Municipal reform bill sees wide support, CBRM pitches amendments

Officials with Cape Breton Regional Municipality appeared before a legislative committee on Monday with what they believe is a roadmap to compromise with the provincial government.

Meanwhile, a host of other municipal officials spoke in support of proposed legislation that will reform financial arrangements between the two levels of government.

Bill 340 would see a redistribution of the municipal capacity grant while removing the requirement for municipalities to collect taxes on behalf of the province for corrections and housing. Responsibility for pre-1981 schools after they close would also be removed from municipalities.

But while the province has argued municipalities stand to gain financially from the changes to the service agreement — the first changes in close to 30 years — officials with CBRM have said they would see an eventual loss as they struggle to cope with service demands that risk their sustainability.

Unique challenges

Mayor Amanda McDougall said she and her colleagues are pleased to see that most municipalities stand to benefit from the new agreement and they don't want to stand in the way of that.

Instead, CBRM wants a commitment from the province to spend the next year making a separate deal that addresses challenges unique to that municipality.

"Sit down with our municipality, with our council and staff," McDougall told MLAs on the law amendments committee. "Allow us to talk about how we can work together to support and grow our community."

CBRM is also calling on the province to double the amount of the municipal capacity grant and index and freeze equalization amounts.

McDougall and other members of her council also highlighted that even with the changes proposed by the bill, municipalities continue to face the task of collecting taxes on behalf of the province for education services, something that will cost CBRM residents $16.5 million next year.

Many municipalities want bill to pass

Officials from other municipalities across the province were sympathetic of the challenges CBRM faces, but said the bill needs to pass in the interest of what it would mean for their respective residents.

Municipality of Cumberland Mayor Murray Scott told the committee the bill will result in $750,000 that could be used to finance other projects, be passed back in tax relief, or a combination of the two.

Yarmouth Mayor Pam Mood said it's close to $800,000 for her town when all aspects of Bill 340 are considered. That money is key, she said, as municipalities across the province confront growth like they haven't seen in years and the demands that go with it.

Mood said no one expected the bill to address all needs of all municipalities in the first pass

"Getting everything we want in one fell swoop, that's a fairytale," she told MLAs. "That doesn't happen in real life, no matter where we are. I think we should understand that."

Wolfville Mayor Wendy Donovan said there might be room for improvement on the bill and she is in support of CBRM getting its own agreement with the province, but she and her council did not want Bill 340 stalled on account of the concerns advanced by some of their colleagues.

"Wolfville and similarly growing municipalities in Nova Scotia should not be disadvantaged because some communities are unhappy with the way things worked out for them," she told the committee.

Good start

Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities president Brenda Chisholm-Beaton said the organization supports the bill and CBRM's quest to get its own deal with the province that reflects that municipality's unique circumstances.

Bill 340 might not be perfect, and more work is required to address the costs municipalities face for education services and policing costs, but Chisholm-Beaton said the legislation is a good start.

"It's time for something better and Bill 340 is Step 1, born of considerable collaboration and consultation between our two orders of government."

MLAs moved the bill back to the House without amendments, where it will go through two more rounds of debate before a final vote.