Residents concerned about future of Springhill
Posted Mar 6, 2014 07:11:37 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The fallout continues after the town of Springhill announced it plans to dissolve and join the nearby municipality of Cumberland County.
Some residents are expressing shock and concern.
“I was blown away,” one woman tells Global News. “I was completely blindsided by that.”
“Very surprised, this was a shock, no one was expecting this,” says another.
Most of the fears centre on service levels after amalgamation.
“If we do change some of these services are we at least going to get the same quality of service we get now?” wonders one man.
“I’m worried about policing,” explains another woman. “I have two young daughters and I want them to grow up safe.”
Nova Scotia Municipal Relations Minister Mark Furey says as many as 12 towns and municipalities are facing financial problems similar to Springhill.
He says it’s not a matter of amalgamation being a good or bad thing.
“It’s a group of elected officials in the community who, in my mind, have demonstrated outstanding leadership in making some tough decisions that they believe are in the best interests of their community and I support that decision,” he explains.
He adds there are many who feel the province is over-governed based on its population and this is an opportunity to change that.
“The Ray Ivany report focused on, or referenced municipal reform,” says Furey. “The premier himself recognizes there’s an opportunity to find efficiencies.”
Furey says he’s spent the last six weeks meeting with municipal officials across the province.
“With the exception of two or three municipalities or towns each and every group has put amalgamation on the table as a topic of discussion,” he says.
That’s a far cry from a couple years ago when none of them word even breathe the word amalgamation.
Dalhousie University Local Government Professor Jack Novack tells Global News one of the big problems facing towns is outmigration.
“The sort of key 18 to 35-year-olds aren’t there,” he says. “So there are fewer people, with a shrinking tax base, having to pay for an ever-increasing amount of services.”
He adds a lack of diversification has caught up with a lot of places like the mining town of Springhill.
“Coastal communities, single-industry towns, resources towns; these are comminutes that were built based upon the prevalence of a particular industry or a period of time and are now struggling,” says Novack.
