Good new for Perth residents. Local taxpayers will most likely see a drop in their taxes of up to 1.3 percent at the counter after town council recently passed this year’s budget in record time.

Although they still had about 5 meetings left to pass the budget, future discussions were cancelled after Perth’s councilors gave the thumbs-up to the $6,609,372 budget in principle during the first budget committee meeting of the year that took place on the 21^st of January.

Jorgen Hoeven, director of corporate and environmental services, as well as Perth’s treasurer, thought that the first meeting would be a kickoff of sorts. He never expected to get the budget passed so fast.

The budget for 2010 is a bit higher compared to last year’s $6,247,035, but this is due to a 5.8 percent for the municipal portion of taxes. When this factor is combined with the proposed new tax rates for the county and school board, it results in an “at-the-counter” rate that’s lower by an estimated 1.3 percent.

However, final tax figures won’t be made public until the county and school board make the final decisions with regards to their respective budgets.

In response to Mayor John Fenik’s request for clarification, the Ministry of Environment recently stated that the authority to oversee parking configurations for Main Street rests in the hands of Perth officials.

Mayor Fenik wanted to clarify the ministry’s ruling that stipulated they can only reconstruct the town’s Main Street if it conformed to the to the environmental assessment’s instructions. Failure to do so would result in stiff penalties.

The mayor’s question came as a result of the ongoing balancing act he’s had to deal with in designing the town’s main street, which includes removing all on-street parking. Residents who are presently operating businesses along Wilson Street say that removing parking will practically put their establishments out of business.

His decision to take out parking is final, Fenik said, and he will no longer entertain any back and forth debates. He will however, continue to communicate and work with the public as the project goes along.

Councilor Ed McPherson invited residents in town to attend a public meeting on the 10^th of February where final designs and configurations of the street will be unveiled; these include streetscaping, as well as a glimpse of  businesses slated to open in the future.

Whatever the case, we’re just happy Main Street is up for some rejuvenation. It’s a move sure to breathe new life into the town.

For a seasoned Perth potter, one minute is all it takes to turn a dull lump of clay to an elegant and perfect bowl.

Take that one minute, multiply it by 5 potters, two days, and you’ve got the 2010 Empty Bowls campaign off to a good start.

Potters recently came together at event organizer Jay Seaton’s studio to craft a good number of bowls that will be sold to help provide funds to initiatives aimed at securing food.

The goal? To produce a total of 500 bowls in two days.

The hand-made bowls will be fired and glazed to be sold at local studio tours and shops, as well as the upcoming Festival of the Maples.

The Empty Bowls campaign, an idea that started in the U.S., is a project where rather than selling bowls, potters are made to donate them, with proceeds going to food related charities like soup kitchens and the like.

Last year, Empty Bowls raised a total of $17,000, undeniably exceeding the annual goal of $10,000. Seaton hopes to build upon last year’s success by making more bowls to add funds to what they’ve currently collected.

Among those who volunteered were a number of students from Perth colleges and universities majoring in Fine Arts. According to them, the opportunity to help and hone their skills is something they just couldn’t turn down.