Former Amaranth mayor Bob Currie was highly critical of the present council's budget procedures, and spoke harshly of some individual members, when he appeared at the last council meeting as a delegation to present "report cards."

He did manage to discuss bridge reserves, the budget for legal fees, a new payment for attendance at committee meetings, and the lack of planned funding for roadway improvements before Mayor Don MacIver called a halt to the process - after Mr. Currie had described the present councillors as "a disgrace."

Mr. MacIver said he wouldn't allow Mr. Currie to read from campaign literature, and wouldn't listen to that kind of language. He asked Mr. Currie to leave the chamber but Mr. Currie refused, at least momentarily, to leave the podium.

He continued to speak even after Mr. MacIver had called a break, all members of council except Councillor Bill Cowie had walked out, and the packed gallery had begun to leave the room. "You don't want to hear the truth," he said.

Mr. Currie's accusations appeared to have arisen from the nature of the relationship of campaign statements and the new council's handling of its first budget.

He said one of the new members - either Mr. Cowie or Deputy Mayor Wally Kolodziechuk - had said in his election campaign that "reserves are dangerously low."

But, said Mr. Currie, "you've taken out $192,000 of bridge reserves, and now there are (no reserves) left."

Mr. Currie said the township's share of funding for the two bridges to be built this year would be one-third of $702,060, the amount of eligible costs approved by COMRIF. He calculated that the township is actually paying only $34,000 of tax money because it is using all its reserves.

In fact, the total tendered cost of Bridges 1 and 18 combined is $744,183, which would make it appear that the cost is about $44,000 more than is in the budget. (Reeves Construction had the low bid on each of the bridges: No. 1 at $376,144.21; and No. 18 at $368,039.63. Those tenders were awarded, according to the minutes of the council.)

However, the tendered price includes GST, for which the township gets a full refund. The COMRIF grant for the two bridges is $468,040, or two-thirds of the actual cost. That amount is shown as revenue.

The township share of the COMRIF project is $234,020. When the bridge reserve of $192,513 is deducted, it would leave $41,507 to be derived from taxes this year - but records show some funds remaining from last year's engineering budget, which could be seen as reducing the tax requirement to about th4 $34,000 cited by Mr. Currie.

In a report of the Amaranth budget last week, it was incorrectly stated that COMRIF had paid for the Eighth Line bridge that's to be built in 2008.

That bridge is an unknown quantity. Although it has received COMRIF approval, the specifics of engineering and nature of construction have yet to be ironed out. A roadway straightening is most likely required.

That bridge is expected to come in at a cost at least as great as this year's two bridges combined.

Part of Mr. Currie's query, had he been heard, was that the township has no reserves with which to pay its onethird share of that cost.

If guesstimates are correct - and the road superintendent was concerned about added costs of changes demanded by Grand River Conservation Authority when he spoke to the budget meeting - it could mean a tax requirement in excess of $250,000.