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News

 

 

Signup for regular updates and messages from the association, click HERE

 

 

 

July 2011 Updates

 

 

 

REGATTA - REGATTA - REGATTA!

 

 

Click here for this year's PROGRAM and here for the GUIDELINES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 2011 updates:

 

 

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2011 budget response to HBMLA feedback

 

Click HERE

 

 

HBMLA 2011 Budget Input

 

 

 

A draft of the budget was reviewed on April 5 in a public meeting attended by three members of the HBMLA and we provided feedback.  We followed up that verbal feedback with a letter to council summarizing our position and encouraging them to review the proposed spending with a goal of reducing the 7% year over year increase.

 

At a meeting on April 19, the budget, without any changes from the April 5th draft, was put forward by council for approval.  Reeve Gerow opened the discussion by saying he had reviewed the budget thoroughly and was not able to find any reductions.  We again were permitted to speak and made the following three points:

 

  1. We confirmed that council had received our letter following the April 5th meeting.  Every council member acknowledged that they had seen the letter. 

  2. We expressed our frustration that no spending reductions were found, and that the practice of increasing taxes well in excess of inflation was not sustainable by taxpayers.  Last year spending increased by 10%, compounding to a two year increase of 18%.

  3. We expressed our concern that council continues to maintain that because the mill rate declined by 3%, that there would be a 3% decrease in taxes in HBM Township.  We showed council a report in the Community Press on April 14, 2011 with a headline announcing “Three per cent tax decrease”.  This is clearly a misleading statement, since spending and therefore taxes will increase by 7% in the coming year. The fact that the assessment base increased by 10% results in a decrease in the mill rate.  We brought to council’s attention that on the same page of the Community Press, the following headline related to Marmora stated: “Expect 2.4% increase on tax bills”, with the following opening paragraphs:

“Marmora – Council here has passed its 2011 budget with a 5.9 per cent tax rate decrease, but that won’t mean lower taxes for most residents.

            Due to the assessment phase in for 2011, most households in Marmora and Lake can expect to see an average increase of 2.4 per cent on their taxes this year…..”

So it is clear that HBM Council has taken a different communications approach from Marmora, one that in our opinion obscures to most taxpayers what is actually happening.

Reeve Ron Gerow and Chief Administration Officer (CAO) Linda Reed disagreed with our position on this, stating that there are reasons that an increasing assessment base results in additional demands on township resources and thus drives higher costs.  CAO Reed agreed to quantify how much of the assessment increase drives additional costs and how much is related to increases in property values that do not.  CAO Reed agreed to write an article on the 2011 budget that we could publish in the various lake newsletters scheduled to be issued in the spring.  We agreed to work with her on this.

 

The HBMLA look forward to working with council to play a more active role in developing next year’s budget so that more sustainable taxation can be developed.  Individual property owners are welcome to express their opinions directly to Reeve Gerow or other council members.  Telephone numbers and email addresses are available at the Township of Havelock-Belmont-Methuen  web site at:

http://www.havelockbelmontmethuen.on.ca/council.php.

 

Please see the article from Linda Reed, the HBM CAO on the website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jack’s Lake Road

 

Thanks to those who signed the JLA petition last summer to get the County’s and Townships’ attention on the extremely poor condition of this road.  We are seeing action.  Reeve Gerow and Deputy Reeve Andy Sharpe circulated my letters and your survey, outlining the urgency of having this road made safer and spoke to the issue at County Council meetings.  On March 23, Reeve Jim Whelan let me know that the approval was given in the 2011 County budget. Extra money for work on three low traffic volume roads like ours came for this special approval from the County’s reserve funds.  Work should commence this August/September.

 

The project involves the replacement of several cross culverts, restoration of the cross section with granular “A” and a double surface treatment driving platform from County Road 504 southerly approximately 5.2 km.  The road will be widened so the driving platform is 8.0 m. wherever possible.  Care will be taken to fit the existing grade of the driveways to the new road profile.  During the construction, one lane will be open at all times with both lanes open at the end of the day.  Water or calcium chloride, as may be required, will be used to prevent dust nuisance resulting from the operation.

 

 

 

 

 

Monitor the water levels for Jack's Lake at www.cewf.typepad.com every two weeks from late spring to the end of October. 

 

There is also a link to the Parks Canada website that has an updated graph showing historic high and low levels in comparison to the current level.

 

 

 

 

 

From FOCA alert:

 

Cottage Country News

 

Current Fire Situation

There has been an early start to the fire season this year with grass and brush fires across Ontario.  Dry, windy and unseasonably warm weather has prompted officials to issue high and moderate fire danger notices throughout the majority of cottage country. Overnight frosts have delayed grass and other plants from sprouting, which normally act as a deterrent to the spread of fire across dry leaves lying on the ground.  Be sure to follow fire risk and fire ban information in your area by checking out the MNR's Aviation and Forest Fire Management website.

 

 

FOCA FireSmart Program
 
Every year the MNR responds to over 1350 wildfires, half of those caused by humans. The majority of human caused wildfires are due to careless burning practices and failure to control and extinguish campfires, grass and brush fires.
 
FOCA and the MNR have partnered together to bring cottagers the information and resources they need to Be FireSmart at their cottage and in their communities. To learn more visit the FireSmart page of the FOCA website.