(Y95 News file photo)
The town of Shelburne has put a letter on its website and social media to let residents know of the fiscal challenges it faces.
Mayor Karen Mattatall says the document, posted Tuesday, is to keep residents “in the loop”.
“So they understand the challenges that town’s face, particularly our town. I guess the format is a bit different but we’ve been trying to do this on a yearly basis.”
She says somethings happen that aren’t planned in budgets like Shelburne’s sewage treatment facility.
“When you have a $600,000 cost overrun on a project that you need to do, it’s hard and we just want people to understand.”
It was originally costed at $2.37M and Mattatall says it imposed a significant financial planning challenge over the short and long terms, as the financing of the project relied on the Town borrowing 33% to pay its share of the total project cost.
She says policing and waste diversion are also costs the town can’t control.
In March Mattatall began a campaign to have a portion of the provincial HST to go back to municipal units.
Mayor Mattatall says she’s received a lot of support from other small towns, however nothing yet from the province.
Here’s a link to the letter: https://www.town.shelburne.ns.ca/
