PORT HAWKESURY: The town is satisfied with the amount it received to offset the negative economic consequences of COVID-19.
During the regular monthly meeting of Port Hawkesbury Town Council on December 1, town councillor Hughie MacDougall wanted to know why he found out from The Reporter about the town receiving $647,656 from the Safe Restart Agreement between the provincial and federal governments, before town staff let him know.
“I would rather hear anything pertaining to that from staff, rather than an e-mail to me from The Reporter,” MacDougall noted. “I called a few of the councillors to ask them if they heard anything and they said, ‘no.’ A day or two later, we get an e-mail saying we received it.”
MacDougall recalled that at a town council meeting on October 6, he requested information from provincial and federal officials about the negative financial impacts from COVID-19 on the town, as well as to determine how funding for municipalities will be calculated.
MacDougall said he raised the matter multiple times, including a meeting with Cape Breton-Canso MP Mike Kelloway, as well as inquiries with federal and provincial municipal organizations.
“We brought this up as a council, I know I did two or three times, and we brought it up with our MP at a meeting also that we had,” MacDougall recalled. “I don’t know about the rest of council but I was lobbying, calling organizations, the [Federation of Nova Scotia Municipalities], and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities trying to get information.”
Chief Administrative Office Terry Doyle said the town received it at the same time as the media but they wanted to verify the numbers before publicizing the information. He agreed with MacDougall that the information could have been made available sooner.
“It was a different value than we were led to believe,” he told council. “It was a huge win for the Town of Port Hawkesbury.”
Director of finance Erin MacDonald said she was “surprised” when she saw the corporate payment from the province had been placed in the town’s account so quickly, and like Doyle, she made calls to determine exactly where the money came from.
MacDonald said she was concerned that the funding was going to be based on Gas Tax Funds, which is based on population, and works against small rural towns.
“I’m very happy we received the funding,” she said. “It was based on information that was provided probably three months prior.”
In June, the NSFM published and presented to the province the “COVID-19: Lost Revenue Report.” Through a survey of municipal leaders, the report indicated local governments could have a $66.5 million revenue shortfall because of the pandemic.
In addition to the NSFM, the Association of Municipal Administrators of Nova Scotia also reviewed and agreed to the one-time funding allocation.