The municipalities of Pictou County are moving ahead with a proposed governance study.
New Glasgow, Westville, Stellarton, Trenton, Pictou and Pictou County have approached Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations for assistance in conducting an organizational and governance study.
In response, the provincial department has agreed to fund the study.
The study will be looking at all aspects of the six municipalities including the Shared Services Authority and any other inter-municipal body or agreement.
Each town will have elected officials and representatives sit on a board to oversee the study.
The county council is going to be participating as well, even though that council has voted against amalgamation in the past.
“Our council is still not in favour of amalgamation,” said Warden Ron Baillie.
The council did decide, however, to participate in the study during an executive meeting, even though they are not interested in amalgamation.
“Our part will be to ensure that the residents of the county are not affected in a costly way,” Baillie said.
The proposal for the study says that they are going to be taking an in-depth and comprehensive look at the future of each municipality on its own. They will look at their financial viability and try to determine if individual units have a sustainable future, economically.
They will also be examining the way services are currently delivered and the structure of the county’s governing bodies.
The study was the brainchild of the Town of Westville.
“Basically small towns aren’t going to survive much longer,” said Roger MacKay, mayor of Westville.
As a small town, he said, Westville must rely entirely on its residential tax for income, because it does not have large businesses or industry.
He thinks that as a more co-operative unit, the small towns would be better served and more efficient with their money.
Efficiency is what it comes down to according to Trenton’s mayor, Glen MacKinnon.
“We’re hoping the study shows us ways that if we work together, we can see positive things,” said MacKinnon. “All of us want to spend the taxpayers' money wisely and in more efficient ways.”
Whether the study will change the minds of those against amalgamation remains to be seen. It will, however, show other models of governance and ways to work more efficiently with one another.
MacKay hopes the study will help clear some of the air around the issue.
“I think the facts and figures will help make it a lot easier for everyone to understand,” said MacKay.
