Pictou County amalgamation debate heats up ahead of plebiscite

The proposal toamalgamate several communities is creating some division in Pictou County as residents wrestle with the idea.

The towns of Pictou, New Glasgow, Stellarton and the Municipality of Pictou County have submitted an application to amalgamate to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board. The towns ofWestvilleand Trenton have decided not to take part.

The townsconsidering amalgamation willholda plebiscite on May 28 to gauge public support.

• Pictou County amalgamation meeting draws big crowd in Stellarton

Vote holds no power

The plebiscite, however, is notbinding, and in the end it's up tothe councillors in the four communities to decide whether they want to merge.

"We fought hard for a plebiscite, so that people could make the final decision here.I think a lot of us felt it was the final decision," said Robert Parker, acouncillorfor the Municipality ofPictouCounty.

"But according to the Municipal Government Act I guess it can't be, and the council has to make that final decision.As long as councillors vote the way their people vote, then I don't have a problem with that."

Each of the towns will have to vote on amalgamation by June 20.

"Hopefully the decision will be clear enough on May 28 that we won't need a whole lot of discussion on it. If it's very close then that's when it could get a bit touchy I guess," said Parker.

The UARBhas the final say overamalgamation.

Merging will save money

Amalgamation has been touted as a way tocut down on administrative costs. Pictou County Warden Ron Baillehastold CBC News that 16 staff positions in the towns could be cut, saving $1.1 million a year.

But Brian White, who livesin New Glasgow andchair'sthe group Amalgamation No Thank You, says hedoesn't believe an amalgamated municipalitywill see those kinds of savings.

"The amalgamation that's being proposed, actually we move all of the three towns to a rural municipality status and the amount of equalization [from the province] would drop under the current formulas by about $1.7 million a year."

White said the UARB also didn't have any projections of what would happen to the communities after five years of amalgamation, and that worries him.

Change needed

He said there needs to be a change in the way the communities handle their resources but he doesn't believe this current proposal is the right way to go.

"That change should really start from the ground up, not from a small group of elected officials and senior staff, but rather from the general population."

White said everyone in the area has their own opinions on amalgamation and he expects a big turnout for the plebiscite next month.