The elimination of area-rating would have resulted in a hefty 9.7 per cent increase to our taxes in the 2009 and 2010 budgets. However, that imminent threat no longer exists, thanks to a council motion passed last Wednesday with the help of councillors Tom Jackson and later Scott Duvall, that now allows the current area-rating policies to stay in place until 2011. At that point, a new area rating policy must be approved.

Consultation and input on that new policy will take place over the next two years before a new plan is put in place in 2011.

More discussions on that to come, but for now, I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to councillors Jackson and Duvall, who not only took the time to meet with both myself and Benjamin Levinter, Q.C., over Flamborough's tax issues, but worked hard to secure a critical vote for my community.

While I continue to work to reverse the council vote that saw our taxes go up an extra 4.2 per cent this year because $3.1 million of slots revenue was removed from Flamborough and placed city-wide, obviously I am grateful we are not faced with a further increase of 9.7 per cent going into the 2009 and 2010 budgets.

Also I would like to formally thank Benjamin Levinter, Q.C., for his consistent support and assistance to me.