McCarthy pushes for trust fund
Cash would boost local projects
Flamborough Review
Kevin Werner
Published on Jan 28, 2010
Now
that the city of Hamilton receives all the revenues from the Flamboro
Slots, Councillor Margaret McCarthy says the city owes her ward about
$500,000.
McCarthy
proposed the city create a trust fund for Flamborough that could
provide a funding boost to local projects. The cost of the fund, which
would operate similarly to the Taro Trust Fund in the former
municipality of Stoney Creek, would be about $500,000. McCarthy even
had a motion prepared, supported by Mountain Councillor Terry
Whitehead, ready to be introduced to council last week. She said she
had at least five other councillors ready to endorse her proposal.
“It would be a trust fund for Flamborough,” she said.
During
a special committee of the whole meeting last week, councillors were
compiling a wish list of their high-priority capital projects that
could be funded from a special $5-million fund. Last year, the city
used the money to build a recreation facility in the downtown Beasley
neighbourhood.cil.
In
2007, when politicians threatened to eliminate the area-rating of
Flamboro Slots revenue, McCarthy argued if Stoney Creek is allowed to
keep its tipping fees from Philip Environmental (now called Newalta)
after amalgamation to support the Taro Trust Fund, Flamborough should
keep its casino revenue.
In
2007, $3.1 million out of the $4 million in total slots revenues was
taken from Flamborough and used by the city and Ancaster to soften the
expected higher taxes that year. The next year, the entire slots
revenue that had been used to pay down the former town’s Borer’s Creek
debt, was instead removed from the area-rating policy and dumped into
the city’s general revenue stream.
The
move reduced taxes in Hamilton in 2008, but caused Flamborough
residents’ taxes to balloon by, on average, 10 per cent.
The
Taro fund is overseen by the Heritage Green Trust board of directors;
the money is distributed to various organizations to help the local
community.
McCarthy
has argued that in 1999 Flamborough signed a written contract with the
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission that suggests council can’t take
the slots revenue away from the town without receiving approval from
the gaming commissioner.
Whitehead,
who initially opposed McCarthy’s idea, now supports the idea of
providing some compensation to Flamborough. He said the money would be
used for local improvement projects.
McCarthy’s
motion wasn’t accepted by councillors last week. Instead, city staff
will review the idea, along with a number of other proposed
infrastructure projects.
But
Councillor Chad Collins urged staff to use the city’s own criteria for
infrastructure projects as it reviews the requirements of the ideas.
Under Collins’s suggestion, McCarthy’s proposal would not meet the
city’s requirements.
January 22, 2009
St. Marys Submits an
Aggregate Resources Act Application
to the Ministry of Natural Resources
ATTENTION:
After the official 45 day notification period ends to the St. Marys Cement Aggregate License Application:
* The City of Hamilton has requested denial
* The Town of Milton has requested denial
* The Halton Regional Council has requested denial
* The Burlington Council has requested denial
* And the Ministry of Environment has requested denial
The letters submitted from Hamilton City staff, Hamilton Public Health and the Ministry of the Environment can be viewed below.
Again, as we have stated from the very beginning:
"No reasonable person would support an application of this nature"....and no reasonable person has!!!
A
special thanks goes out to Councillor Jan Mowbray of Milton for her
diligent work ethic and research, her efforts were critical in having
the motion supported at Milton Council.
And
for Councillor John Taylor's erudition on all things planning related,
and for his work in bringing forward the motion both at the Halton
Regional Council level and Burlington Planning Committee level.
It has been a pleasure working with you both!
Thank you to all who have assisted me!!!
06/25/09 - Compass - MNR Says No Go to St. Marys Cement.....For Now
____________________
AMALGAMATION
Below is a copy of an email sent from Margaret McCarthy to Brenda Jeffries, Editor of the Flamborough Review:
| Brenda, this
article along with Michael Prue's position indicate to me that the time
might have come for the Province to revisit the entire issue of
Amalgamation. When even those that were supporters now have stated
that it does not work. This indicates to me that it might be, should
be, once again on the Provincial radar as a significant issue of
discourse that needs to be rectified. Those politicians that do not
heed this growing momentum, do so, I believe, at their own peril. The
dysfunction with the current amalgamations are numerous. Amalgamated
cities and their ensuing Councillor's positions are not reflective of
the cultural differences, geographic differences, and economic
differences of previously independent areas that require good
governance. |
____________________
|
