Dufferin County council has appointed a new clerk, but there are no new faces in administration and there haven't been any significant changes to anyone's role.

Pam Hillock, who has served as deputy clerk for several years, was considered for promotion at an in camera meeting in July, and installed at the Sept. 13 council meeting.

Warden John Oosterhof said the choice was "practically unanimous." As deputy, he said, Ms. Hillock had really been the de facto clerk, although CAO Linda Dean had retained the clerk's title after Ms. Hillock was hired as her deputy.

Although CAOs outrank clerks in the order of command, the clerks are the ones who attest to the passing of bylaws, and it is their signature that's required along with that of the head of council.

Ms. Dean remains as the county's chief administrative officer. It is still to her that the department heads report.

In other business last Thursday, Public Works Director Trevor Lewis will explore ways of requesting the Province to 'upload' County Road 18, along with the downloaded provincial highways 24 and 9, now designated County 124 and 109.

Mr. Lewis said he'll discuss the proposal with other affected municipalities - principally Peel, Simcoe and Wellington.

"Airport Road, County 18, begins in Peel and ends in Simcoe County." He said it would be pointless to have it as a provincial highway through Dufferin but not through Peel and Simcoe.

When the province downloaded the highways under the Mike Harris PCs, Transportation Ministry officials said it had retained only those that were considered "provincially significant."

The official had generalized based the decision on populations of urban centres. Highway 9 was considered significant between Newmarket and Orangeville but not between Orangeville and Harriston, yet was retained between Harriston and Kincardine. Funding for roads was a minor part of the first of the Dufferin-Caledon allcandidates meetings in Orangeville on Tuesday evening, but only tangentially in the sense that the sale of 407 ETR was criticized and the issue of gas tax rebates was raised in the context of public transit.

The issue of uploading roadways has not surfaced so far in the campaign.