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WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 1982, PAGE il Brookii residents want better service for inr >ease Brooklin residents want better service from Bell Canada especially ýsiiice their phone rates will in- crease on January 25. Last week, the Cana- dian Radio Television and Telecommunica-' t ions Commission (OR- TC) approved increases in the basic monthly charge, for ail subscrib- ers on the 655 exchange. jHowever, because of agreements between the ORTC! and the telephone company Brooklin resi- dents wil not be able to appeal the order accord- ing to North Ward Coun- cillor Ross Batten. Batten also claimed that *655 subscribers have been suhjected to poor service recently and now that they wil have to pay more, they want the bugs worked out. "It géts pretty bad sometimes," Batten said Iast week. "'Tele- phones simply go out of service a lot. " The rookie member of Whitby Town Council added that "sometime people pick up their re- ceivers and they don't get dial tones."P "At other times statie starts during a phone cail and it gets so bad that you have to hang the phone up." While Batten bas given Bell top marks for repairs, lie bèlieves that the major problemf is at the number- of tele- phones cuirently in use are overloading the system. ýý. He also maintains that the company had promyised to upgrade, the exchange, but nothing has been done to date. "Now that the, rates are going up, it's agood time to upgrade' the system," Batten added. Noasssethp OSHAWA - The\Ontario Minister 0f 'Revenue said here last week.that recent property assess- ments carried out by the provincial government ,wiil bring more equality into the property tax system. George Ashe, who also serves as the'-MPP for Durhiam West, told the Oshawa Rotary Club, that the assessments were done on these pro- perties which liad in- creased in value by more than $2,5S0. Trhe minister said that many of the re-assessed properties had. been missed in -previous assessment surveys causing inequity in tax, payments. "Thesàe:people (*ho were re-assessed) are not really paying their fair share vis-a-vis their neighbours," he said. "That property sliould be carrying more of the load. ' However, Ashe assured his audience - whicli included, a number of local politi- cians - that regular maintenance work such as the installation of a new roof or painting was flot considered in the assessment process. Ashe also claimed that the mînistry was conducting the. re- assessments at the request of and to benefit the municipalities and school boards. The provincial government, he added, does not receive "one thin dime" from re- assessment. Many local politicians have said that the re- assessment will cause a too big,ý too soon, tax hike for some home- owners and have been demanding that the province do something to ease the crunch. They- have also said that considering'current higli inflation and in- terest rates, this was.not the mnost opportune time to re-assess property values. Ashe said that the municipalities shouldbe iooking for ways to help homeowners facing higli tax iflcreases because of re-assessment and that it is not "a social bene- rit" type of system. The minister* also elaimed that the re- assessments were .done at the request of the municipalities but m'any local politicians - includ- ing Osliawa Mayor, Allan Pilkey and Durhiam'.Régional Ohairman ýGary Herrema - say they know of no such request. Burn's- n1ght The St. Andrew's Presbyterian Odhurch will hold its Robbie Burns Night on January 22 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the church hall on Cochrane Street. Tickets are $7.75 per person, including, the meal, and available from Mowat Insurance Agency, 115 Dundas Street West. Admission by ticket only., For more information cail 668-1732. *FREE! ~ VOUR CHOICE WITH THE PURCHASE 0F ANY FIVE PIECE PINE BEDROOM'SUITE Dram, ide Table Until the end of February TligForMro eBamum Your kiInd comments on this weekly feature are appreciat- ed. I mean what 1 say in this, space and 1can prove ît. DON BOWER ' Don't- get me wrong, I haven't got a vendetta against Bell, " "They're still the best phone comnpany in the world, but if they pro- mise to upgrade an ex- change, they should get on with it." Batten, himself em- ployed in, the tele- c *ommunications field, said that many ex- changes in Oshawa have been upgraded. "In the long run, upgrading benefits them because they can offer more services on an exchange such'as touch-tone. dialing and cail forwarding," the councillor said. "Right now, Brooklin subscribers- don't have that service.",* Batten said that the \ 55 exchange could be improved by updating -the switching equip- ment. The increases came about because of a OR- TC-Bell agreement that states if an exchange lias a growth rate of more than five per cent for- two consecutive moriths, the. rates charged may be in- creased. According to Bell, the growtli rate did exceed five per cent during the montlis of September and October, 1981. FISHER REFRIGERATION & APPLIANCE PARTS NEW STORE OPENING Hwy. 12 - i mile N. of iights next.to Manchester Credit Union COMPETE UNE 0F APPLIANCE PARTS, NEW & USED' stove elemnents, washer & dryer parts, etc.* WE BUY & SELL NEW& USED APPLIANCESý Open 9,-9 AMPLE PARKING 655-3233 SPECIAIL: ANNOUN.C-EM EN'T ON DISPLAY -IN OUR SHOWROOýM JAN UARY1l49 1982 I COME IN AND SEE US TODAY! i S O T.W. ONTARIO MOTOR SALES LTD. CHEV, OLDS, CADILLAC & 'CHEVYTRUC 'KS 140 BOND ST. W., OSHAWA 725-6501 1982 CH EV C AMARO' 1982.CHEV CELEB 'RITY 1982 OLDS CIE*RA 0. 2