Madhunt Publishing Company
Alliston, Ontario

Madhunt Publishing Company
founded March 22, 1999.

New Tecumseth Free Press Online
First Posted April 30, 1999

To email: Tony Veltri .

New Tecumseth Free Press Online welcomes and reads letters to the editor reflecting the diverse views of all readers.

Letters on timely subjects of broad interest will be published. Letters may be edited for clarity, accuracy and brevity.

We do not publish poetry, third-party or anonymous letters, or those signed with a pseudonym. We will however post letters without a name if warranted.

For verification purposes, your address and daytime telephone number are required, although we do not publish them.

We do not include the writer's email address, unless requested to do so.

'Let's make sure ratepayers are getting full value'

to the editor,

While I appreciate Ward 1 Councillor Bob Marrs' concern for debenture financing and fleet replacement, I wonder if he has considered those of us who work and have not received a wage increase in the past three to five years while municipal taxes have increased almost 10 per cent.

And what about our seniors on fixed incomes? These increases impact them even more. I'm fairly certain not many people in Ward 1 desires a five per cent municipal tax increase this year.

While our tax rate may be less than Innisfil's and Bradford West Gwillimbury, taxes are only going up three per cent this year in the City of Barrie.

I would ask that before replacing fleet vehicles, has each department justified to Council the need for every single fleet vehicle they currently use? I see between five and seven Town pick-up trucks at the New Tecumseth Recreation Centre every weekend parked there, doing nothing (except depreciating in value). Do we really need them all?

Has staff considered leasing vs. purchasing vehicles? Could we reduce this fleet to three to four vehicles, put a plow on each one in the winter, and make them multi-use between Parks & Rec. and the Public Works Dept?

Instead of pushing the proverbial 'easy button' to increase taxes, let's make sure ratepayers are getting full value for their tax dollars first. That's my expectation from all of our elected municipal representatives.

Mike Hill,
Alliston