Welland By-Law #9350

Back on December 18, 1990 the City of Welland implemented by-law 9350 stating all owners and occupants of land in the City of Welland who use sewage works are hereby notified effective January 1, 1991 are subject to a sewage service rate in an amount equal to 50% of all eligible water rate accounts ( including pools ) charged to said owners and occupants.

This by-law was compulsory due to the Ministry of the Environment for the elimination of sewage overflows being discharged into the natural environment---( still discharging if there is a heavy rain storm). To do this a pollution abasement program was set up to repair and replace aging and defective sanitary sewer systems and the construction of storm sewers for separation of combined sewers.The revenue resulting from this by-law was to assist in financing this work so it can reduce the impact on the general tax levy for the provision of these services. Yes, some of this work was carried out over the past 20 years but was some of the by-law money used to reduce the cost?

To the best of my knowledge this 50% sewer rate is still being charged 20 years later and the general levy has not been reduced but rather increased. After 20 years I believe the citizens of Welland are entitled in knowing how much was collected using this by-law and how much was used to lower the general levy if it was ever used for the proposed purpose? I'm sure all of that information is on the city's computers and readily available.

Inflation

Another article for the benefit of seniors 65 and over that was not printed.

Statistics Canada just released the latest inflation rate. For the month of October it rose 0.5% from 1.9% the month before. I must draw one's attention to Canada's Consumer Price Index and their report it rose to 2.4% last month indicating it's the highest its been in two years. That is rather interesting to a senior who never received an increase in their Old Age Security cheques over that two year period. The Consumer's Price Index indicated on 7 of 8 components checked prices were up including property taxes and electricity that pushed shelter costs up 2.8%. Higher prices for meat, fresh vegetables, and restaurant meals increased food prices by 2.2%, and rising gas, automobiles, and insurance costs pushed transportation costs up 4.6%.

It should be noted the 7 components checked are of vital concern to seniors 65 and over who now should expect a decent Old Age Security increase BUT don't count on it as the system used is not right for seniors.

Charter of rights

I am a staunch supporter of the Charter of Rights that gives every Canadian the freedom of speech, opinion, and

expression in public and if one wishes, through the newspaper media. For some unknown reason newspapers seem to exercise a right where they do not have to print one's article or letter other than if it contains libel and defamation with out having to give a reason. That is called CENSORSHIP and it should not be allowed.

The following articles, sent in to a newspaper, were based on the former mayor of Welland Damian Goulborne's decision to enter his name as a candidate for the Region of Niagara Chairman. The people of Welland were upset with his decision because of the fact he was soundly beaten at the polls when he was running for a Regional Council seat and during his campaign he announced he wanted the council seat so he could go after the Regional Chairman's position clearly indicating to the people of Welland they did not want him.. These articles were not printed nor any reason given as to why as they certainly contained no libel or defamation.

Perhaps the local paper should realize former mayor Goulborne is no longer mayor, he no longer has a seat and he does not need the PR protection:

" After reading Goulborne's announcement of his intentions to enter his name for Regional Chair it sounds to me as if he was the only person responsible for all of the changes in Welland. I guess those 12 people sitting in front and around him had nothing to do with those changes.

Do not be at least surprised if he is unsuccessful in obtaining the Chair position he will start looking at the provincial or federal field of politics If he does you don't suppose his platform will be centered around his wanting a premier or prime minister job?

" I don't believe any one could have described Former Mayor Goulborne any better than Ivey Riddell a former city councilor and regional councilor and I quote " What is the point of going to the polls to vote? We voted him ( Goulborne ) out of office, we didn't want him. We vote him out of office and the Regional council elect him as chair. Riddell went on to say allowing Goulborne to run for this position the regional council is essentially casting the decisions of the voters aside. After people have voted people in those are the people we want down at the Region----not some one who lost and still wants to make a go of it" A very intelligent lady.

Are those who are supporting Goulborne including some of the regional councilors so blind they can't see the voters of Welland did not want him on the council? Why would they even consider a person not wanted in his own community?

If Goulborne was so deserving and experienced the voters would have put him in------obvious by the results the people of Welland thought he wasn't

Goulborne shake your head and do the honorable thing---back out

Seniors 65 + revealed

The McGuinty's offer of a 10% reduction in our Hydro bills is in no way to be considered a benefit when it was announced Hydro rates would escalate 46% over the next 5 years and then look at the HST started in July of this year helped me in making my decision to show one and all how the 65 and over seniors were and will be affected based on their present incomes of Canada Pension Plan ( CPP ), Old Age Security ( OAS ), Guaranteed Income Supplement ( GIS )

CPP per month $934.17

OAS per month $518.51

Total per month $1452.68

Total per year $17,431.16

Poverty line per year $18,373.00

Below poverty line $940.84

Below per month $78.40

OAS per month $518.51

GIS per month $654.47

Total per month $1172.98

Total per year $14,075.70

Poverty line per year $18,373,00

Below poverty line $4297.30

Below per month $ 358.10

The government funded CPP and OAS or OAS and GIS allowance guarantee a minimum income for older Canadians that is not enough to lift all older persons above the poverty line. The maximum value of the public pensions falls well short of the 50% to 70% of pre-retirement income to maintain decent living standards. The government expectations were that people would supplement public pensions with their own savings through membership of a pension plan at work but the government neglected to realize most Canadians didn't have a workplace pension and if such is the case these Canadians if having any savings will be forced to use them up because of the public pension plans being below the poverty line.

OAG and GIS are in urgent need of improvement.I have been given to understand a proposal has been made to increase the GIS benefit by 15% but in my opinion the OAS should also be increased 15 % as it has been part and parcel of the governments benefits keeping below the poverty line for the simple reason without the increase those receiving the CPP and the OAS will still be below the poverty line.

All of the above figures are based on one recipient. If a couple the maximum is slightly over the poverty line.

I should clarify what the GIS is, it is an income benefit payable to lower income seniors who are also receiving OAS and have little or no other income. Please note the GIS is not taxable.

The statistics as outlined were obtained off a Statistic Canada report.

OAS provides about 13% of a pre-retirement earnings and the CPP provides another 25% for a total of 38%. Seniors, have been found, require 70% of their pre-retirement earnings to maintain their standard of living in retirement. The existing benefit figures show the senior is short 32% of their pre-retirement earnings.

The question, When is the government going to make a move and increase these benefits as this proposal has been hung up for a very long time?

Seniors who are 65 and over and not 50+

I am writing the following in the hope what I have written is not to be construed as a witch hunt for those 50 + Canadians as they are very fine people who happen to believe their age benefits them to be called seniors. Why they do this is beyond me. You are forsaking 15 years of a robust living in a late middle age society. Why would you want to rush into those supposedly "Golden Years" which if you talk to any senior over 65 will tell you differently. It galls me when you are told there is a special price for 50 + seniors and try to explain a senior is not 50+ but 65 and over. What better deal do you have for me as I am considerably older ( 79 ) That is like a friend of mine who was 37 and had a very heavy beard and here I was a clean shaven pup being asked if he was 21 and I looked no older then 19, I was actually 21 and not asked my age.Restaurateurs and retailers still have deals for seniors that stimulates 50+ but never any thing for 65+.

Now lets get to our deserving 65 and over seniors with a little bit of their back ground such as education, health, and what we call lack of respect and understanding particularly from our federal government who discriminate us when it comes to our asking for a fair shake in raising the Canada Pension Plan, the Old Age Security, and the Old Age Supplement.

Senior means a person 65 and over who can present ID showing 65 and over

Senior means a person who is receiving the Canada Pension Plan and The Old Age Security defined by the federal government as being 65 and over.

57% of Canadians over 65 are women

20% of the current Canadians over 65 have a post graduate diploma with a degree

60% of seniors 65 and over did not complete high school

37 % have less than grade 9

46 % of seniors have a disability yet continue to enjoy life

75% of seniors 65 to 70 rate their health as good or exceptional as do 66% of

75 and over

Seniors have also one request and that is PLEASE!!!! avoid language such as the aged, the elderly. oldsters, senile, and feeble and instead use seniors, older persons, or older adults.

Don't patronize us, condescend, or use childish expressions when talking with us or about seniors.

There is one very important thing to remember about a senior and that being we have a change in visual and acuity hearing which can affect an older person's capacity to absorb information. Hearing clearly is not attainable if a sound is above or below a certain pitch or if there is a background noise such as a public address system, telephones,TV, and radio.

Unfortunately aging brings emotional changes, loneliness,isolation or worry, anxiety about becoming dependent on others, and fears about safety. I know this to be a fact.

Do not forget this one very important thing we are survivors. Don't forget that.

Seniors injured from falls

Just recently CBC had a very interesting article on the subject disclosing a number of eye opening statistics, statistics I'm sure many seniors were not aware.

From 2004 to 2008 more than 125,000 seniors in the province of Ontario were admitted to a hospital because of a fall.

It stands to reason as seniors get older they tend to have impairments in balance, in vision, and reflexes. Combine these with osteoporosis where bones become more fragile increasing the risk of broken bones. Most of these falls occur from falls on stairs, slipping, tripping, and stumbling. It has been suggested to make it safer for them use rugs with rubber backing that will stick to the floor, make sure any staircases are clear of clutter, and have hand rails. Keep phones on every floor to prevent rushing to answer, and do exercises to improve strength, balance, and flexibility.

Above all use proper lighting.

It should be pointed out 87% of seniors who fell sustained injuries to the head or spine.

Surprising as it seems men falling peaks at the average of 72 whereas women peak at 84.

It has also been suggested seniors should make a point of asking their doctors about risks of any new medications particularly those who take blood thinners could suffer severe consequences from a fall and some blood pressure medication may affect balance. It should also be mentioned the University of British Columbia found that seniors on antidepressants, anti psychotic and sedative hypnotics were 11/2 times more likely to fall compared with those not taking those drugs. The University went on to say 1 in 3 Canadians over 65 experience a fall each year and those over 80 the figure rises to 40%

BE CAREFUL

Debt vs Deficit

What does it mean?

Most people confuse debts with deficits and vice versa, no so and here is the explanation.The government collects taxes, fees, and other revenues each year while spending on programs and operations. If the government spends more than it takes in over the course of one year then it has run a deficit which applies to just one year. When the government runs a deficit then it must borrow money to make up the deficit. A debt is completely different. A debt is an accumulation of deficits. The debt usually grows year after year. with each additional deficit the debt continues to grow. Do not think if the government takes in more money then it spends in one year then it suddenly doesn't have any debt. This is not the case as it means the government has managed to run a surplus which is opposite to deficit. The debt is still there. Please!!! also note if the government has to continually borrow money each year then the debt will continue to grow year after year. This debt does not disappear. Having outlined both I want to show some very interesting figures produced by the present Ontario Liberal government. At the present time the Ontario debt amounts to $212.1 billion mainly to finance the deficit in 2009-2010. When the Liberals took office in 2003-2004 the debt was$138.8 billion, In all of the following years deficits resulted year by year as the Liberals spent more then was collected.

For this year the deficit is expected to be close to $20. billion and if spending exceeds the revenue the debt will climb regardless of what the liberals did in the line of cutting back money to the hospitals, cutting back money to people on welfare, collecting part of the loan to the Big 3, and introducing the HST.

If the Liberals can not reduce the deficit beware of McGuinty's next step when he will come up with another of his tax increases.

Now, lets look at the Canadian federal government. The federal debt now sits at $ 1.2 trillion which is the amount of money the Federal, provincial, territories, and municipal governments owe as a whole.

Just as a breather the city of Welland's debt could very easily reach $ 60 million when the Sportsplex gets under way and if it does it will leave Welland very close to the allowable debt set by the province.

Since we are talking about debt and how serious it is and how serious it can be perhaps now we should discuss the debt of the Canadian families. A recent release stated the average Canadian family debt ( household ) is $ 96,000.00, mortgage payments up to 90 days late and credit card payments were 3 months behind.

Year 2009 was a record year for personal bankruptcy filings which caused a week economy thus causing record levels of personal debt. It should be noted high personal debt levels continue to climb to a point of no return.

Canadians are continuing to borrow shown by the end of the third quarter in 2009 the average Canadian adult had over $ 40,000.00 in household credit. Back in 2000 the average was approximately$20,000.00 and in 10 years it had doubled. By the end of September 2009 the average Canadian adult was carrying a household debt of 140.8% of their personal disposable income. Three years ago it was 120%. In simple terms every dollar earned one has $1.41 in debt.

If one has a good job and interest rates stay low one can probably service one's debt

BUT

If the job is lost. the hours are cut back, one has a divorce, there is a medical problem so one could not work, can you pay your mortgage, your car loan,your line of credit, and your credit cards?

NO

I you are in this position be very careful in taking on new debt, do not even think about buying a bigger house or new car.

To control your debt move to a smaller house, or an apartment, trade in your car for something smaller with a lower monthly payment and much better on gas.

Do you need the big boat and cottage?

Do you need 500 TV channels?

Do you need to buy a coffee every day?

Can you not make your own coffee?

Sell or return the 2nd car

Put a freeze on new spending.

Stop paying the minimum monthly payment on the credit cards and increase the payment. If you don't, rest assured the principal will have tripled by the time it is paid in full paying the minimum. Credit cards are the fast road to bankruptcy. Above all if you follow these rules don't think you have extra money because you don't.

If one heeds this advice which is not from me the writer but from professional financial advisers there is a chance of getting out of debt, if not expect to be bankrupt.