Some residents in Bayside and Chamcook are raising concerns over the province’s proposal to hike the mill rate in those areas by nearly 19 per cent.
The Town of Saint Andrews held a meeting on Thursday to discuss the situation with residents after a mailout was sent to residents in the area.
During amalgamation, many unincorporated areas were brought into municipalities. It means those areas will now be part of the voting process for mayor and council, but also receive services from the municipal government.
For some, it could mean an increase in the mill rate. A mill rate is set by the municipality and is the amount of tax payable per dollar for the assessed value of a property.
‘You’re seeing frustration’
Mark Betts was one of the homeowners who attended the meeting. He came to the meeting hoping to understand how the mill rate would be set for the newly incorporated areas.
“I’ve learned now, they’re trying to equalize it,” he said. “They’re trying to make us have the same mill rate between the two places. I learned that Saint Andrews was about 1.2, and Bayside and Chamcook used to be about 0.9. So our mill rates (are) going up and Saint Andrews is going down,” he said in an interview.
The meeting was tense at times, with lots of exchanges between Mayor Brad Henderson and a few community members.
Chamcook and Bayside residents would see an 18 cent hike for the property owners, while Saint Andrews would see a drop of about 8 cents.
Henderson said he tried to warn people about this plan but was told by the previous government he was fear-mongering.
“These were all the impacts of municipal reform that were clearly talked about by this community before reform happened. So you’re seeing frustration,” Henderson said.
For Betts, the increase in the mill rate is questionable.
“Why is it that we’re going to have an equal mill rate to the town of Saint Andrews? Excuse me?”
Bayside resident Gerald McEachern said during the meeting, he felt he had no voice throughout the reform process – having seen the province has been in control of the process to date.
“I came here with an open mind. I wanted to see what they had to say,” he said in an interview.
No voice in the amalgamation process
He said he also lives on a private road, which means he and the other property owners are responsible for maintaining it.
“We’re with 20 other people on our road,” MacEachern said. “The province doesn’t look after it. The town won’t be looking after it, as far as I know. So, it’s on us.”
MacEachern also raised concern about the town receiving extra money from the Bayside port, but leaving Bayside residents with the environmental impacts.
“It’s tax money that the town never had before, and we bear the environmental cost of that,” he said. “There’s noise pollution, light pollution, air pollution that comes out of the dust out of that group of industries. There should be an offset in terms of our residential tax rates because of that.”
As for not having a voice in the process, MacEachern said he felt the process was designed that way.
“The whole process, from amalgamation right through to today has been one that keeps the public input at bay,” he said.
The council in Saint Andrews will debate the budget over the coming weeks, deciding eventually what the mill rate will be for the different wards.
Mayor Brad Henderson has said previously in an interview he hoped to lower the rate for the old ward – Saint Andrews – and maintain the rate in Chamcook and Bayside.
Author
