3
5
February 5 to 20, 2016
By Award winning play wright
Suburban STANDOFF y e a rs
Michael Grant
Written & Directed by Michael Grant
Produced by Rosemarie Ens
Permission by Playwrights Guild of Canada, www.playwrightsguild.ca
One Night Only! Valentine’s Dinner theatre Saturday February 13th For Tickets Call Centre in the Square 519-578-1570 · 1-800-265-8977
Thursday – Saturday show starts 8:00pm Sunday matinees start 2:30 pm
Join us for another PREMIERE from Elmira’s very own award winning playwright.
all performances held at
76 Howard Ave., Elmira
www.elmiratheatre.com
519-669-3230
www.facebook.com/ElmiraTheatreCompany
01 | 28 | 2016 VOLUME 21 | ISSUE 04
LONGTIME GOAL TO WRITE PLAY BEARS FRUIT LIVING HERE PAGE 25
COMMENT PAGE 6
TIME FOR AN OPEN DIALOGUE ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH
Rec. spending continues to skew Woolwich budget in 2016
Woolwich ponders better use of growth revenue
TIGHT PLAY AGAINST LEAGUE LEADERS
STEVE KANNON LARGE INCREASES IN RECREATION costs in effect swallow up Woolwich’s proposed 2.1 per cent tax hike for 2016, part of a “disturbing” trend in the department’s spending, argues Coun. Mark Bauman. Net costs – expenses after revenues – for 2016 are currently forecasted at $2,447,665, up nine per cent from the 2015 budget of $2,238,837. “Essentially, recreation is eating up more than our budget increase of 2.1 per cent. So the trend is disturbing to me,” said Bauman as councillors met for a special budget session Jan. 21. The Ward 2 councillor suggested a line-by-line analysis to find out where the increases are coming from in order to get a handle on spending. “We can’t have another nine per cent increase next year in rec., or some other departments are going to suffer.” Overall rec. department expenditures have been on a higher-than-inflation arc for years, with cost overruns and missed revenue targets. Budget documents councillors are looking at right now show overall expenditures are up 12.1 per cent since 2013 alone, to
www.OBSERVERXTRA.com
STEVE KANNON EXPECTING ANOTHER BUILDING BOOM over the next few years, Woolwich will also see a large increase in revenue due to assessment growth. In the midst of budget deliberations and talk of a growing infrastructure deficit, councillors have to focus on where that extra money will go. The township is expecting new assessment growth – primarily through residential development – of about two per cent this year. That amounts to about $180,000 in additional funds – as with tax increases, each percentage point in such growth represents approximately $89,000. That’s much lower than in previous boom years, where growth was double and triple that rate. Money from the former financial windfalls was channelled into Woolwich’s building blitz of new facilities, including the Woolwich Memorial Centre. Much of it was rolled into an-
Sugar Kings skated well in a hard-fought battle against the Kitchener Dutchmen Tuesday Sugar King Zac Coulter and Dutchman Ryan George battle for the puck in Tuesday night’s close 3-2 win for Kitchener over Elmira at the Kinsmen Arena. [WHITNEY NEILSON / THE OBSERVER]
SPENDING | 4
GROWTH | 2
WELL-EQUIPPED FROM
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258
LEASE PAYMENT FOR 24 MONTHS* $2,824 DOWN | 0.9% LEASE RATE
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WHEN IT COMES TO WINTER, WE DON’T LET THINGS SLIP. *MSRP of $19,995 on 2016 Impreza 4-dr MT (GF120). Lease rate of (0.9%) for (24) months. Monthly payment is ($258) with ($2,824) down payment. Option to purchase at end of lease is ($13,258) with ($3,483) due on signing. Advertised pricing consists of MSRP plus charges for Freight/PDI ($1,595 on 2016 Impreza), Air Conditioning Charge ($100), Tire Stewardship Levy ($27.15), OMVIC Fee ($5), Dealer Admin ($199). Freight/PDI charge includes a full tank of gas. Taxes, license, registration and insurance are extra. $0 security deposit. Model shown: 2016 Impreza 4-dr Limited Tech-Pkg AT (GF2LPE) with an MSRP of $29,495. Dealers may sell or lease for less or may have to order or trade. Offers applicable on approved credit at participating dealers only. Lease based on a maximum of 20,000 km per year, with excess charged at $0.10/km. Leasing and financing programs available through Subaru Financial Services by TCCI. Other lease and finance rates and terms available; down payment or equivalent trade-in may be required. Vehicles shown solely for purposes of illustration, and may not be equipped exactly as shown. Offers available until February 1st, 2016. See your local Subaru dealer for complete program details. ‡Ratings are awarded by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Please visit www.iihs.org for testing methods.
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