Seven years after dissolution, Municipal Council is revisiting the Bridgetown Community Area Rate.

In 2015, during the dissolution of the Town of Bridgetown, the Bridgetown Community Area Rate was designed to capture the costs associated with maintaining levels of service provided to the former Town, such as roads and streets, planning, fire, recreation, and debt servicing. Over the past few months, members of Municipal staff have presented Council with various options for discussion in relation to eliminating, reducing, or maintaining this tax rate.

“The motivation in addressing this issue is to make sure things are fair, not only for Bridgetown residents, but for all residents throughout Annapolis County,” said CAO David Dick.

During a Special Council session on March 1^st, Councillors discussed the level of services presently offered in the community of Bridgetown and focused on determining the ones that they felt should be part of the community rate. These services included:

• Recreation
• Debts occurred by the Town of Bridgetown prior to dissolution
• General Operations – primarily costs associated with maintaining the former Town Hall
• Fire Services
• Streets & Sidewalks

“Staff will now provide Council with the costs associated with each service item and a new Bridgetown Community Area Rate will be determined. At the end of the day, we aspire to the same goal - fairness for all our residents,” CAO Dick noted.

Discussions around the Bridgetown Community Area Rate can be viewed on the County video channel.