Communities to consider options beyond amalgamation

People living in five communities in the West River area of P.E.I. will be weighing three different ways of collaborating to meet the requirements of the new Municipal Government Act.

Those five communities are Afton, Bonshaw, West River, New Haven-Riverdale and Meadowbank. 

The new rules require higher standards of financial accountability, codes of conduct for councils and staff, an emergency management plan, land-use bylaws, and a municipal office.

But these new rules can be expensive for small communities.

"It's difficult for the community of Meadowbank. We don't have a hall or any building that we can possibly put our municipal office in," said Helen Smith-MacPhail, chair of the Meadowbank council.

"In order to comply with the act we would have to find that building, or find a space within our community, to have our municipal office in. There's a cost associated with that office."

A consultant hired by the West River communities has laid out three options to consider:

• The communities could amalgamate, have one municipal town office and share services.
• The communities could remain independent, with their own municipal offices, and pay for shared services.
• The communities could create a service commission that would manage planning, emergency and fire services for the region.

Two public meetings are being held, June 14 and June 20, at the Kingston Legion in New Haven, P.E.I., to walk through the options, and determine what community members prefer.

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