PICKERING -- Hiring a shared integrity commissioner to handle complaints across Durham Region will allow for consistent rules, application and economic efficiency, says a Pickering councillor.

Ward 3 City Councillor David Pickles and Ward 1 Regional Councillor Bonnie Littley introduced a motion at council's latest meeting asking the Region of Durham to establish the position or hire an integrity commissioner to serve Durham and all of its municipalities.

“A hodgepodge of several different integrity commissioners and codes of conduct in the Region and municipalities would be confusing and ineffective,” Coun. Pickles said.

The idea is to get an integrity commissioner in place to work across the region on a common code of conduct for elected officials.  Coun. Pickles suggested retaining the commissioner as a common request for services by the Region and municipalities.  That way they can get the best price and consistency, but be billed separately for the service required, “which I think and hope will be very little.”

Ward 2 Regional Councillor Bill McLean argued the idea doesn't have enough teeth to pass at Regional council.

“It's not even going to get out of the gate at the Region,” he said.

Mayor Dave Ryan supported the motion but pointed out if it fails at the Region, it can come back to Pickering council for alternate plans.

Council approved the motion unanimously.

Clarington's council is expected to consider the motion at its March 1 meeting.

PICKERING -- A longtime volunteer was recognized at the latest council meeting for nearly two decades of dedication to preserving Pickering's history.

The mayor and council presented Laura Drake with an Ontario Heritage Trust Community Recognition Certificate and achievement pin for her long-standing commitment to the Pickering Museum Village advisory committee.  The provincial program recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to the promotion, preservation and protection of Ontario's heritage.

Ms. Drake has been a volunteer member of the committee since 1992.  Her work has included restoring four buildings at the Pickering Museum Village, spearheading the Pickering Museum Village Foundation, and she also volunteers for many of the museum's events as a costumed interpreter.

Upon Ms. Drake's acceptance of the award, she said she feels privileged to be part of such a great community.  A new item on the committee's agenda is to find new members for the Museum Village's foundation, she said.

Municipal governments across Durham are busy putting the final touches on their budgets for the year and, not surprisingly, they are passing along property tax increases.

It would appear that the old adage about death and taxes is proven once again.

And the response among tax-burdened homeowners is uniformly predictable.  We're conditioned to despise taxes, especially when they are on the rise.  And politicians tend to hide behind rhetoric, or distance themselves from the debates and decisions, which do a disservice to the people they represent.

The bottom line is that property tax increases in Durham's municipalities are modest this year, while the Durham Region portion of the property tax bill is going up a palatable 2.15 per cent.

But before you get out the placards and plan a local protest, consider what you get in return: safe and well-maintained roads, a skilled and professional police force, highly trained paramedics that respond to emergencies on a moment's notice, well-funded fire departments, municipal swimming pools, hockey rinks, parks, new schools and more.

These are the things we demand in Durham Region and we elect the men and women who serve on municipal and regional councils to ensure that we get them.

Durham's municipalities are, for the most part, well managed and the guardians of the public purse do their level best to balance those obligations against the costs associated with programs and services.  Certainly there have been some bad decisions made along the way, and some furious backtracking on poorly conceived policies, but the economic truth is that it costs a little more every year to maintain the status quo, to live up to the expectations taxpayers set.

By way of comparison, the City of Toronto, despite annual property tax increases that have hovered around four per cent for several years, faces an operating budget deficit of approximately $375 million as it prepares its fiscal blueprint for the coming year.

This is not to suggest that Durham Region taxpayers should celebrate higher taxes.

But demanding lower taxes and wider roads, or lower taxes and more police officers, or lower taxes and new community centres, is fiscal folly.  It's both inconsistent and not sustainable.

Better to introduce incremental increases that are fair enough to ensure snowy roads are plowed in a timely fashion, and that firefighters will come equipped with the best tools if they are called upon, than to risk deep cuts and reduced services.

That's when you'd see the placards and the protests.

Ryan Pfeiffer / Metroland PICKERING -- Members of Jessica's Footsteps Dance Academy performed Bollywood and classical Indian dances at the Pickering Heritage Day celebration at the Pickering Town Centre Feb. 20.  February 20, 2010.

PICKERING -- Residents of all ages and backgrounds came out to celebrate Pickering's diversity Saturday.

“It's very nice,” said resident Mona Udit.  “We've been coming the past two years.”

Residents and shoppers continuously stopped by The Pickering Town Centre's Centre Court throughout the day to check out the performances and interactive displays at the City of Pickering's Heritage Day Celebration.

Councillors, Mayor Dave Ryan and Ajax-Pickering MP Mark Holland also attended the festivities.

“It's great to see the numbers out here that we're seeing,” said Ward 2 City Councillor Doug Dickerson.

He was impressed when he observed many people staying for a number of the performances, rather than simply stopping by for a few minutes and moving on.

Ward 3 City Councillor David Pickles, chairman of the group that put on the event, the Pickering Advisory Committee on Race Relations and Equity, was pleased with the turnout.  The committee, he said, is the first of its kind in Durham and is now 20 years old.

“It's nice to see the culture come alive and people getting exposed to it,” he said.  “It shows a very diverse community.”

Coun. Pickles emphasized the high involvement of youth in many of the cultural groups in Pickering.  One of those groups is the Durham Tamil Association, which this year celebrates its 10-year anniversary.

“Our focus is to give back to the community,” said Dinesh Kumar, an executive committee member of the group.

Mr. Kumar said the organization is proud to be Canadian, and teaches the children involved in the group to value the Tamil community, but also get involved in local initiatives to enhance their own exposure to diversity.

Other groups in attendance had similar thoughts.

“I think it's a great opportunity the City of Pickering has offered us,” said Raveena Rajasingham, the president of the Tamil Cultural and Academic Society of Durham.

Ms. Rajasingham explained the society focuses on academics, culture, volunteerism, environmental and health awareness, and said Pickering is a great community to be a part of.

“Pickering has respect for a lot of cultures and overall I think Pickering is a great city to live in,” she said.

The Congress of Black Women of Canada's Ajax-Pickering chapter also had a booth, focusing on the scientific and academic breakthroughs that black people have made in north America in the spirit of Black History Month, rather than simply focusing on the most popular of their contributors such as music stars, said Marcia Dixon, the president of the group.

“It's nice to see the different organizations and different groups,” she said.  “You get a chance to see what's out there.”

Ms. Dixon hopes to recruit more young people to the group, with hopes of them carrying on its work in the future.

Other cultural groups at the event included Devi Mandir, the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, Zahra's School of Dance and the Pickering Museum Village.

DURHAM -- As the 2010 budget season swings into full gear, politicians will be carefully framing their tax increases in order to sell them to voters.

If previous years are any indication, expect claims of X municipality had the lowest tax increase, Y municipality has the lowest tax rate and so on.  An honest look at proposed tax increases demands a look at where they started from.

There are three components to the property tax bill: local taxes, Regional taxes, and the education tax levied by the Province.  The education tax rate is the same for all Durham homes.  The Regional rate varies based on number of hours of Durham Region Transit service and waste service in each municipality.  Whitby and Oshawa collect their own waste while the Region collects it in the rest of the municipalities.  The disposing, including recycling, and processing of the waste is a Regional responsibility.

Water and sewer rates are paid for by the people who use those services, on their water and sewer bills.  For example, if you live in rural Pickering and have a well, your tax dollars do not go towards the operation or upgrade of water treatment plants in Durham.

In the sidebar, readers can find the 2009 residential tax rate for Durham's eight municipalities.  In brackets I've listed how much that would cost for a home valued at $200,000.  Each municipality has a different average assessment for homes, so I arbitrarily selected $200,000 for a simple comparison that allows for simple math if folks want to estimate their own home's taxes.  The figures do not factor in the reassessment cycle which can lower or increase the actual rates, so there may be slight differences in the actual property tax bills.

To demonstrate why the 2009 starting points are important, let's look at some actual municipal examples.

The City of Oshawa has passed a 0.9-per cent tax increase, which may or may not end up being the lowest in Durham. Without factoring in changes due to assessments, this increase would bring its local rate up to 0.747833 per cent, bringing the total local taxes on that $200,000 home to $1,495.67, a $13 increase.

Meanwhile, Ajax passed a 2.75-per cent tax rate increase, bringing the tax rate to 0.399580 per cent for a total of $799.16 on that $200,000 home, a $21 increase.

So, a bigger tax rate increase for Ajax residents, but a much smaller total tax bill on that $200,000 home.  And although the Ajax rate increase is three times that of Oshawa, the actual dollar increase is less than double.

Ajax councillors have said that they've had the lowest average tax rate increase of any municipality from 2007 to 2009. But as the 2009 figures show, the municipality with the highest average increase, Pickering, still has the lowest overall rate among lakeshore municipalities.

Ultimately, when it comes to the budget process, taxpayers don't care about percentages and statistics, they care about exactly how much money is coming out of their pockets and that's the number to keep in mind.

PICKERING -- Pickering could soon ask the Region of Durham to seek out an integrity commissioner to serve all municipalities across Durham.

Ward 3 City Councillor David Pickles recently gave notice that he and Ward 1 Regional Councillor Bonnie Littley will introduce a motion at the next council meeting to ask the Region to hire or establish the position of an integrity commissioner to serve the Region and all eight of its municipalities.

The integrity commissioner would review inquiries or complaints on matters regulated in the municipalities' code of conduct or code of practice.

Changes in 2006 to the Municipal Act allowed individual municipalities to establish the role. Coun. Pickles feels a shared commissioner will maintain accountability and transparency in Durham's municipalities. It would also be economically feasible, practical and consistent, he said.

Clarington's council is expected to consider the motion at its March 1 meeting. Coun. Pickles is glad to see others are endorsing the idea and hopes more municipalities will catch on.

“There's a greater efficiency and accountability if other councils will change the position,” he said in an interview.

Pickering council is expected to consider the motion Tuesday, Feb. 16.

Pickering, ON, January 28, 2010 - “On behalf of the Pickering Advisory Committee on Race Relations & Equity, I wish to extend deepest condolences to the people of Haiti and the Pickering families who have also been affected,” said David Pickles, Chair Pickering Advisory Committee on Race Relations & Equity, and City Councillor, Ward 3.  “Through our sustained efforts, we can make a real and meaningful difference in the lives of many in Haiti who are looking to rebuild their shattered lives.”

At the January 18th Pickering Council meeting, Mayor Ryan and Members of Council recognized the Haiti disaster, which was followed by a moment of silence for those who perished.  The Mayor and Members of Council all pledged to make donations to the Canadian Red Cross and publicly asked the community to aid in the relief efforts.

As such, the City is proud of the community-wide response to date.  Many Pickering residents, community groups and businesses have already made donations to the Haitian relief efforts and/or organized fundraising events.  Al Dente Restaurant, Veridian Corporation, Lone Star Restaurant, and Port restaurant are some of the many Pickering businesses who are helping to raise funds.

From now until February 12, 2010, the Government of Canada has announced it would match the generosity of individual Canadians up to $50 million for a total of $100 million in aid for Haiti.  This goal has not yet been reached, so the Mayor, Members of council and the Pickering Advisory Committee on Race Relations & Equity urge Pickering residents to continue with their donations and fundraising efforts.

Residents are advised to donate only to registered Canadian charitable agencies.  Some of the well-known Canadian organizations currently involved in Haiti relief efforts are:  Canadian Red Cross; World Vision; Unicef; Plan Canada; Doctors Without Borders; and Humanitarian Coalition.

“This tragedy has exacted a terrible toll, and my heartfelt condolences goes out to all those who lost a loved one in Haiti,” said Mayor Dave Ryan.  “Moving forward, we need to continue with our humanitarian efforts, as it will take time, money, and resources to rebuild a better, stronger and more self-sufficient nation of Haiti.”

About the City of Pickering Advisory Committee on Race Relations & Equity:

The City of Pickering Advisory Committee on Race Relations & Equity, made up of municipal leaders, school board representatives, community cultural associations, community appointees and students, has been involved in the design and delivery of race relations programs and initiatives in the community for nearly 20 years.

The first municipality in the Durham Region to form a Race Relations Committee, the Pickering Advisory Committee on Race Relations & Equity has worked closely over the years with many different groups and organizations, particularly youth, to promote racial and ethnic harmony - a key objective detailed in its Race Relations Policy.

The City of Pickering Advisory Committee on Race Relations and Equity is also charged with the responsibility of giving guidance to and advising the municipality, through the Mayor and the Council of the Corporation of the City of Pickering, on matters involving race relations and equity issues within the community.

Jason Liebregts / Metroland PICKERING -- Fred Gibson and Susan Maturine, from the Pickering Carib-Canadian Cultural Association, spoke about Haiti, during a Haiti relief fundraiser at Al Dente restaurant on Jan. 20.  January 20, 2010

PICKERING -- Local generosity poured in at a fundraiser Wednesday night to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake.

Al Dente Restaurant in Pickering donated its space for the event and provided food and drink to relief supporters throughout the evening.  Mayor Dave Ryan, council and community members donated items to a silent auction and residents emptied their wallets to help the Canadian Red Cross provide food, water and other necessities to Haitian residents, and to help start rebuilding the devastated country.

“It's good for the collection of money and it's great for awareness too,” said Michael Head, Pickering resident and partner in Walker Head Lawyers, an injury law firm based in Pickering, as he purchased a large block of raffle tickets.

His wife Debbie Andersen said the event provided an outlet for people to get together and not only donate, but discuss the tragedy in Haiti, much more meaningful than the solitude of clicking a button online to donate.

“It's really nice to have something where people can come together,” she said.

The evening saw more than $6,000 from ticket sales and donations, which the federal government will match.  That's not including silent auction money and donations promised from corporations.

Politicians and community members worked quickly with Al Dente when restaurant owners called to see how they could help Haiti.  The Pickering Community for Haitian Relief Effort was then born.

The committee's ultimate goal is to raise $100,000, but more so to encourage other community organizations to do their own fundraising for Haiti.

“A lot of people get frustrated because they don't know how to (donate),” said mayoral candidate Maurice Brenner, relief effort co-chairman.

Ward 1 City Councillor Jennifer O'Connell, also co-chairwoman, said councillors and politicians have a unique opportunity to help raise awareness on the issue through their wide range of contacts.

“It's also a challenge to other politicians to help mobilize communities to hold similar functions and raise some money,” she said.

The Pickering Carib-Canadian Cultural Association is a community partner in the effort and vice president Fred Gibson noted the quake hasn't only hurt people in Haiti, but many in Pickering's diverse community.

“You've got to get up and do something,” he said, adding the PCCCA will do what it can to help.

President Susan Maturine, whose friends have lost people in the quake, mentioned the PCCCA sponsors a teenage girl in Haiti and has her fingers crossed she wasn't one of the victims.

Mr. Head feels people, including the federal government and admittedly himself, should do more for the relief effort than they are.

“I appreciate everybody doesn't make the same amount but there has to be a line to draw to give until they notice,” he said.

To get involved:

E-MAIL: maurice.brenner@rogers.com

The opportunity to celebrate a bicentennial is a special time, but given the economic difficulties faced by many in the community, the City is right to take a modest approach.

Pickering officially turns 200 on March 4, 2011, so there is plenty of lead time to get the bicentennial year just right.  On Monday, the City decided to budget $43,000 to beef up existing events and add new ones.  But the extra events planned won't go through unless the City can find sponsorships or grants to pay for them.

That's smart thinking on council's part as tax dollars are needed to pay for local essentials and any increase must go to bread, not circuses.  The occasion of a 200th birthday celebration should generate some sponsorship opportunities and, with plenty of lead time, some grant money should be available from Queen's Park and Ottawa.

One of the biggest and brightest happenings should take place on July 1, 2011, when the City is planning to have a huge Canada Day celebration.  The $25,000 event will only go ahead should grants come through, but the City is hoping to have a Canadian headliner and a swearing-in ceremony for new Canadians.

Much of the cash is needed for branding and marketing purposes over the next year.  The City will be looking to work with local groups, such as putting on a speaker series with the Pickering Public Library, a soccer tournament with the Pickering Soccer Club and an Italian heritage multicultural and sporting event put on by the Ajax-Pickering Italian Social Club.

All are great ideas as they involve community-minded local citizens who will be more than happy to spread the word about Pickering's big birthday celebration.  The City should do all it can to bring as many clubs and organizations into the big party tent so that a large number of Pickering citizens are directly involved.  Not only does it make for a bigger party, it helps to build community spirit, something you can never have enough of.

The usual events that fill the City calendar, like Family Day, Christmas in the Village, the New Year's Eve Family Countdown and the Waterfront Concert Series, will also get the Pickering 200 touch.

Keeping costs down will ensure taxpayers get good bang for their buck but will ensure a suitable year-long celebration recognizing a special birthday.

PICKERING -- In an attempt to attract appropriate development and bring business taxes into the city, City staff is looking to phase in development fees.

“We need to at least look at possible City initiatives, without giving up any dollars due to the City,” said Ward 3 City Councillor David Pickles.

Coun. Pickles introduced a motion at the latest council meeting calling for staff to create a development incentive program that will attract more business, jobs and sustainable elements to building in Pickering.

Coun. Pickles pointed out that the foggy financial climate may be making it difficult to secure financing from possible clients who are interested in developing in the city.

Payments such as development charges, building permit fees and payments in lieu of parkland are usually substantial when it comes to large projects.  That payment is currently required up-front “and may act as a deterrent to projects getting underway.”

The plan is to still charge the same total amount of fees payable to the City, but to accept them through phased-in payment.

“Incentives may help attract more business, more jobs and lessen taxes on residents,” Coun. Pickles said.

A possible program could include tying the payment to construction progress based on the City's objectives of density, sustainable elements and job creation the project will provide.

Staff will work on the plan and take it to council for approval.