Tool kit can guide municipal leaders through amalgamation

Municipal leaders now have a tool kit to help them plan amalgamation.

• Municipal Government Act update clears path for big changes
• Legislation would allow P.E.I. to force communities to amalgamate

The Federation of Prince Edward Island Municipalities launched the online resource, called Building for the Future: A Guide to Municipal Restructuring,just in time for Monday's annual meeting.

Nobody has to lose their identity here. Bruce MacDougall

"There's a lot of people that are scared they're going to be affected, especially smaller communities," said Bruce MacDougall, federation president.

"So this tool kit will allow them to really look and see how you can do it and the approach you need to take."

Still a voluntary process

The54-page online guidetakes community leaders through the process, outliningsteps municipalities should take before amalgamatingincluding consulting with residents and how to approach neighbouring communities.

Amalgamation could reduce P.E.I.'s 73 municipalities to just tenor 20.

The voluntary process would create more regional governments, with each with a tax base of $2 million dollars or so, and 3,000 to 4,000 residents, according to the federation.

"It will bring strong community-minded individuals together to look at what's best for the areas in which they live in. And I think that's something that will help all of Prince Edward Island,"said StephenGould, the federation's vice-president forcommunities.

'Way too many municipalities'

The tool kit will also help communities prepare for other changes that are coming, according to the federation.

In December, the P.E.I. Legislature passed anew Municipal Government Act, which is awaiting royal assent.It will raise the bar for municipal government on P.E.I., by requiring things such as yearly audits, and regular office hours.

"There'sway too many municipalities for the size of this province and it needs to be fixed, it needs to be addressed," saidMacDougall.

Some municipalities are more keen to amalgamate than others, according to the federation.

"Nobody has to lose their identity here. They need to be regions and work together," said MacDougall.

Find the online tool kit in PDF form here.

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