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Councillors quit committeesPosted March 25, 2008Ward 2 councillor Dennis Egan, and Ward 3 councillor Barb Huson informed mayor Mike MacEachern last week that they wanted off all the committees they sit on for reasons that remain unconfirmed. Mr. Egan and Ms. Huson informed Free Press Online this morning in separate emails that they had "no comment at this time." "I am hopeful that there will be some discussion at the Committee of the Whole meeting April 21," added Ms. Huson, who will however retain her seat at the Lake Simcoe Conservation Authority. Mayor Mike MacEachern was attending County council this morning and not available for comment. The committees affected by Ms Huson's resignation are: Cemetery Board, Environmental Issues Task Force, Heritage New Tecumseth Advisory Board, Pesticide Task Force, South Simcoe Arts Council, and Property Standards Committee (has never met). And those impacted by Mr. Egan's decision include: Economic Development Advisory Committee (chair), Downtown Core Task Force (chair), South Simcoe Economic Alliance, Planning Advisory Committee, Alliston Downtown Improvement Association, Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority, and Nottawasaga Valley Source Protection Committee. The resignations come fast on the heals of the 2008 budget process, which last week ended with an average property tax increase of $76.11 for municipal purposes over last year. Mr. Egan walked out of the final budget working session two weeks ago, after losing a bid to change the way New Tecumseth collects taxes to pay the annual garbage and recycling collection bill from the upper tier. Simcoe County charges its municipal partners a per unit fee, and a community like New Tecumseth than works that bill into the general levy which is collected based on assessment value. Mr Egan argued that two homes side by side getting the exact same service are paying different rates for collection, which he called unfair. The status quo was defended successfully by Ward 5 councillor Jim Stone who countered that while that was true, the bulk of collection was subsidized by commercial and industrial taxes, and that moving to a per unit basis would increase the residential portion of local taxes. Ms. Huson's final budget battle was opposing the pay increase for council - $5,000 plus corresponding benefits for the mayor, and $2,500 for the deputy mayor and councillors. |
 
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