Region to vote on budget. cuts Fire destroys barn nearhisoric farmihouse By Mike Kowalski An historic Whitby farmhouse escaped damage from a fire whièh destroyed a nearby barn last Thursday. Whitby fireflighters were able te protect the James Tweedie House on Cochrane Street from experiencing the same fate which befeil the barn on the property. Although flaming embers Ian- ded on an -adjacent shed and surrounding trees, causing smal- 1er fires te break out periodicaily, Byr Mike Kowalski Concerns about Whitby's future growth have not been adequately addressed by Durham Region, dlaimi two Town councillors. Councillors Ross Batten and Marcel Brunelle charge that Whitby's opposition to parts of Durham's new officiai plan received scant attention from Region planners and politicians. They feel that Durham's response to Ontario government objections to the officiai plan does not bode weli for Whitby. I fact, Brunelie cast the only dissenting vote last Wednesday as regional council endorsed the panning epatent report by a rnargin.of 26-1. Brunelle said little effort was made by regional officiais to reach a compromise with Wihitb. Batten said Town council's objections to certain aspects of the report did not receive a proper hearing from the Region. Although hie subsequently voted for the overaîl report, Batten stressed ihat "I'm not entirely happy...I don't think we were given a fair hearing atall." The object of the councillors' displeasure is a Ir-rm-nage report prepared by Durham's planning staff. Te report was prompted by an earlier report froni the Ontario the 148-year-old building was spared. Built in 1845, the house is one of the oidest brick homes in Whitby and has been proposed for designation as an historic SEE PAGE 4 By Mike Kowalski Durham Region council will vote today on a proposai, to slash $3.4 million from its 1993 budget. The proposed cuts -- which affect almost aIl Region depart- monts to somne degree -- are a resuit of recent Ontario govern- ment cost-cutting measures. About $2.4 milion is due te a reduction in unconditional, grants froni the province, while the remaining $1 million will be used to offset the government's pending social contract legisla- tion. Among the major reductions recommended by council's finance committce are the follow- iq$11million in social services spending, * $960,000 in public works, which wouid involve cancelling some road, sewer and watermain construction; * $623,000 from. a special reserve fund established for a new regional headquarters; * $540,000 from. the police services. In addition, the finance coin- mittee wants the works depart- ment to investigate the feasibi- lity of a minimum disposai charge at landfill sites and waste transfer stations. The committee also wants works officiais to examine ways of reducing blue box recycling costs. Other proposaIs are aimed at controliing welfare expenses. For example, a userfee would be charged to welfare recipients for certain services now obtained for free, such as dental work. Whitby councillor Ross Batten, a member of the finance commit- tee, ternis the recommendations- "fair and realistic" measures which should receive the backing of council. He said the committee had little choice but to endorse the findings of a special Region coni- -mittee set up earhier this year to deal with the province's expeffTi- ture control programn and social contract. uWe don't want to lay off people and we don't want to raise taxes," Batten said. "It's the samne soenario as in Ministry of Muniicipal1 Affairs which found fault with several provisions contained in Durhani's proposed officiai pan. According to ministry staff; t h e plan -- a document which specifles preferred land use policies in a xnunicipality - is too anibitious. The plan, adopted by regional council in 1991 to replace the existing 1976 plan, sets aside too much land for industrial and residential devlopment and not enough for agriculture and green space, the xinistry contends. Projected population growth and densities were also rejected by the ministry. Although a number of revisions te the staff report were proposed by Batten last week, few were acoepted by regionai council. Batten, chair of Whitby's planning and development committee, noted that the Town is stilI in the process of updating its own officiai plan. His recommendations were essentially aimed at ensuring that both officiai plans were in synch, he said. 'It's my understanding the four other lakefront municipalities SEE PAGE 18 Whitby,"ie added. Earlier this month a cost-cut- ting prograni went into effect in Witby to reduce the impact of the provincial cutbacks. Ai Whitby employees, management and union alike, wiil take four days off without pay this summer in a move expected to save the niunicipaiity an estimated $140,000. However; the Canadian Union of Public lEmployees has fiied a grievance against the Town, claiming the measure is an im- proper layoff. SEE PAGE 2 AUT S lToU See pages 14 to17