Some potentially good news for property taxpayers in Owen Sound from the Ontario Good Roads Association Conference in Toronto this week.
Owen Sound Mayor Deb Haswell had a chance to question the Minister of the Attorney General about court security costs, and feels she got a positive answer.
During budget talks earlier this month, the City received the surprising news that the province was deducting 61 thousand dollars in court security money from Owen Sound’s municipal transfer payments, which was reduced by 1.2 million dollars.
Mayor Haswell pointed out that the cost of courtroom security was supposed to be uploaded to the province beginning this year, and reducing the transfer payments leaves that cost with the City.
Haswell says John Gerretsen responded saying it was not supposed to be a shell game, and he would talk with Finance Minister Dwight Duncan about the cut in the citys’ transfer payment.
At the same time, the Minister of Municipal affairs and Housing indicated that there will be a review of the Ontario Municipal transfer payments.
Mayor Haswell says that is something that has been advocated by Owen Sound for years…. feeling that the city is being shortchanged.
