November 30, 2015 - 10:44 — Timothy Gillespie
Warden butting into Town's business?
Citing the poor financial state of the Town of Shelburne, Municipal warden Roger Taylor says a planned amalgamation would be better if the Town just dissolved. This, Taylor says in a letter to the Coast Guard, would make it easier for the Municipality to negotiate a better financial deal with the province.
Taylor goes on to cite the factors spelled out in the flurry of MODS news releases last week, saying the Town and the Municipality are not equals, as the Municipality is in much better financial condition than the Town.
He adds that the Town's weak finances and inability to do infrastructure upgrades is "dangerous", that the Municipality can raise 400% more money on a one cent tax increase and that it was the Municipality's commitment that cemented the deal on the planned new medical centre. An amalgamation as "equals", Taylor suggests, would likely mean the medical centre would be a no-go.
In the letter, Taylor lectures the Town to "mitigate thier financial position" by dissolving.
Even though his council recently voted not to proceed with public consulations surrounding amalgamation, Taylor urges the Town to hold public consultations about his dissolution scheme. One local official who asked not to be named suggested that Taylor appears to be inappropriately "butting into the Town's business."
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