The Town of Antigonish and the Municipality of the County of Antigonish are still researching the possibility of consolidation.
A public engagement was held in the spring aimed at gathering input to better understand the concerns of community members. During the engagement sessions, the county and the town acknowledged the potential for consolidation could change the costs associated with their respective policing contracts.
Engagements with the Provincial and Federal Government and an independent legal council determined that a new contract for the RCMP services would be required if the two communities consolidated which would result in additional costs with no changes in service for the Antigonish Area. These issues could be avoided if the two communities agreed to dissolve the Town of Antigonish and retain the legal name of the Municipality of the County of Antigonish. This in turn would eliminate the need for a new contract and save around $1 million in additional costs.
“The way to move forward and avoid the increase in costs is to dissolve the town and simultaneously restructure the county where the two units enter as equal partners to create a consolidated organization.” Says Town of Antigonish Mayor Laurie Boucher. County Warden Owen McCarron stated that the goal when reviewing the option for consolidation is to determine if community members would be better served by one municipal unit.
If both councils vote to move forward the new municipal unit would be called the Municipality of the county of Antigonish, and a new organizational structure would be created in partnership between the existing municipalities. The town and county will continue to keep the community updated on the progress and information gathered as councils assess the consolidation opportunity. The public engagement findings are expected to be released shortly. A vote on whether or not they will consolidate this expected to happen this fall.
