PRESIDENT AL TAYLOR’S REPORT
Simcoe home owners socked with $33 Million tax grab
This headline is no myth should county-wide Full MVA go into effect in Simcoe County. Tiny Township would be hit with $3 1/2 million of the $33 million tax grab. Under county-wide Factorized MVA, Tiny Township would pick up $2 million of the $6 million total county increase. All of it on homeowners.
Since January, 1995, the directors and volunteers with your Federation have spent hundreds of hours organizing and leading the forces to combat the implementation of countywide market value reassessment, the latest tax grab issue. The opposition is a formidable one, which is the combined force of the provincial Ministry of Finance (Assessment Branch), and the Simcoe County government.
WE WERE DISMAYED! We took the initiative of calling around Simcoe to learn what other municipal organizations and councils were doing to head off MVA. To our dismay, we found that very few were aware of what was happening or had any knowledge of the debilitating consequences to municipal taxing power and impact should the MVA proposal be implemented. Consequently, your Federation led the action of setting up a representative organization called the SIMCOE COUNTY RESIDENTS AGAINST MVA – SCRAM.
THE OBJECTIVES • To confront the efforts of the bureaucrats and stop the implementation of the MVA proposal in Simcoe County. • To stress the need for a more equitable and fairer sustainable method of assessing and taxing municipal property owners.
For chairman of SCRAM, a member of your Federation’s executive, David Blair, volunteered to handle this responsibility and George Wadlow of Ramara took the post as Vice Chair. Directors of your Federation: Charlene Lowes, Alf Zarb and myself, together with John Grant, Paul Masterson, and Walter Pridham joined the team from Tiny. As well, we have received help from across the County; Bill Clark from Ramara, Kope Inokai from Severn and Austin Winch from Innisfil are key players. The mammoth task of researching, contacting, facilitating, recording meetings, managing the production of news releases, publications, presentations and mailings was taken on by Pat O’Driscoll of Tiny. (See SCRAM Chairman’s article, page 4.)
WHAT ELSE HAVE WE BEEN DOING? Imagine my surprise when some residents asked me what the Federation had done for them. I thought about this and realized it was time to remind and tell.
TOWNSHIP POLITICS Formed to bring responsible and sensible government back to Tiny, your Federation for three years up to the November 1994 election communicated to you, organized rallies, monitored and petitioned Tiny’s Council of the concerns and demands of the majority of ratepayers in Tiny.
Through the pages of The Tiny Cottager, meetings and rallies, we informed you and urged you to waken to the serious socioeconomic problems existing in Tiny. Three areas of concern occupied our efforts; the Restructuring debacle, the attempt of the Provincial Government to commandeer our beaches and homes, and the inappropriate and costly actions of the elected Council.
Since November, 1994, we have continued to monitor the policies and actions of the new incumbent council. We are ever concerned that they follow the mandate under which we supported them and record the strides they have made to re-establish non-partisan and responsible government to Tiny.
But stay alert, the ‘old gang’ is still present, making their disruptive presence felt through the pages of the Midland Free Press, a new publication, Tiny Ties, and at Council meetings. (See report on Council activities on page 7.)
EDUCATION TAX PROTEST On your behalf we made deputations at the Simcoe Board of Education, strongly protesting the ever increasing education tax. We believe the message is starting to get through. 76% of your taxes goes to education. Your Federation spoke against this gross unfairness as did the Mayor of Tiny, Anthony Lancia, supported by other members of Council.
ORGANIZED RALLIES Were you among those who responded to the organizational action of your Federation at the meetings on MVA at the Township Office, or among the 1,000 who attended the MVA rally at the Country Mill or the hundreds who attended the election rally meeting in Toronto and the allcandidates meeting at the Country Mill?
ORGANIZED FEDERATIONS’ ELECTION CAMPAIGN Were you among the few and later the hundreds who volunteered to work under the overall directions of your Federation to elect candidates who would run on a platform of reform and good government for Tiny? It was your Federation that drafted the plan and organized the teams, and set up the communications plan to win the election. But, without your volunteered effort, talent and money the success of the campaign would not have happened.
SOCIAL ACTIVITIES It has not been all work and politic. We held a fabulous social “get together” at Captain Roberts’ Table last December 29th. During each of the past two summers, we held a dance at the Brooklea Golf and Country Club. Does this sound like a one-issue organization? (See article on page 3.)
WHAT IF … What would Tiny be like if no Federation existed? Without The Tiny Cottager how would you or your association be aware of what is going on in Tiny? Without the tireless efforts of the Federation’s volunteers, we would be at the mercy of the various levels of governments who want to control every facet of our lives.
Your Federation will be ever alert that no government body will slip one over us. We will fight the good fight so we can continue to share the ‘Tiny experience’.
It has been said that there are three groups of people … *Those who make it happen! *Those who let it happen! *Those who wonder what happened!
Your Federation knows its place … Where do you fit in?
