As council works to establish the 2004 budget, Fort Frances appears to be on hard times—with a possible residential tax increase of 67.5 percent in the year ahead if council doesn’t make cuts and hike fees, Mayor Dan Onichuk warned this morning.
Details of what the town is up against will be the primary topic of discussion at tonight’s council meeting. The committee of the whole has set aside an hour—from 7-8 p.m.—to publicly discuss the “state of the union,” Mayor Onichuk noted.
“What the people of Fort Frances are going to see is our preliminary operating and capital forecast for 2004, warts and all,” the mayor said, later referring to the forecast as a “Doomsday report.”^“It’s a picture of where we stand today and it’s not going to be pretty,” he remarked. “I’ll be so bold as to say if we continue to operate as the previous council had done so, the Town of Fort Frances could see a 67.5 percent residential tax increase.”^The mayor encouraged people to attend the meeting or to watch it at home on Shaw (Channel 11).
In an effort to make the meeting more accessible to the public, it will be held upstairs in council chambers.
Mayor Onichuk noted while council has been discussing budget matters—as well as the recentlycompleted corporate audit—since early December, this is really the first public discussion of the rough shape the town is in.
Tonight’s meeting is expected to be followed up with further discussion with town staff, and then, at a later date, a public meeting specifically meant for council to hear what the electorate has to say.
The committee of the whole meeting starts first at 5:30 p.m., but will be held in-camera (behind closed doors) until 6:55 p.m. It then will resume with a few items before going into the one-hour discussion.
The council meeting itself is expected to start at 8:15 p.m. and run until 8:30 p.m.
Other business at tonight’s meeting will include:
•a bylaw to authorize the entering into of certain contracts with respect to the provision of janitorial services at the Children’s Complex, public library, and Public Works building;
•a bylaw to amend By-Law No.
34/95 (this would result in council meetings starting at a standard time, and committee of the whole meetings being held in council chambers and not downstairs at the Civic Centre, where they currently are held);
•a bylaw to authorize a franchise agreement between the Corporation of the Town of Fort Frances and Union Gas Ltd. for a third and final reading and subsequent passing;
•a break open ticket licence application from the Border Figure Skating Club at Sparky’s Confectionary from Jan. 27-July 27, 2004;
•a request from the Heart and Stroke Foundation to proclaim February 2004 as “Heart Month “ in Fort Frances;
•a request from the Township of Chapple for support of its resolution regarding Alternate Victim Services Program funding;
•a request from the Township of Atikokan for support of its resolution regarding the closure of Atikokan’s coal-fired thermal generating station;
•a request from the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters for a letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty regarding the province’s decision not to reinstate the spring bear hunt;
•a request from the City of Sarnia for support of its resolution regarding review of Municipal Property Assessment Corp.’s roles and responsibilities; and
•a request from the Municipality of West Elgin for support of its resolution regarding exemption of omitted assessments for trailers for the 2003 taxation year.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
