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BCouneil looks at cuts to keep tax increase down BY SHELLA GARDEI _ ' THIS WEEK LINCOLN-Lincoln Council must make some cuts to the 2007 budget or residents could be hit with a 7.5 per cent Increase in their municipal tax levy. . Town staff is proposing yyroximattly $250,000 worth oi' cuts to the Town's $8.5 million operations budget to help bring the levy increase down to about 4.3 per cent from 7.5 Per cent. The Town of Lincoln general levy makes up 26 per cent of the overall tax bill. Council members learned about the proposed cuts at a meeting to discuss the operational budget on Tuesday, Jan. 9. Among the proposed cuts are a new position at the Lincoln Public Library for a savings of $30,000 and an annual grant Payment to the Twenty Valley Tourism Association of $10,000 to act as the Town's tourism marketing organization. The Library Board was scheduled to make a presentation addressing the proposed cut onThursday. Monthly . F.W.I.O. celebrates 110 years BY VIRGINIA BLACKMAN On a cold night in February 1897 the Womene Institute met for the first time. All presenthad no ideawhat theywere about to embark upon when it came to women's issues. It would help to strengthen family life, enrich rural communities not only in Ontario but across Canada and Intematirmally. The first meeting had 101 women and one man, Erland Lee, in attendance at a town hall in Stoney Creek. At a conference in 1896 Adelaide Hoodless told a group of men at Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph they cared more for their animals' health and feed than they did that of their own families. Doctors called it "summer complaint)' an intestinal problem from drinking impure milk. She wondered how many more women ran into this same problem, because of lack of knowledge. She helped organize this women's group. Mrs. ED. Smith was the first president and Mrs. E. Lee and several well-known women from the local com- munities made the leaders of this new women's group. In 1902 at a convention the motto "For Horne ind Country' was born. A blue and gold pin was made which became Oryarids logo. TheWI became an educational group with" the sole purpose of teaching women the fundamentals of cook- ingi sewing and quilting plus canning. -In the Beginning Mm the iirst'irroup to empower women to speakin public, learn parliamentary procedure, and get invplyed wth lobbying for government change. Adelaide Headless wag a 'ellfiducated woman",' but she found out after the death of her son John Harold in 188? at 14 months of age, she needed to learn more. The membership grewilnd by the summer of 1905 an11906, .braxgches were organized in the north. Since then branches haG opened up across Canada and around the world. Between 1952 to 1998 many resolutions were passed by the WIs and over the years have resulted in new or changed legislation. _ Among the changes was the law (1974) that made it illegal to pass a schoolbus until lights stopped flashing. Then in 1998, safety bars on the from of school buses were made mandatory. www.nlagarafarmers.com ibis Imks focus‘ on Peever said it is preferable to look for budget cuts in the operational budget rather than in the capital budget. The capi- tal budget is tied to the Statistics Canada Construction Index. Its increase this year is $68,850. Because of the warm weather, CAO BruceAPeever said the Town could realize a $20,000 savings in Public Works, but because it is early in the year, he couldn't recommend any further cuts. "We still have to respect winter," he said. The PublicWorks budget was to be discussed in more detail on Thursday, Jan. 11. "If you don't levy and tie it tosome kind of inflationary measure, what happens is you end up with infrastructure that is in terrible condition and you expose yourself to be ordered to correct it," he said. "What it is, is mortgaging our children's future." Fire Chief Scott Blake presented the Fire Department's budget and noted there was a significant rise in structural Mayor Bill Hedgson agreed the capital levy should be tied to an objective index. linéoln The welfare of children once again was onWI mem- bers minds in 1981, when junk food in school cafeterias were discouraged and the promotion of good nutri- tional food came about. A stamp was issued in June of 2003 of Adelaide Headless to honor the work she had dune. The FWIO focus still on high-quality education and support many progxams and services that assist and encourage women to become more knowledgeable and active citizens. It also promotes and develops vital family life skills and tries to help discover, stimulate and develop leadership qualities in women. The earty WI members belongng to the Kemhle Women's Institute, the third branch founded In 1897. In 1954, WI investigated the wide asking price between producer and consumer for meat and eggs, this was to come up again in 2004. Also looking into the future by interacting with technology, upgraded news magazines will inform, educate and challenge members at all levels of the organization. FWlO is now Ito years old and will be celebrating through out the year with many activities; also the indi- vidual branches will be planning different programs. For more information on your local Women's Institute branches you can contact Virginia Blackmail by email at dustergirlca@sympatico.ca or write to 6419 young RM 3 Smithville, Ontario 10R 2A0. Hopefully you will come and join us at one of our branches nearest you and see what we are all about. 'eever said the Fires last year. On average, the Fire department responded to Town aouricil will bring its draft budget to a public open house on Wednesday, Jan. 17 from 7 to 9 pm. at the Lincoln Centre. One major expense the Town of Lincoln could face in 2007 are legal fees related to the proposed compost facility, said Planning Director Kathleen Dale. Whether council approves the decision or nut, the Town would likely be taken to the Ontario Municipal Board, which could be costly. Even if the Town is successful in its appeal, it will still need to pay legal costs, she said. The Town did receive some good news this year, including an Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund grant of over $1 mil- lion from the province. two emergency calls per day, Although the department has not budgeted for the same high number, it has budgeted for an increase over previous years. Actuals are not yet available, said Never. Combined with salaries and vehicle maintenance, a total increase of $64,600 or 5 per cent has been proposed for the Fire Department.