Vision_2012_11_22

NEWS

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Counties council demands zero per cent budget GREGGCHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca cent and nothing else. “It’s very achievable,” said Warden Fran- çois St. Amour, mayor for The Nation mu- nicipality, during a phone interview. of the operating expenses, administration projected a possible tax levy of $36,866,285 needed to make up the remainder of the 2013 budget. That would be $560,335 more than the 2012 municipal tax levy. the counties might see increased revenue coming from the residential, commercial, and industrial property sectors because of increased development in those areas dur- ing the past year.

The United Counties of Prescott-Russell council (UCPR) reviewed the latest report on revisions for the 2013 budget during the Nov. 13 committee of the whole session. After calculating in potential revenue in- creases and making selective cuts on some

L’Orignal | Not five per cent, not three per cent, not even a one per cent increase in next year’s property tax rate for Prescott and Russell counties is acceptable to the mayors of the region. It must be zero per

That would mean an overall property tax rate increase of 1.5 per cent for the counties. For the average homeowner that would mean $490.41 in property taxes for every $100,000 assessed value of house and land. By comparison the preliminary budget es- timate presented to the counties council in October projected a possible property tax figure of $498 for every $100,000 of as- sessed value for the average homeowner. The new projected property tax rate for the average homeowner would even be 11 cents cheaper compared to the 2012 actual property tax rate was $490.52 for every $100,000 assessed value. This may be because the overall public tax levy for

While the cost-cutting efforts of the staff impressed counties council members, the eight mayors want to see even more ef- ficiencies. They directed administration to find ways to achieve a budget with no in- crease at all in the property tax rate. “It’s not going to be a great pain,” said Warden St. Amour. “The lower municipali- ties are having a hard year. The upper tier (UCPR) is having a good year. Now it’s time to lend a hand to the lower-tier.” UCPR Chief Administrative Officer Sté- phane Parisien said staff should be able to present the counties council with a new, re- vised final budget for the November regular session at the end of the month.

Tuesday may be Wednesday for counties council

There is no decision yet on whether or not to change the week day for counties coun- cil. The eight mayors will take the sugges- tion back to their municipal staff for com- ments and recommendations.

VISION@EAP.ON.CA PRESCOTT-RUSSELL

L’Orignal | If it’s Wednesday morning it must be time for counties council. That is the feeling among some of the mayors representing the United Counties of Prescott-Russell (UCPR). Counties admin- istration has floated a suggestion to change the day of the week for both the committee of the whole and regular sessions of coun- cil. “I like it myself,” said Warden François St. Amour. At present the counties council meets on the first and third Tuesday of the month for its committee of the whole and regular ses- sions. The suggestion is to move the date over to Wednesday of those weeks. In the past sometimes counties coun- cil has had to reschedule one or the other meeting because they were in conflict with another more important meeting or event that several or all of the mayors had to at- tend. Also sometimes counties staff would be rushed to do final preparations on Tues- day morning for some of the meetings be- cause a mandatory stat holiday Monday had closed the counties office. The stat Monday situation would also make for a long day of meetings for some mayors who might have evening munici- pal council sessions to prepare for after they had spent the day in L’Original for the scheduled counties council gathering. For the mayor of Casselman this is a regular situation since Casselman village council meets on Tuesday evenings. Three locals charged in sweep Three Plantagenet residents are among the 21 facing a variety of charges ranging from the production of marijuana, gam- ing, extortion, book-making and offences related to organized crime. Lucien St-Jean, 64, Alain Normand, 50, and Guylaine Duval, 49, were arrested in a police operation by the RCMP, OPP and the Ottawa Police Service. The raids, conducted in Ottawa and Gatineau, ended a two-year investigation, code-named Project Amethyst, launched in September 2010 on the criminal activities of individuals with ties to organized crime in the Ottawa area. Collectively, the accused face a total of 54 charges.

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