Municipal Government in Nova Scotia

• 1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND & SERVICE PROVIDED
• 2 PRESENT ORGANIZATION
• 3. INCORPORATION OF TOWNS
• 4. THE ELECTORAL PROCESS

1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND & SERVICE PROVIDED

Local Government in Nova Scotia was originally based on the sessional system in England. For many years following the election of the first General Assembly in 1758, Crown-appointed magistrates met in the counties in courts of sessions to administer local matters. A grand jury comprising locally selected members acted in an advisory capacity.

Elected local government was introduced in 1841 with the incorporation of Halifax, followed over the next 37 years with the incorporation of five towns. Then in 1879, twenty-four rural municipalities were established under the County Incorporation Act, on the basis of existing sessional boundaries. Until 1994, these rural municipalities remained the basic units of local government outside incorporated towns and cities

After 1879, three more towns were incorporated before the Towns Incorporation Act of 1888. Over the years 45 towns have been incorporated, the last one in 1980 when Bedford gained status as a town. 0f these, two became cities and eventually were amalgamated into regional municipalities, eight others were amalgamated into regional municipalities and four have dissolved. There are thus currently 31 incorporated towns.

Since 1923, villages and other local service commissions have been established to provide specific local services. These are, however, not constituted as separate municipal units and fall within the jurisdiction of the municipality in which they are located.

In 1994, the first of four statutes relating to regional municipalities was passed. This first Act, the Cape Breton Regional Municipality Act, amalgamated the six towns, one city and one rural municipality located in Cape Breton County and incorporated the Cape Breton Regional Municipality effective August 1, 1995.

The Halifax Regional Municipality Act passed in 1995, amalgamated the two cities, one town and one rural municipality located in Halifax County and incorporated the Halifax Regional Municipality effective April 1, 1996.

The Queens Regional Municipality Act, passed in 1995, amalgamated the one town and one rural municipality in Queens County effective April 1, 1996.

The Regional Municipalities Act was passed in 1996. It provides a mechanism for the municipal units located in a county to request amalgamation and incorporation as a regional municipality. At present, no new regional municipalities have been created under this legislation, so there are three regional municipalities as of 1997.

A regional municipality gets its general powers from the statute that created it rather than from the Towns Act or Municipal Act.

The services provided by local governments can be clas sified for convenience into three groups:

(a) active services provided directly to people, such as social assistance, education, garbage collection and disposal;

(b) passive services that benefit the community by their existence, such as street lighting, snow removal, police and fire protection;

(c) regulatory services provided by means of certain by-laws relating to, say, pollution control, curfews, zoning, and building standards.

2 PRESENT ORGANIZATION

The term "municipality" in Nova Scotia has two distinct meanings. In one sense it means all local governments, as is usual elsewhere in Canada. In the other sense, it means a municipality incorporated pursuant to the Municipal Act, and often referred to as a rural municipality.

Every part of Nova Scotia is organized as a regional municipality, town, or rural municipality. The province is geographically divided into 18 counties. Three of these counties constitute regional municipalities. Nine others constitute rural municipalities, with towns also included within the county in seven of these The remaining six counties are each divided into two districts, and each of these districts constitutes a separate municipality. Seven of these twelve rural municipalities enclose towns within their boundaries. There are thus 21 rural municipalities constituted under the Municipal Act and 3 regional municipalities set up under their own statutes.

In addition to the rural municipalities, there are 31 towns incorporated pursuant to the Towns Act. While located within the boundaries of a rural municipality, the towns are politically and administratively separate from and independent of the rural municipality,except with respect to joint expenditures.

There are, as well, a number of independent or semi-independent boards and commissions established either by provincial legislation or by municipal bylaw providing various municipal services. Within a rural municipality,these organizations include:

(1) Village Commissioners incorporated under the Village Service Act for the purpose of providing municipal services to a more densely populated rural area of at least 100 residents.Three commissioners are initially appointed by the provincial cabinet at incorporation. Thereafter, composition can vary from three to five elective members. Each commissioner serves for a three-year term on a staggered basis.

The powers of the Commissioners are enumerated by the Village Service Act, and extend to: street lighting,fire protection, sewers, water works,electric light and power, roads and sidewalks, police and lock-ups, lands and buildings for public purposes, parks, garbage collection and disposal, and highways agreements with the province. A service is provided only where a village meeting has authorized the commissioners to supply the service.

There are currently 22 incorporated villages in Nova Scotia.

(2) Local service commissions incorporated by special Acts of the Legislature, generally for purposes of providing street lighting, fire protection, electric and water supply. There appears to be authority for 35 commissions; of these, at least some never operated. Few statistics for these commissions are available.

(3) Rural Fire Districts, incorporated under the Rural Fire District Act to provide fire protection within a designated area of a rural municipality. There are currently eight rural fire districts.

Village commissioners, local commissions, rural fire districts and some other special purpose bodies are authorized to levy taxes in addition to those levied by the rural municipality itself. In most cases these taxes are collected by the rural municipality. None of these special purpose bodies may be established in a town or a regional municipality. In a number of cases, commissions and other special purpose bodies have been established in regional municipalities, towns and rural municipalities to administer specific services such as water, parks, playgrounds, and rinks. Also, joint boards have been created to provide such services as jails, courthouses, and municipal homes on behalf of two or more municipal units. Generally, these organizations do not have power to levy taxes, and are financed directly by the municipal unit. It is estimated that there are in excess of 700 such special purpose bodies throughout the province.

The basic element of municipal finance is the property tax, together with a number of its variants, and the business occupancy tax. Also important to municipal governments are grants from the provincial and federal governments.

All of the local governments and local service commissions operate under such powers as are determined by provincial statute. The organization of the towns is specified in the Towns Act, and that of the rural municipalities in the Municipal Act. Villages are organized under the Village Service Act while other local commissions function on the basis of the special act that created them. There are as well a large number of further acts regulating the powers and activities of nunicipal institutions. These include the Municipal Elections Act, the Assessment Act, the Municipal Affairs Act, the Planning Act, the Municipal Boundaries and Representation Act, and so on.

Local councils are generally empowered to pass by-laws, which must be approved by the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs to be binding. They are also authorized to decide on policy matters and to ensure that their decisions or policies are implemented. The task of carrying out such decisions or policies is an administrative one and is normally performed by appointed officials who report to a standing committee of the council.

In practical terms, administration is largely shared between the chief administrator (town or municipal clerk) and the various committees of the council, and it is at the committee level that many matters are given detailed scrutiny before formal consideration by the council.

3. INCORPORATION OF TOWNS

All matters relating to the incorporation of towns are regulated by the Municipal Boundaries and Representation Act, administered by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.

An application to the Board for an order of incorporation must be signed by at least 100 ratepayers residing in an area within a rural municipality. The application must include a description of the location and boundaries of the area. The Board must be satisfied that the area described in the application has at least 1,500 residents, 150 of whom are property taxpavers, in an area less than 640 acres.

After due notice, the Board holds a public hearing normally in the area concerned to inquire into all matters having a bearing on the Board's decision. Such matters include the assessment, revenue, debt, services, and generally the financial position and obligations of the municipality or municipalities affected, and the likely burden of taxation to be borne by the ratepayers after incorporation.

Following the Board's decision, a period of 28 days is allowed to file objections. Where there is an objection, the Governor in Council may confirm the Board's decision or require the Board to hold another hearing.

The decision of the Board is final and is formalized by an order of incorporation where no objections are filed within the required period or when confirmed by the Governor in Council or following another hearing required by the Governor in Council.

4. THE ELECTORAL PROCESS

Each of the 55 municipal units is run by an elected council. Regional municipalities and towns have a mayor while rural municipalities have a warden as the chief executive officer. The mayor is elected at large, but the warden is chosen by and from among council members or by the provincial cabinet if councillors cannot reach a decision.

Composition of regional municipality councils excluding the mayors is 23 in Halifax, 21 in Cape Breton, and 9 in Queens. The thirty-one town councils are composed of the mayor and four to six councillors. Towns with four councillors are Windsor, Parrsboro, Kentville, Lockeport, Mulgrave and Port Hawkesbury. Mahone Bay and Annapolis Royal have five councillors each. Composition of rural municipal councils ranges from five to 13 council members, including the warden.

Six of the towns are divided into wards for election of councillors. Each ward has two council members, Towns on the ward system are: New Glasgow, Pictou, Springhill, Stellarton, Truro, and Yarmouth. Councillors in the remaining 25 towns are elected at large.

There are in all 453 mayors, wardens, and councillors serving on municipal councils in Nova Scotia. These include three regional municipality mayors, 31 town mayors, 21 wardens, 172 town councillors, and 247 rural and regional councillors.

All matters concerning general and special municipal elections, including the election of school board members as well as any plebiscites of the voters come under the terms of the Municipal Elections Act passed in 1979. The Act provides for mayors, councillors, and school board members to be elected on the same day for three year terms, beginning on the third Saturday in October 1982.

An eligible candidate for local office must be a qualified elector who has resided in the municipality for at least 6 months preceding the election. Unless otherwise disqualified by the Act, any Canadian citizen who is over 18 years of age and has lived in the municipality for at least three months preceding polling day is a qualified elector.

Various provisions tend to modify the basic qualification for local office. A candidate is ineligible if on nomination day he has not paid in full all municipal rates and taxes owing or if he is in arrears in municipal utility rates in respect of a time more than four months before nomination day. As well, a candidate is disqualified for incompatible offices or other conflicts of interest specified by the legislation.