Town  Council

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With the upper tiers of government downloading costs to municipalities, it has become more difficult to meet the needs of infrastructure services for individual communities.

One of the few means that communities have to retain services is through 'development charges' for new construction.

At the the recent Saugeen Shores Town Council meeting held Monday, June 13, Craig Binning of Hemson Consulting, presented the difficulties that exist for many municipalities when it comes to development charges.

According to his report, Saugeen Shores may see an increase of 71 per cent (71%) in residential development charges and approximately 20 per cent (20%) for commercial projects.

The idea behind development charges is that "...growth should pay for growth".

"We consider it our responsibility to use development charges for the best of the municipality," said Town CAO, Larry Allison.

"This (developoment charge increase) will have a huge impact on what will be coming down the road," said Councilor Thead Seaman

There will be a public meeting on July 11 to discuss development charges and the public is encouraged to attend.

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Tuesday, June 14, 2011