Malahide slaps hold on budget, hiring auditor

Malahide councillors, facing over 225 tax protestors at a meeting Thursday, May 17, at Malahide Community Place, suspended further consideration of this year’s budget until an independent auditor can be hired to review it.
Councillor Mike Wolfe, who proposed the audit, said he’d heard varying numbers from township staff and protestors about how much this year’s property tax increase would be, and wanted an outsider to examine the budget and come up with independent figures.
Councillors Wolfe, Mark Widner, Chester Glinski, Max Moore and Mark Wales voted for the auditor’s review in a recorded vote. Mayor David Mennill and Deputy Mayor Jim Jenkins opposed the move.

More in the May 23 print edition.

Martyn gets spraying delay

Central Elgin Councillor Sally Martyn has won a respite from her municipality’s plan to resume roadside spraying to control weeds and shrubs in ditches.
She raised the subject again as councillors on Monday night, May 14, deliberated final approval for their 2012 budget. Councillors had never formally approved the resumption of spraying after a 12-year lapse, she said. Instead, money to restart spraying had just been included in this year’s budget.

More in the May 16 print edition.

Aylmer budget public meeting attracts few

Five residents attended a meeting seeking public input on the 2012 Aylmer budget, just days after 200 Malahide residents held a meeting opposing a similar proposed levy increase in the surrounding municipality.
Officially called a “Public Participation Meeting” on the agenda of Monday afternoon’s council meeting, three of the five ratepayers that attended spoke to council about their concerns.
Council members endorsed the 2012 draft budget, which includes a 2.91 percent levy increase, at its May 9 meeting after a 4-3 recorded vote.

More in the May 16 print edition.

Malahide, under pressure, makes some cuts

Malahide councillors held an unprecedented weekend emergency session Saturday night, May 12, and, under pressure from unhappy taxpayers, made some cuts and one big change to its proposed 2012 budget.
The big change will be the near-elimination of a $100 per household garbage collection surcharge that had drawn the ire of many residents. Instead, the surcharge was reduced to a token $8 a household.
Councillors are to hear from taxpayers on possible additional changes to the budget Thursday night, May 17, at 7:30 p.m. at Malahide Community Place.

More in the May 16 print edition.

Malahide calls emergency budget session Saturday, May 12

Malahide council will hold a rare if not unprecedented Saturday meeting May 12 at 8 p.m. on this year’s municipal budget, which has set off a revolt among taxpayers.
About 200 turned up for a protest meeting at Walker Sales Arena in Summers Corners Thursday, May 10.
Mayor David Mennill said the council meeting was called in response to the tax protests.
He wanted councillors to have an opportunity to address the concerns of taxpayers and go into their regular meeting Thursday, May 17, where they would hear from protesters, “with some kind of consensus.”
Saturday night was the only time all councillors and staff would be available before the May 17 regular session, he said.
The Saturday meeting will be held in the council chamber at the Municipal Services Building in Springfield.

Mass tax revolt rally called

Organizers of a meeting of Malahide taxpayers Thursday night, May 10, called on the approximately 200 in attendance to turn up again Thursday, May 17, at 7:30 for the township’s next council meeting to support a demand to cut this year’s proposed property tax increase.
Speakers at the May 10 meeting said Malahide was spending more than taxpayers could afford, and reductions in some services should be considered if no other way could be found to reduce this year’s proposed mill rates.

More in the May 16 print edition.

ALUS program expanding into Bayham

A program that has successfully helped farmers in Norfolk County while benefitting the environment is expanding into the County of Elgin, specifically the Municipality of Bayham.
The Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) program for Bayham was launched during a media event at the Long Point Region Conservation Authority (LPRCA) owned Rugienis Tract along Bayham Drive southwest of Tillsonburg on Wednesday, May 9.
The three-year pilot project will team up with interested farmers wishing to undertake demonstration sites with practices that will help reduce soil erosion, improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat. The pilot project will establish four to six demonstration sites on working farms mostly in north Bayham near Otter Creek with a couple possibly in south Bayham.

More in the May 16 print edition.

Palmer Estate donating to new St. Thomas rail station

The Estate of the late Dorothy Palmer of Aylmer will make a “significant” contribution toward the cost of re-establishing a railway station in downtown St. Thomas, Trustee Andrew Gunn confirmed Tuesday, May 8.
A railway line will be restored as part of the same project so the station can be the new St. Thomas hub of the Port Stanley Terminal Rail, a volunteer group which runs tourist trains between that city and Port Stanley during the summer. St. Thomas Elgin Home Builders Association will donate the “station” it created as the city’s pavilion at the 2010 International Plowing Match in Central Elgin to form the basis of the structure.
It will be installed in the Station Parkette in St. Thomas, the site of the city’s former railway passenger depot.

More in the May 16 print edition.

Aylmer levy up 2.91%, public meeting May 14

A public meeting will he held May 14 at 4 p.m. in Aylmer council chambers at Town Hall to allow residents to weigh in on the budget before it is passed.
Councillors narrowly endorsed a budget Monday night that includes a 2.91 percent increase in the tax levy.
The 2012 East Elgin Community Complex budget was also approved by Aylmer council during the meeting.

More in the May 9 print edition.

Peters hired in ag-related job

Steve Peters, the former Member of Provincial Parliament for Elgin-Middlesex-London and Speaker of the Legislature, has been hired as the executive director of the Alliance of Ontario Food Processors effective May 2.
The AOFP is a member-driven organization representing over 650 food and beverage processing companies in Ontario. The companies the AOFP represents employ more than 110,000 Ontarians.
While the AOFP office is in Cambridge, Mr. Peters said he will continue to live in St. Thomas and commute every day to work.

More in the May 16 print edition.

Elgin okays roadside weed spraying

Elgin councillors on Tuesday, May 8, unanimously approved “targeted” roadside spraying of herbicides, over the objections of environmental activists from Central Elgin. 
Warden Bill Walters, mayor of Central Elgin, insisted that spraying was an effective and safe means of controlling roadside vegetation.

More in the May 9 print edition.

Taxpayer revolt in Malahide

Mayor David Mennill deferred a vote by Malahide council to adopt property tax rates for this year after over 20 unhappy residents and business owners turned up at a meeting Thursday, May 3.
They wanted to express their opposition to this year’s proposed tax increase, but Mayor Mennill said they weren’t on the agenda. Instead, he ordered that the vote be postponed until council’s next meeting on Thursday, May 17, to give taxpayers an opportunity to speak—but a vote would be held that night on the bylaw, he averred.

More in the May 9 print edition.

OPP chase stolen tractor

The Elgin County Ontario Provincial Police were involved in a non-high speed but still dangerous chase when officers noticed what turned out to be a stolen tractor travelling west on the Highway 3 bypass in St. Thomas at about 4 a.m. on Thursday, May 3.
Elgin OPP Const. Troy Carlson said thinking it odd that a tractor would be travelling on the bypass, especially at that hour, the officers decided to try and stop the farm vehicle but the driver refused to stop and led the officers down several side roads including Watertown Line, then north on an old rail bed, east onto Truman Line, then south onto Dalewood Road and finally west onto Shorelea Line where officers were able to apprehend the suspect while the tractor was momentarily stopped.
An officer used a “conducted energy weapon,” more commonly known as a Taser, to subdue the suspect through the open back window of the tractor. The chase and apprehension lasted about an hour. A 37-year-old London man is facing multiple charges stemming from the incident.

More in the May 9 print edition.

Another wave of whooping cough cases

Elgin St. Thomas Public Health officials had been hopeful that a second round of whooping cough (pertussis) infections from this winter, mainly in the East Elgin area, had died out, but new cases began cropping up two weeks ago.
Health Protection Director Laura McLachlin told public health board members Wednesday, May 2, “Now we’re into wave three,” mostly in the East Elgin area.
The health unit is offering free booster shots adults under 64 whose immunizations have worn off.

More in the May 9 print edition.

Bayham levy up 2 percent

After some contemplation of increasing the overall levy to provide a “cushion” for future years, Bayham councillors Monday night accepted the budget as presented to them with some slight changes which means the levy will increase by 1.97 percent.
Residential taxpayers in Bayham will on average see no tax rate increase on their 2012 bills because of a phased-in reassessment of about four percent this year, explained Treasurer David Aristone. The total municipal levy in Bayham this year works out to just under $3.1 million.

More in the May 2 print edition.

Aylmer couple on Titanic cruise

Nancy and Rowland Hill, of Aylmer, recently returned from a cruise that followed the path of the fateful first and only voyage of the Titanic exactly 100 years ago.
The Aylmer couple were among about 50 Canadians who were able to book themselves onto the Titanic Memorial Cruise. The Hills flew to England for the beginning of the 12-day cruise on April 8 which began in Southampton with stops in Cobh, Ireland (formerly Queenstown), Halifax and New York.

More in the May 2 print edition.

Malahide man dead in truck rollover

Abram Berg, 23, of Malahide Township is dead as a result of a single vehicle collision involving a tanker truck that happened shortly before 11 a.m. on Friday, April 27.
Mr. Berg was driving the tanker truck, which was carrying liquid fertilizer, west on Edgeware Line just west of Goudy Road in northeast Central Elgin when the truck veered off the road into the south ditch. The truck hit a hydro pole and then a large tree causing the truck to roll onto its side spilling liquid fertilizer into the ditch and onto the road. Mr. Berg was trapped in the truck and was later pronounced dead at the scene.

More in the May 2 print edition.

Tax reduction in Aylmer? Maybe

The Town of Aylmer’s finance committee finalized the 2012 budget at its April 24 meeting and whether or not it’s good news for individual ratepayers depends on their assessement.
After several meetings and much discussion, the finance committee approved a budget with a 2.91 percent levy increase over 2011 which results in a net tax point decrease of 1.4 percent. For an average Aylmer property assessed at $200,000, this results in a $47.88 reduction in municipal taxes when all three portions of the tax bill are taken into account (town, county and education).
But as town administrator Jennifer Reynaert explained to the committee members, the comparison she prepared for them assumes the ratepayers assessment remains unchanged for 2012. Because of the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation’s phased in reassessment increase, most Aylmer homeowners will see an increase in assessment of four percent this year. This means the average residential property assessement increases to $208,000 which results in a tax increase of $87 from 2011.
The budget now moves on to regular council which is expected to further discuss it at the May 7 meeting and set a date for a public meeting that should be held by the end of the month.

Roadside spraying on hold

About 20 protestors called on Central Elgin councillors Monday night, April 23, to reject a proposal to spray roadsides in the municipality with herbicide.
That proposal has been put on hold awaiting the result of an Elgin County study of the possible effects of herbicide spraying, sparked by a letter from Catfish Creek Conservation Authority expressing concerns.

More details in the April 25 print edition.

Pickup stolen

Police Chief Andre Reymer reported Monday, April 23, that a blue 2000 Dodge pickup truck with distinctive markings, as well as a Yamaha all-terrain vehicle in the rear box, was stolen from Moore Avenue sometime after 10 p.m. on Sunday, April 22.
The truck has “Alpha Stucco” written on each door.
Anyone with information about the missing truck and ATV is asked to contact police.

Port Burwell Fire Station Chief Tom Millard, left, offers a piece of cake to Maggie Yurek, 8, of St. Thomas at the grand opening of the new Port Burwell Fire Station on Saturday, April 21. The almost $950,000 new fire hall located near the west entrance to Port Burwell replaces the one on Pitt Street.

More in the May 2 print edition.

Firefighters donating “Jaws of Life”

Malahide councillors Thursday, April 19, agreed to accept a donation from Springfield Firefighters Association of a $23,000 set of automobile crash extrication equipment, including a “Jaws of Life,” for the village’s fire station.
Malahide Fire Chief Paul Groeneveld told councillors, “This will help improve our level of service responding to motor vehicle collisions, especially in the northern area” of Malahide. He estimated an improvement of five to 10 minutes in the extrication equipment arriving at a crash scene in that end of the municipality.

More in the April 25 print edition.

Straffordville video in top five

A video produced by Straffordville Public School Grade 8 pupils Ashton Fehr, Audrey Gardner, Grace Wall and Daniel Grant has made it to the final five of a Thames Valley District School Board competition.
A link to the two-minute video, promoting equality in education, can be found at www.tvdsb.ca/programs.cfm?subpage=182145, listed as elementary Finalist 5. The entry receiving the most online ballots wins $750 for its school, and voting ends Tuesday, April 24.

Aylmer budget down to 2.68 percent increase

The Town of Aylmer’s finance committee at its April 17 meeting found $80,000 in savings in the 2012 draft budget to bring a possible levy increase down from 4.47 percent to 2.68 percent.
It is expected that further savings will be found with both the Aylmer Police Services and Catfish Creek Conservation Authority 2012 budgets being sent back for further consideration by Aylmer’s finance committee at a previous meeting.
The 2012 Town of Aylmer budget could be finalized at the next finance committee meeting which will be held when the Aylmer Police Services and CCCA budgets are returned by their respective boards.

More in the April 25 print edition.