amount of dollars.” It seems we’re told that every time theres an increase. My response is, it its ONLY going to be that amount, then find the savings or stop spending money. This council has prided itself on being a pay as you go council. We’ll soon see.

Here is the link to the Champion story by Stephanie Hounsell.

Town’s taxes could jump up 8% in 2008

Budget process begins

Stephanie Hounsell
Published on Jul 20, 2007

Residents can expect to pay anywhere up to eight per cent more in taxes next year, and will now play the waiting game as the Town’s 2008 budget process begins.

A budget call report — which outlines what the anticipated tax increase will be for the next year and sets directions for staff in preparing the budget — went before council Monday night.

Town director of corporate services and treasurer Linda Leeds told council a 9.36 per cent tax hike would be necessary next year to maintain existing service levels as well as a five per cent increase in 2009.

But council directed staff to prepare packages showing what the operating budget would look like at a maximum of an eight per cent increase ($55.67 more for urban residents and $45.97 more for rural based on a $300,000 assessment), as well as with no tax increase, a three per cent tax hike ($20.88 more for urban residents and $17.24 more for rural) and a five per cent increase (urban, $34.79 and rural, $28.73).

To get down to a zero per cent increase, staff would have to look at reductions in various services, Leeds told council.

Amongst the items driving up the 2008 operating budget are staff wages, new debt payments, the cost of inflation and a decrease in funding from provincial grants.

Ward 3 councillor Jan Mowbray said it’s a waste of Town staff’s time to have to crunch the numbers for a zero per cent increase.

“It seems like it’s a ridiculous exercise to put staff through,” Mowbray said.

She put forward a motion to that effect, but it failed.

Council also approved a recommendation that the $738,000 funding received from the Region of Halton for 2007 GTA Pooling be included as a funding source in preparing the capital budget.

At this point, it’s expected budget packages will go out to the budget committee by November 26, and the committee will meet for deliberations December 11.

Final council approval of the budget could be given December 17.

Stephanie Hounsell can be reached at sthiessen@miltoncanadianchampion.com.

Team Chudlieghs Pull Off a Victory

Mike Cluett

As the dark clouds loomed overhead and the threat of more rain was seen on the horizon our team prepared for its game against Milton Chrysler at Kinsmen park.

Last weeks game was called off due to lightning and it looked like we might suffer the same result but the clouds began to break as the game started. Madison took to the net for one of her first times in goal and looked ready to go.

The game played on and as I was running up and down the field with our team barking out commands, I noticed our team was ready. Matthew was highlighting his skills making sure he kept the ball in the field and running quickly up the field. Nicholas and Ethan were great on defense and as the other team tried to make it towards our net, they quickly kicked the ball away and gave our team another chance.

Sunju showed grit as he made amazing improvements with running the ball and making sure he stayed open in front of the net. The goalie for Milton Chrysler (I didnt get her name off the game sheet) did an amazing job stopping hard shots from Katie, Nathan, Matthew and Sunju.

At half time we were only down by one goal and Madison made her way from the net up to the front. Anthony showed risk taking abilities in the second half by diving out into the crowd to get the ball. A few of his saves made some of the parents (including myself) gasp in the hope he didnt get hurt, but he made the key saves when they were needed.

Jordan and Madison did another great job on defense and kept our team in the game. Matthew scored a couple of quick goals on key passes from Ethan and Nicholas that was the deciding factor.

Both teams played a very spirited game and each time I called out and asked if they were having fun, both Milton Chrysler and Team Chudleighs screamed out “YAAAAAAAAA!”

As a coach, Im quite proud of the team. Not for the win, although it was a good game, but for the fact theyve learned and are now applying the things both Gary and I have taught them about positioning and passing the ball. They improve with every game and I feel guilty that Im probably having more fun then they are.

Milton Search

Mike Cluett

For those who are new to Milton, it can be a confusing place. There is a lot of construction going on, roads are closed at times and theres so much to learn about the town, you dont know where to begin. That’s all changed.

Back in June, at the 150th Anniversary Street Party in fact, there was a new website launched called http://www.miltonsearch.com/

If you need to find out something about the town, events that are happening soon, places to eat and things to do…its all here.

You can find pictures of events past, a listing of restaurants near you and fun things to do with the kids for the summer. Some of you are finding my blog through http://www.miltonsearch.com/ and I thank you for coming back.

I recommend you take a stroll through the website, send in some feedback and bookmark it as one of your favourites. Its a great source of information on Milton and news that affects us as well.

Councillors Pay Increase

Mike Cluett

I just wanted to preface this with a statement. I am in favour of paying our politicians well for the work they do. I have no qualms with the amount of the pay increase recently approved by the Milton town council. I do however, have a problem with the way its done.

A councillor should not be able to vote themselves a pay increase. They do vote on all budget matters but this current council should not benefit from this decision. When it comes to pay increases we should have these decisions made effective the date the NEXT council is elected.

There’s an old saying “politics is perception” and it rings true here. What are the citizens of this town to think after hearing taxes this year going up and now, very quickly and quietly, a pay increase for the people around the table. It doesn’t look right.

Greg Nelson was the only one to vote against the increase seeing it was his first time sitting around the council table and “had reservations about voting myself a pay raise on my first day on the job.”

Pay increases are fine. Paying politicians of all levels what they are worth is something that we need. The debate grows at each level to seek out what we should be paying our elected officials. My only problem is that when they vote to increase pay, it should be effective the next council.

I was a candidate for election this past November as all the others who sit around the table were. When we received our candidate information packages the salaries were posted. If anyone had a problem with the amount they were going to be paid, they could have made the decision not to run. Not that the salary be the only factor in a person putting their name forward for election, but it does make a difference.

They ran on the fact their salaries were going to be $ 21,000 and it should remain at that level until the next election. What the town needs to do is working in some sort of a cost of living increase at predetermined times, and it would take the issue of councillors voting themselves pay increases out of their hands and much more palatable to the taxpayers.

This is from the June 29Th Milton Canadian Champion

Councillors get hefty pay hikes – Melanie Hennessey
Published on Jun 29, 2007

Town council has approved giving its members some pretty hefty raises.

The decision was made Monday night after staff recommended the increases to make council’s remuneration in line with municipalities of comparable population and proximity to Milton.

This means effective Sunday, Mayor Gord Krantz’s annual income will go from $49,133 for the year to $60,480, while the rest of council will see an increase from $21,096 to $25,096.

Although there was no discussion among council members about the raise at Monday’s meeting, the Champion asked a few of its members what they think about the extra money.

Mayor Gord Krantz said his raise is a “reasonable amount,” pointing out that compared to the other municipalities on the list staff prepared, Milton’s new wages are still far from being the highest or lowest.

“I personally don’t have a problem with it,” he said. “And if you don’t (allocate for raises), sooner or later you’ve got to play a lot of catch up.”

Ward 3 Councillor Jan Mowbray had no qualms with the raise either, explaining she’s discovered being a councillor is an expensive proposition.

For example, she said she’s always buying tickets for community events.

She also highlighted the long hours she puts in as a politician. “It’s supposed to be a part-time job, but it’s a lot more,” she said.

Mowbray said she starts at 6 a.m. on her computer, responding to residents and researching information for them until noon. Then, she’s out many afternoons and evenings at events and meetings.

Ward 4 Councillor Paul Scherer also spoke out in favour of the raises.

“I think the salaries are fair now,” he said. “Looking at the comparison to other communities, we’re where we should be.”

He added that the comparison method is a good way to keep salaries on an even keel.
Scherer also said he thinks this type of raise should be dealt with before an election, not right after.

As the newest member of council, Ward 2 Councillor Greg Nelson did oppose the increase, since Monday’s meeting was his first after being elected in the June 14 byelection.

“I had reservations about voting myself a pay raise on my first day on the job,” he said.
“I couldn’t justify it for myself. I’m keenly aware that I have to earn every dime.”

The hikes will cost $25,673 for the remainder of this year and add $51,347 annually onto the operating budget hereafter.

Council also supported retaining the one-third tax-free allowance for the 2007-10 term of council, meaning one-third of council members’ income isn’t taxed.

Melanie Hennessey can be reached at mhennessey@miltoncanadianchampion.com.

Our First Win

Mike Cluett

Last night was a good night for soccer. The sun was just setting at Our Lady of Victory fields as Team Chudleigh’s prepared for the game. We knew it was going to be a hard one seeing the size of the players on the opposing team, but our kids were not intimidated in the least.

Theyve learned a lot over the first few weeks of the season. Gary and I have worked on a number of essentials to soccer with them including the importance of passing and staying in position. Last night all of that paid off.

The final score ended up being 5-3 for us securing our first win but I saw a few things in our team that was much more important than the score. One of our best players Matthew is a bit smaller in stature than most of the players, but in this case the other team had a much bigger crew. There were a few times Matthew along with Anthony and some others, got knocked around. That kind of stuff happens in soccer and will probably happen again.

As the game started to wind down I went to him and said dont worry about being knocked down, lets get a goal. And with that, we did. Nathan made an amazing pass up field to an open Matthew and bing….right in the net. Our team set up for the opposing kick off after the goal and I went to each of them and said, “Lets do it again.” Jordan turned to me and said “Im tired, coach” but she got right back in there and was running up the field to stay in the open.

Sure enough another key pass and shortly after another goal securing our victory…the first one of the season. We had some key goaltending from Ethan as well who showed off his toughness with his newly cropped mohawk haircut. 🙂 Everyone of our players put in a ton of effort. Sunju had some key defensive saves in our end as well as Kyle. They all showed hustle and everyone of them deserved this win.

More important than that our team showed heart and determination far beyond their years. Everyone of those kids deserves a big high five and they never gave up and stayed focused. Another one of our players Nicholas hurt his foot and couldnt play, but he showed up to cheer on his team. Last night I have never been more proud of our team. Not because of the score, but they are doing two important things coaches want them to do…learn the game, and having fun.