To the editor,
I’d like to address the comment by North Huron Reeve Paul Heffer that 55 per cent of the users of the recreation centre are from out of town, and by implication, are taking advantage of Wingham. (‘There’s going to be an uproar’ – Nov. 9 issue). In his view, clearly these ‘freeloaders’ should be paying more – much more – to use the Wingham facility. This view, I suggest, is not only small-minded, but illogical.
That 55 per cent helps keep the North Huron Wescast Community Complex afloat; they pay fees like everybody else. Make them feel unwelcome, penalize them, and they (like myself) will take the hint. They’ll go elsewhere. Kincardine and Hanover both have pools and facilities that charge reasonable fees, and they welcome ‘outsiders.’
Unlike the citizens of Wingham, who have – maybe it should be ‘had’ – a great facility on their door-step, many drive considerable distances to swim, or work-out, or skate. They also, if my own experience is a guide, spend hundreds of dollars a year in Wingham’s restaurants and stores as a result of their two-or-three visits per week. A majority of North Huron council doesn’t really care about that, and by chasing away outside users they will be robbing the merchants (‘Peter’) to pay ‘Paul.’
What will be the outcome if council approves the proposed increases, as presented? If you think your high taxes are going to go down, I have a bridge in Brooklyn that you might like to buy. The pool and the fitness centre will close. People who live in North Huron will be driving elsewhere to swim, or work-out, or play squash. They’ll be helping to pay for some other town’s facilities.
Finally, a word about ‘user fees.’ Municipalities love them, and some for good reasons. But they are a regressive tool. High- and low-income people pay the same, and as fees climb, people in lower income brackets find them unaffordable. What North Huron threatens to do by removing lower rates for seniors, families and teens (for example) makes a mockery of the user fee principle. This is not only morally reprehensible, but maybe legally suspect as well.
Gord Ripley
Teeswater
