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He notified the boards that over-expenditures must be reduced by half in 1971, and completely eliminated in 1972. York County Board of Educa- tion. business adminstration and tlon's $34.8 million operating educational and special services. budget for 1970 was $1.5 million The debt and grant committ- above the grand ceiling. This ee will study debt charges, means that county taxpayers are short term financing and trans- wholly responsible for the over- portation. (Substantial portions expenditure. Provincial grants of the budget are set aside for Were available for about 46 per- interest payments on debentures cent of the remainder. and transportation of students. At its meeting November 9, the board had agreed to set up a series of budget committees, and trustees on each committee will work with staff in budget preparation. Recognizing that not all trust- ees can be expected to become expert on all aspects of the bud- get‘ they were asked to choose which committee they would prefer to sit on. County Board Begins Budget Planning The instmction committee will study instruction costs, in- cluding educational administra- Trustees Set Guidelines Thornhill In Mood In anticipation of a tough financial year ahead, York County Board of Education has begun organiz- ing its various budget committees. In a letter to all board chairmen in the province, Education Minister William Davis announced early in October that. effective January 1972. spending above the education grant ceilings will not be toler- ated. VOL. 94, NO. 22. Talk Of Forming Metro Borough With Richmond Hill And Oak Ridges York - Peel Reassessment, Federal - Provincial Negotiations Keys To Ontario Tax Reform Reassessment of real estate in York and Peel Counties. along with federal-provincial tax reform negotiations. are key items in the Ontario Government's drive to achieve a more equitable tax sys- tem. This was what about 170 citizens were told at the recent York Mills Progressive Conservative Associa- tion public seminar on tax proâ€" blems at St. Gabriel's Church Hall, Sheppard Avenue East. Willowdale. The guest speakers were four members of the Ontario Cabinet â€"- Provincial .Treasurer and Econo- mics Minister Charles MacNaugh: ton. Municipal Affairs Minister Darcy McKeough. Labor Minister Dalton Bales (MLA for York Mills) and Education Minister William Davis. It was the foumh in a series of BY HAROLD BLAINE Public L331"??? , 24 Jri hi $t~> Rlctyfg‘. A 1 The original recommendation from the communications com- mittee had been that six com- mittees be formed with three trustees on each. However, it was felt that those trustees who will serve on the salary negotia- tions committee should not be The debt and grant committ- ee will study debt charges, short term financing and trans- portation. (Substantial portions of the budget are set aside for interest payments on debentures and transportation of students. committee. and will consist of representatives from each of the other committees. and transportation of students. Increased costs are an-tici- A third committee will study pated on many levels in 1971, plant operation and mainten- but it will not all come from the ance costs. and a fourth will be county property owner. The de- known as the budget or strategy partment has increased grant “Now we have York and Peel‘ re- assessed. we can move to design a new. fairer and more equitable tax system in these areas.“ said Municipal Affairs Minister Mc- Keough. Education Minister Davis out- lined what the provincial govern- ment is doing to assume a greater share of the education cost load and relieve the property taxpayer. is for the public and the bottom floor is for the school,“ Mr. Davis said. such seminars being held in the riding. The ones held earlier were on landlord-tenant law, pollution. and drugs. Among tax saving moves he mentioned as being favored by the province for the local government level. is the combining of school and public libraries. V“Wefi fihd it works very well when the top floor of the library asked to sit on a budget com- mittee as well. (In 1969, the salary negotiations committee had 30 meetings with secondary school teachers alone as well as numerous meetings with ele- mentary school teachers, con- sultants, vice-principals and principals. In 1970. the commit- ee met 40 times with the sec- ondary sch-001 teachers in ad- dition to meeting on several oc- casions with the other groups). At a special meeting Novem- ber 16, guidelines were discus- sed to ascertain the level at which the budget committees should come into play and where and when they should sit in on staff budget preparation meetings. ceilings on "ordinary expendit- ures“ to $545 from $500 for e1- ementary students and to $1. 060 from $1,000 for secondary students. Numerous other large boards were unable to‘do so. are also faced with the task of Most of those councils the trimming budgets to acceptable do not meet on Monday. me: proportions, including Metro, on Tuesday. Mr. MacKay addei Ottawa. Niagara South and the hence the recommendation th: Counties of Lincoln and Peel. the date he set for Wednesday @hw NEW Economics Minister MacNaugh- ton told the meeting that for many people the present federal-provin- cial-municipal tax package is "a financial straightjacket â€"â€" a tax yrden that binds them in perpe- ual poverty. or prevents them from becoming economic citizens. The Education Minister was an- swering a critical question from a citizen who cited provincial ex- penditures for public libraries as growing smaller in relation to community growth. “For examples of this striking paradox in the midst of our rela- tively affluent society, you need only look at the impoverished old age pensioner who must pay in- come tax. municipal tax, sales tax and other government levies. even if his sole income is the old age security and guaranteed income supplement," said the Economics 4 Cabinet Ministers Tell Taxation Story At York Mills Semiflr RICHMOND HILL, ONTARIO. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1970 Inu\\uuummuuuumuuluummmmuuuumuluuulmlmuuun Board Of Education Inaugural January 6 ' 7 I At a special meeting Novem- ber 16, York County Board of Education agreed to have its 1971 inaugural meeting on Jan- uray 6, a Wednesday. Although the board usually meets on a Monday, Chairman John MacKay pointed out that the last inaugural was not very well attended. The chief reason for this, he declared, was that many of the municipal councils in the county meet on Monday. and municipal officials who would normally have attended were unable to’do so. Most of those councils that do not meet on Monday. meet on Tuesday. Mr. MacKay added, hence the recommendation that Hm date he set for Wednesday. The total above deficit in- cludes $361.31 for seat taxes, when the former electric rail- way right-of~way was turned over to the province in 1949 for road - widening purposes on Yonge Street. an exemption of seat taxes for 10 years was granted the bus line. This has been extended on a yearly basis since then. and it is usually well into the following year that the is made province's decision available. Revenue for July and August lung year totalled $24,041.66, op- }erating expenses amounted to $25,591.06. Only 238,566 fares ‘were collected. while the buses travelled 27,963 revenue miles. It cost 91.52c per mile and rev- lenue averaged 85.9c per mile. At a special meeting Novem. ber 16, York County Board of Education agreed to have its 1971 inaugural meeting on Jan- uray 6. a Wednesday. Most of those councils that do not meet on Monday. meet on Tuesday. Mr. MacKay added. hence the recommendation that Taxi cab licences belong- ing to Richmond Hill Taxi Company were suspended by Richmond Hill Police last week when the owner failed to produce Depart- ment of Transport safety check reports within 48 hours of a warning, it was reported to council Monday night. ‘v‘In Essentials Unity; in Non-Essentials Liberty; in all things Charity” Taxi Licences Suspended iNew York Central Mental Health Service Plans Open House Dec. 3 Minister. “Or I might refer to those who have been described as the 'new poor' in our society â€" the people who are considered to be in middle income brackets but whose total tax burden jeopardizes their abil- ity to make ends meet. “Taxes should be designed like a suit of clothes. They should be tailored to fit the people who pay them. “Or let me quote an eminent economist who stated: ‘ . . . noth- ing shows so clearly the character of a society and a civilization as does the fiscal policy its political sector adopts . . . ’ “Or as stated in our 1970 On- tario Budget, ‘ . . . tax reforms must meet the needs of taxpayers first and of governments second‘. "Unfortunately. we have three different sets of tax tailors in Canada -â€" federal, provincial and The hospital‘s chief Oif Psy- chiatricl Service Dr. William Shaw, a specialist in child psy- chiatry, and Dr. John McTavish, whose speciality is adolescent psychiatIY. began last summer to set up the seqvice ,i a con- Nertéfi‘. Bungalow. Th y have since been joined'by D-r. Wil- liam Surphlis. former director of an 80-bed psychiatric service at the Sudbury and Algoma San- itorium. The emphasis is on preven- tion at the new York Central Hospital Mental Health Ser- vice which has been operating since September in temporary quarters at 122 Yonge Street North in Richmond Hill. Last May Municipal Affairs Minister Darcy McKeough op- ened up the possibility that Metro might be allowed to move north from Steeles Avenue to the proposed Highway 47 right- of-way. This is roughly to the present line along Highway 7. M1: McKeough indicated about a year would be given for the issue to .be settled. Metro has shown a readiness to grab the well-serviced. high- ly industrialized. and vacant- land-rich areas of Southern Vaughan and Markham. At the same time Metro has rejected annexation of areas in Pickering where services are needed and industrial tax rev- enue is low. A supportive staff of five has been added, and the service will Yonge Bus Deficit Is $1,910 In Two Months The Yonge Street buses, op- erated by the Toronto Transit Commission for the municipal- ities of Richmond Hill, Vaughan and Markham, ran up a deficit of $1,910.71 in the two months preceding the advent of the GO buses, a letter to Richmond Hill Council has revealed. Richmond Hill is responsible for 50% of this deficit or $955.- 35. each of the other two mun- icipalities are assessed 25% or half the above amount. Any further deficits on this line until the end of next year will be picked up by the Gov- ernment of Ontario. It looks like a real wave of grass roots opposition to the proposed Metro annexation of Thornhill area is rising in the communities affected. There is also growing opposition in the rest of Markham and in Vaughan, and among teachers’ groups. Residents fear a 44% hike in taxes. Opposition to the loss of Thornhill has already come from the York County Board of Education and Markham Township Council. If annexation must come, the possibility of a new Metro borough includ- ing Richmbnd Hill and Oak Ridges has been mentioned. Last week four public meetings, involving five different ratepayers’ associations, were held. Voting at these meetings, with a total of 324 people attending, was almost unanimoust against annexation. FORM COMMITTEE I A York South Region Citiz-; ens' Committee has been form-i ed under the chairmanship of Dr. John Fotheringham, 127 E1â€" gin Street, Thomhill. The strength of the grass roots feeling was first noted in October by municipal council and school board candidates in the election campaign. Successful candidates gener- ally were those who told the voters they opposed the Metro annexation of Thornhill. Local elected representatives were attentively present at last week’s meetings. They includ- ed members of next year's new Markham Town Council, Mayor Anthony Roman. Regional Coun- be having open house from 3 to 5 pm next Thursday to give the public an opportunity to meet the stafi and discuss the func- tion of a mental health service. With major financing by the Mental Health Branch of the Department of Health. the ser- vice will operate on an out-pat- ient basis for the next two years, until the addition to York Central Hospital is built and psychiatric wards are available. For the present. the team of psychiatrists ahd'th'eir assistants are working closely with other community resourcesâ€"teachers, guidance councillors, family doctors. psychologists, clergy- men, policemen. family service workers, public health nurses. These are the people, Dr. (Continued on Page 3) Mlulllllll“l“lllllllllllllllllllllllll11111111“lllllllllllllllllullllllllllllll Good Buys For Christmas The magic night when Santa slips down the chim- ney and fills the stockings, piles gifts under the tree and disappears for another year is now less than a month away and the wise person is buying Christmas gifts. For your shopping spree, Canadian Tire is offering gifts for all the family at amazineg low prices. For the youngsters there are games. toys and sports equipment galore. For Mom there are attractive electrical appliances, hair curlers and watches. For Dad there are steins, wat- ches, tools, tires and car accessories. Be sure to read the third section of this issue of “The Liberal” to check these “good buys.” You’ll be glad you did. Canadian Tire Christmas shopping hours will begin tonight (Thursday). For your convenience the store will be open from 8:30 am to 9pm Monday to Friday and 8 am to 6 pm Saturdays, until Christmas. They are available to December 7 or while quan- tities last. municipal â€" each trying to squeeze out enough cloth to serve a particular form of government. We have three taxing jurisdictions â€" each raising funds for its own programs â€" ~but only one tax. payer." said Mr. MacNaughton. “0n the premise. then, that our tax system must be tailored to serve taxpayers first, Ontario has taken two basic approaches to the current process of tax reform. 0“The national income tax system must be used as the catalyst through which all other govern- ment levies, including provincial and municipal tax burdens, are adjusted and modified to meet the individual’s ability to pay. “We cannot agree that this im- portant shared tax field should be redesigned simply to serve the purposes of the federal govern- ment. Unless the federal-provincial- HOME PAPER OF THE DISTRICT SINCE 1878 cillor James Jongeneel. Thorn- hill Councillors Iiob Adams and Roy Muldrew. The only area in Thornhill where ratepayers haven‘t yet held a meeting is in the central area neighborhood of Clark, John and Elgin Streets. It is hoped a meeting will be held there soon. says citizens’ com- mittee chairman Dr. Fathering- ham. ' PLAN BIG FIGHT The committee‘s next move will probably be a meeting of ratepayer association executives to work out a common strategy in opposing annexation. Also present were York' Coun- ty Board of Education’ Chair- man Jack MacKay. and Trust- ees John Honsberger of Thorn- hill and Ross Jolliffe of Vau- ghan. Probably a large general meeting will be held early in the New Year. hopefully with Municipal Affairs Minister Mc- Keough in attendance, says Dr. Fotheringham. In the meantime ratepayers are initiating a campaign to show Mr. McKeough the stren- gth of their opposition to an- nexation. Councillor Lois Hancey, chair- man of Richmond Hill Council‘s Fire Committee. dug in her heels at last week‘s brief coun- cil mating, and refused to take a request to her committee. At their meetings they voted to write personal letters to the Her refusal arose from a re- cent recommendation from the town's parks committee. headed by Councillor Shaun Beggs that the town’s permanent firemen be asked to look after the flood- ing of outdoor rinks this win- ter. This suggestion received ap- proval of the majority of coun- cil members and was referred to committee. Mrs. Hancey based her objection on lack of man- power and the belief that fire- fighting equipment shoul\d not be tied up on jobs of this nature. “I choose not to take this sug- gestion to the committee," stated the only woman coun- cillor. “I have always tried to be coâ€"operative and this is the only ‘time in my seven years at this ‘table that I haven’t been. Hancey Balk: At Idea Firemen Flood Rinks “As an elected representative, do I have to do something I don‘t want to do?” she asked Town Solicitor Tom Fraser. Mr. Fraser doubted there was any- thing in the Municipal Act which would force a councillor to take action. “Then you would go to your normal rules of pro- cedure. but I understand this council does not have a proced- ural bylaw." Mayor William Lazenby sol- ved the impasse by stating he would call a meeting of the fire committee as a whole and in- troduce the proposal at that time. wuuiu Call a luccuus UL u": Lu: committee as a whole and in- "W9 11.396 to be Very caraful. troduce the proposal at thatl'l‘he police have been able to time, maintain very good salaries and Reeve Donald Plaxton told‘fringe benefits that are very Mrsi Hancey. “I think it is a very expensive for the taxpay- iittle ridiculous that your de- 81‘5- And they are setting 3 Pat- cision can frustrate the decision tern for other municipal em- of a majority of council, but I'ployees," said Mayor Illing- don’t blame you for trying." worth. (Continued on Page 3) "7W2 céhhieitmaic’hieve meaningful tax reform unless we pursue, hand- inâ€"hand, expenditure reforms. ‘ “Ontario appears to have suc- ceeded in partially achieving this objective. ‘v‘szyrdu know. our analysis of the federal White Paper showed that the Benson (Federal Finance “Inter-gévernment .controls must be established to contain the rapid rise in government expendituyes. municipal tax system is redesigned in a comprehensive and co-ordina- ted manner. meaningful redistri- bution of tax burdens cannot be achieved and the best interests of taxpayers will not be served. 0“Taxes in Canada already are too high. “Government 5 p e n d in g has grown from 26% of the gross national product in 1952, to almost 36% this year. Mayor L a z e n b y said he couldn‘t accept. “in View of out- side comment and reports that 7“! can’t accept in the circum- stances.” said Mayor Lazenby, when nominated. I have criticized the chairman personally." “I was not personally attack- ing Mr. Wright. I was only cri- ticizing protocol and proce- dures," said Mayor Lazenby. lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll“lll|“mllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll For more news on reg- ional government see Pages 5 and 7. See Editorial on Page 2. mmmuumuuum\ummunmmmmmumuqummmumuw Councillor Gordon Rowe turned down appointments to the York Region Police Commission for different reasons. They each had a second chance at the job November 12. Region Council Chairman Gar- field Wright first grabbed the appointment on October 29 at one regional council meeting, and then “threw it up for grabs" again at the next. ‘ Councillor Rowe said now that he had been appointed to the council engineering commit- tee, it was evident that he al- ready had too much work to do. He said he would prefer not to serve on the police commission. Richmond Hill Mayor William Lazenby and Richmond Hill Councillor Rowe was then nominated. but he also declined. Aurora Mayor Dick Illing- worth and Richmond Hill Coun- cillor Rowe had some strong feelings about how the police commission appointments were made. I Council had made up its mind on appointing Chairman Wright and Markham Councillor Hi Lawrie October 29. But in announcing his withâ€" drawal from the appointment, Chairman Wright said a new council vote was required to comply with a legal technicality. Sd council did the job over again. and made some more careful stipulations. Lazenby, Rowe Turn Down Offer Of York Police Commission Post' Ask Region Use Area Wholesale Water Rates Under Bill 174 which establishes the Regional Municipality of York. the regional council will take over all works for the pro- duction. treatment and storage of water operated by or on behalf of each area municipality. It will also take over sewage treat- ment works and trunk sew- ers. 355 YONGE STREET N. RICHMOND HILL 889-5435 PHONE 727-9453 Bylaws are being pared at present so the take-over will be sible on January 1. In Richmond Hill the region will be assuming the present town‘s five operat- ing wells. the two located in Vaughan Township in the Carrville area and the two in King Township in the Oak Ridges area. The town's sixth well on Dufferin Street. which has been partially developed with no additional work anticipated in the immed- iate future will remain in the town's ownership. Also being assumed will be the Harding Park pumphouse. since it is the only one that has a direct trunk main to the well. according to members of the town's staff, who reported to the wilson m'blett CHEVâ€"OLDS SEE THE NEW VEGA at "This commitment. in our opinion, will ensure that our col- lective efforts are directed toward taxpayers’ interests. rather than toward governments’ needs,” he said. “Many of you will be aware of the numerous proposals by which Ontario believes that comprehen- sive tax reform can be achieved. "Our refundable tax credits â€" (Continued on Page 17) “We made our case through a series of public statements. and finally, a comprehensive report to the Canadian people. “The result has been a commit- ment from the Federal Minister of Finance, to readjust his pro- posed new income tax rates to con- tain revenues at their present levels. Minister) proposals incorporated a significant. increase in taxes from the income field. pre- that pos- “I don‘t want any three-year appointments to the police com- mission as far as I‘m concerned. If in the first year the council isn‘t satisfied with the police commission's performance. then they (the council appointees) may have to serve as sacrifical lambs. I favor one-year appoint- ments," said Councillor Plaxton. Newmarket Councillor Ray Twinney agreed to serve on the police commission. so a resolu- tion was passed appointing Mr. Twinney and Markham Council- lor Hi. Lawrie for a term of one year. mummuumuululummlummmmnumnuummummunuum November 16 meeting of the organizational com- mittee for regional govern- ment. At the sewage treatment plant. the holding tank now in the process of construc- tion to ease the load at peak periods will not be assumed by the region un- til it is completed. The region will then issue the necessary debentures, it was pointed out. The town will recom- mend that the region assess wholesale water rates on a water area basis rather than on an area municipal- ity basis. There are six water areas in the expand- ed town with consumer rates ranging from 45c to $1 per thousand gallons. it was reported. One area is unmetered and pays a flat rate. The organizational com- mittee decided to recom- mend continuation of area water rates at present levels until there has been time to investigate the matter thoroughly. All were agreed that the ultim- ate goal should be to have a uniform rate throughout the municipality. PRICE 15C PER COPY In a move to reduce costs and at the same time im- prove services. the York County Board of Education and the York County Ro- man Catholic School Board set up a joint liaison com- mittee shortly after the two boards were formed in January 1969. This committee has been particularly useful in ex- tending areas of special education to children from both systems. and there has been considerable co-opera- tion among teachers in their in-serv’ice tr a i n i n g pro- grams. After a recess of several months, trustees of the two boards will get together again on December 3 in the Roman Catholic Board ad- ministration offices ln Rich- mond Hill. At a recent meeting Ro- man Catholic Committee Chairman Donald Ferguson of the town of Markham told his board that his com- mittee would like to see priority given to discussion of shared transnortation, a co-operative film library as eligible for grants from the Department of Education, joint purchasing and a re.- view of other shared ser- vices. Chairman for the board of education committee is Richmond Hill Trustee Deena Simpson. We Cars Cost Less! 'ounty Boards Share Costs Services G uardian M ajnten ance lfll Mtge: