We Are So Very Kind.

A delegate had a harrowing tale to tell at Tuesday's committee meeting.

In 2005, he experienced a time lag in an agreement prepared by our former solicitor. He said he finally had to write the agreement himself and objected to a $5,000. legal fee.

He said the agreement waived all fees and taxes and complained he was improperly charged $6,800 for a building permit He had been trying to get it refunded ever since and named various people he had approached without success. After the last election, he approached Mayor Morris who referred the matter to our former CAO. Still, he didn't get the money back. After Mr.Rogers departure, he once more approached the Mayor who referred the matter to Acting CAO Bob Panizza.

On Tuesday, Mr. Panizza offered several options to council to resolve the matter. Councillor MacEachern moved half the fee be returned to the delegate.The mayor moved to amend the
motion for the full fee be refunded. And so it was agreed.

"Ethics" were cited.

The town's Building Bylaw requires a Permit Fee be charged when a building is being constructed. No agreement can contravene a town Bylaw. The Bylaw could have been suspended to allow the fee to be waived. It was not.

A building permit fee recovers only the cost of service.

The Soccer Bubble is erected on a field behind the Aurora Legion. The town owns it.The Legion once owned it.

Legion properties are assessed like any other at market value. .The books show taxes owed by the Legion. Taxes paid by the Legion. And taxes rebated by the town.The Legion pay no taxes. We have two buildings on the Aurora Legion site not paying taxes,

The rest of us shoulder the tab for these two buildings In the amount of $32,000.. and rising every year.

The Soccer Bubble on former Legion property houses a business. After the agreement was signed and it was constructed, the property became commercial and liable for Regional and Board of Education taxes. Apparently that was not realised at the time of the agreement. Council did not learn of it until 2007

The taxes due this year were $56,000. Last year's were $54,000. The agreement is for fifteen years. Over that period , allowing for tax increases, the bubble will cost Aurora taxpayers almost a million dollars .

According to the delegate, Aurora Youth Soccer Association gets $100,000 free use of the facility each year.The agreement is tri-party with Aurora Youth Soccer as the third party.

The town has summer use of the Soccer Bubble. We pay for Hydro. And we pay the taxes.

This year ,from May to September, revenue from user fees was $5,800.Last year it was $3,400.

We receive $2.00 a year for lease of the land. Our expenditure of $56,000 plus for Hydro shows up as a line item in the Leisure Services Department budget.

Added to all that munificence, on Tuesday evening , we voted to refund the building permit fee in the amount of $6,800.

Staff advise it must be paid in the form of a grant.

How's that for generosity? With other people's money.