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~Uniform rates: Woolwich Township Mayor Charles Blow indicated last Wednesday that he will move a notice of moâ€" tion directing council to réconsider the issue. Um?mmhflctmm&emua whole finance new expanded sewage treatment plants which smaller communities can‘t afford to pay for by themselves. Currently, each municipaliâ€" ty pays just the costs of its own sewage treatment charging their own rate on a userâ€"basis. _ â€" Kitchener and Cambridge representatives, who form the bulk of ‘council, unanimously objected helpâ€" ing pay for other municipalities facilities. Under the scheme, Kitchener would pay an addiâ€" tional $492,000 and Cambridge $263,000 over a fiveâ€" year phasingâ€"in period. The five other municipaiiâ€" ties would save money. After the phasingâ€"in period was completed, Kitchenâ€" er would pay an additional $291,000 a year while Cambridge would pay $113,000 more. Blow‘s request follows a Woolwich council resoluâ€" tion in late March asking the provincial government to reâ€"implement a subsidy scheme to provide 75 per cent of the estimated costs needed to expand the Elmira pollution control plant. That subsidy program, which primarily benefits smaller municipalities, is not eligible for areas which have had major government restructuring such as Waterloo Region. For Regional governments, the provincial ministry of the environment (MOE) provides a 15 per cent subsidy toward the capital costs of new or expanded sewage plants. Under that program, the province contributed $2.1 million to a Kitchener plant addiâ€" tion and $1.2 million to the Waterloo plant‘s expansion. While that program has resulted in a greater amount of MOE funds flowing into the Region, the problem is distributing the money, said a staff reâ€" port presented to the Region‘s finance advisory committee last Wednesday. The subsidy program benefits urban areas whose large populations can support the remainder of such capital costs. Less populated communities can‘t afford it. s ‘"‘This apparent inequity can only be solved by inâ€" creased grants to small municipalities or by sharing costs through a uniform rate,"‘ the report mentionâ€" Blow indicated if council won‘t reâ€"consider the isâ€" sue, the township will continue to press the province for the 75 per cent subsidy program funds. _ > ‘‘We‘ve got to have one thing or the other," said Blow who hopes it will be a uniform rate. ‘"We‘re a regional council and we‘ve got to think in a regional way." , â€" â€" o o A twoâ€"thirds majority is needed to reconsider an issue. That will be impossible to obtain unless some Cambridge and Kitchener representatives show a change of heart. Kitchener Ald. Marc Voisin last week indicated that likely won‘t happen. He argued the question is one of a broader philosophical nature of how, much Hatashita Jewellers Main Mail â€" Waterloo Square rate which was killed by Waterioo Regional last December is on the verge of a resurrecâ€" 10K 14K and 18K By Jim MacDonald GOLD 40 % off es on verge of c For example, the Region in midâ€"April could have entered into a futures arâ€" rangement where it would rollers in Las Vegas, memâ€" bers of Waterloo Region‘s tee put on their gambling caps last Wednesday. The ‘stakes were highâ€" taxpayers moneyâ€"and the game was risky: betting on the Canadian dollar. must make a $297,000 payâ€" ment in United States funds on a $6.5 million debenture payable in American currency. Facing the committee was the choice of purchasâ€" ing the necessary Ameriâ€" can funds on a spot or a futures basis. ‘"To take one course of action is as much of a gamble as to take the other," read a staff reâ€" Buying on a futures basis would guarantee a purchase price on June 30. It was suggested as a form of proâ€" tection against fluctuations in the value of the Canaâ€" dian dollar. However, the futures price could be highâ€" er or lower than the value of the Canadian dollar by June 30. agree to pay on June 30 $1.14 Canadian for one U.S. dollar or $340,000 Canadian for the needed $297,000 in American funds. In early May, the Region Spot means purchasing the American funds at the rate of the Canadian dollar quoted on any given day, which, in the Region‘s case is June 30. $ found that the spot price was only $1.12 Canadian. At that rate, the Region would pay only $335,000 for the U.S. funds, netting a $5,000 saving compared to futures buying. But there is no guaranâ€" tee that on June 30 the rate will be $1.12. Though the rate could be even lower by June 30, it could also be higher than the $1.14 rate in which case the Region would be better ahead to purchase through the futures arrangement. But since the rate had dropped during the midâ€" April to early May period, the committee decided to go the spot purchasing route for the remainder of should urban centers be willing to pay to support Unless Kitchener is assured the sciieme won‘t cost as much as indicated; Voisin suggested the city won‘t Voisin noted Kitchener wouldn‘t benefit from uniâ€" form rates until it needs another plant expansion some decades into the future. . But Regional finance commissioner Mac Gregg mmmmmmwu if a proposed major Grand trunk sewer sys tem is built. Rather than bearing the brunt of the cost by itself, Kitchener under a uniform rate would have the entire Region share the burden, Gregg ilâ€" lustrated. . A $1.1 million provincial grant was available to mmfiitwwamnu.uht offer lapsed on December 31. If council reconsiders the issue, Regional chairman Jack Young promised to battle Ontario Treasurer Darcy McKeough to see if he would make those funds available. L ' McKeough feels the door to the grant is closed but not locked, Young described. . Stakes high : i Region gambles on the dollar 1978 and hope that the reviewed at the end of the 1Ssued on behalf of the price will remain below â€" year. Region and six local muniâ€" $1.14. The policy will be ~ The 1975 debenture was Cipalities. Finally! We‘re reviving a timeâ€"honored tradition. Here‘s our first Wedâ€" nesday Girl, Sue Thompson, 22, who is a student model. Sue‘s an active girl who spends her time crossâ€"country skiing, and now that the weather‘s getting better, playing tennis, jogging, biking and discoâ€" dancing. j w + ‘ : ‘- .“.v,,‘o. 'm.-'m'.s. â€" Tmmmariey I y en nt raand mm e Wednesday Girl Y. expressed surprise that the issue grew ‘_‘a&ddwwfl"mmw:w tical confrontation. "I‘m surprised we even paid much attention to it.‘* He pointed out sewage costs are paid on a userâ€" basis,and not from the tax levy. Consequently heavy water users such as industry would be affected the most. The impact on individual homeowners would be minimal, Young noted. Young also reminded that Kitchener would not hnnedndihulmflfiumlmhrm plant expansion if it wasn‘t for government. Now Kitchener, with its needs met, is telling the other municipalities to go whistle. "I don‘t think that‘s fair," Young said. =* If approved, provincial assistance would be used to defray the increased costs faced by Cambridge and Kitchener. At the same time, money saved by the other five municipalities would be diverted into a sewage rate stabilization fund to be used to kéep the uniform rate stable in the future. e * Brian Haig‘s