Nova Scotia urged to fund unprecedented Windsor-West Hants amalgamation

The citizens' group trying to force municipal amalgamation on Windsor and West Hants has passed its first hurdle.

This week, the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board accepted their unprecedented petition and has set a tentative hearing date for November.

Now, Kathy Monroe of Avon Regions Citizens is calling on the McNeil government to fund the expensive consultant studies required by regulators.

"It's absolutely critical we get support from the province to go through with this," Monroe said. "They've done it for every other amalgamation."

Fed up citizens act

While municipal dissolutions and amalgamations have become increasingly frequent, in Nova Scotia the situation with Windsor and West Hants is like no other.

The Avon Region Citizens' initiative is a response to widespread frustration in the area over the inability of Windsor and West Hants to cooperate on shared services. The groups application included a petition with 2,700 signatures from both municipalities.

That easily surpassed the test of 10 per cent of electors required to get a regulatory hearing.

Not surprisingly, the Town of Windsor supports amalgamation and voted unanimously to join the application.

West Hants has refused, specifically passing a motion last fall refusing to share the cost.

Liberals urged to ante up

The amalgamation attempt will falter without the consultant studies needed to convince regulators. They examine
potential impact on services and tax rates in the affected municipalities.

Acting Windsor mayor John Brigante says amalgamation studies can cost up to $400,000. The review board has set a July 2016 deadline for studies in this case.

"We expect we will have to pay something. But we would expect the bulk of the funding from the province," Brigante told CBC News. "Every other study they have funded."

Brigante says since last fall, Windsor has written several times to Minister of Municipal Affairs Zach Churchill without receiving a response.

He says some of the preparatory work has already been done with studies prepared for the dissolution of the Town of Hantsport, which joined West Hants in 2015.

West Hants says no, more politely

West Hants warden Richard Dauphinee says the municipality is still absorbing Hantsport and that is why amalgamation with Windsor is "premature."

West Hants issued a press release Tuesday saying it respected the right of its residents to have their voices heard through the petition process.

"West Hants will respond appropriately to the UARB, as required," the municipality said in its statement.

The release is a reversal in tone. In an interview with CBC News last week, Dauphinee dismissed both the petition and the group behind it.

"You drop a block of gold on their lawn and they'd say it was killing their grass," Dauphinee told CBC News.

"There's a few leaders and a bunch of followers. People signed a petition to get it out of their face."

Skepticism of McNeilgovernment

So will the Liberal government fund studies when one municipality is expressly opposed? Kathy Monroe says two officials from the Department of Municipal Affairs told her group provincial dollars would be forthcoming.

"It was intimated to us that so long as we had support from one municipality we would have funding for this. We did that. They have stepped back from this position."

Local MLA Chuck Porter says the refusal of West Hants to go along makes a difference.

"We've never seen this before. I'm not sure how they can fund it. Usually you have agreement among municipalities," says Porter. The former Progressive Conservative and independent recently crossed the floor to join the Liberals.

'We need to work as one unit'

However, Porter favours the creation of one municipality, with one council in the area.

"We need to working as one unit, that's all that matters. As far as funding goes, it would be odd if it weren't funded," he said.

Speaking on behalf of the province, acting Municipal Affairs Minister Joanne Bernard remained non-committal on funding.

"The minister is weighing all the options and will make the decision in the very near future because this is a unique situation."

The regulatory timetable released by the Utility and Review Board puts a decision one year away - after municipal elections this fall MLA Porter wants a plebiscite on the issue on the ballot in both municipalities.