CBRM councillors reject new provincial funding deal, saying it would cost taxpayers more

Cape Breton regional councillors say they cannot sign on to a new provincial funding agreement with the Nova Scotia government.

The Department of Municipal Affairs says municipalities in Nova Scotia will collectively save up to $50 million under the new deal, known as Bill 340, but Cape Breton Regional Municipality councillors say it will cost their taxpayers more in the long run.

"There's actually no savings in this bill," CBRM Mayor Amanda McDougall said Friday. "It's very much alluded to as a $4.5 million savings [for CBRM], but essentially it's money that was never ours."

Under the proposal, the province would allow CBRM to continue raising taxes for corrections, housing and education, she said.

Municipalities normally have to remit that money to the province, but in this case, they would not have to, while the province would start paying for those services out of its own revenues.

McDougall said CBRM cannot tax residents for what are provincial responsibilities and then keep the money.

CBRM mayor says deal is 'unethical'

"We could use that money, but then residents are still going to be taxed for it at the provincial level. It's unethical to collect money for something we are not responsible for and then do that [knowing] that the residents are going to receive a higher tax rate."

Under the deal, the province would also offer money up front for some roads, but municipalities would have to take over maintenance on all provincial roads.

McDougall said there are more than 800 kilometres of provincial roads in CBRM.

"Shifting the responsibility to the municipality means we would have to maintain them forever and what that would do to our bottom line in terms of our public works budget is just, it would bankrupt us."

Earlier this year, CBRM and the minister and deputy minister of municipal affairs sparred publicly over funding to the municipality.

At that time, councillors were still hopeful that a new funding arrangement would result in an increase in CBRM's municipal capacity grant from the province.

However, the proposed deal would see CBRM's $15-million grant remain in place for five years and then drop to $13.6 million.

Municipal Affairs Minister John Lohr said the deal is good for all municipalities, including CBRM.

"I don't agree with their suggestion it doesn't benefit them," he said. "I think maybe the reality is it doesn't benefit them as much as they had hoped."

CBRM's mayor and councillors are planning to go to Halifax next week to tell the provincial government why they need a better deal.

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