Ignoring the vote
AMontague town councillor voted against the Three Rivers amalgamation process — not because her taxes were going up, but because they were going down. Such are the convoluted arguments in play as seven eastern municipalities grapple with ways to modernize local governance.
The councillor felt there was a tax disparity under amalgamation. While Montague residents would see property taxes go down, they would still have the highest rates in the area. And that was enough to vote no. It’s mind-boggling. Her argument is that Montague provides 60 per cent of the tax burden, but only has 20 per cent of the population. So, the councillor would prefer to remain separate and pay higher taxes, rather than amalgamate and pay lower taxes? Perhaps it didn’t occur to her that much of the commercial and business base for the area is located in Montague, which draws residents from the smaller, rural communities for much of their shopping and entertainment needs.
The largest community in the Three Rivers area voted to withdraw from the process by a 3-2 margin. The vote came despite an overwhelming 220 to 82 pro-amalgamation result in a plebiscite last fall.
Coun. Jim Bagnall was out of province but made a plea by video conference call in support of amalgamation. While he wasn’t allowed to vote, he made a good point when he said residents had spoken in last fall’s plebiscite. Approximately one-third of eligible voters took part, the same percentage which caused so much grief for the provincial government in the electoral reform plebiscite 2016. Yet that harsh lesson failed to stop Montague council from making the same grievous mistake.
In any event, Mayor Richard Collins would have voted no to break a deadlock because he felt the proposed area was too big: “It’s not the right fit.” So, being the centre of a larger, more prosperous region isn’t the right fit for Montague?
He grasped the same excuse used by Premier Wade MacLauchlan — that a disappointing plebiscite turnout was a sufficient excuse to have government reject a democratic vote.
It was a disappointing failure in leadership by the town which should be spearheading this process. Georgetown had previously withdrawn, so the two towns — with the most to gain — voted no, while five rural councils are going forward. It negates arguments about conservative rural P.E.I. and more progressive urban centres.
The decisions by Montague and Georgetown may be moot. The Three Rivers steering committee could include all seven incorporated communities, as well as rural areas within the fire districts served by Cardigan, Montague and Georgetown, in its amalgamation application to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC).
The final decision will likely rest with IRAC and then the provincial government. Perhaps it was inevitable that the province would have to pass legislation to force through amalgamation.
The lesson learned here is that the province will need to make hard decisions if it wants amalgamation in Three Rivers and various other areas across this over-governed province.