Parrsboro misses deadline for filing financial information
Municipal Affairs Minister Mark Furey
Oops.
The Town of Parrsboro missed the Sept. 30th deadline for filing information the province uses to measure the financial health of Nova Scotia’s municipalities.
Municipal Affairs Minister Mark Furey said Parrsboro and the Municipality of Pictou were the only two of the 54 municipal units in Nova Scotia to miss the deadline.
Furey called a news conference this morning in Halifax to release the latest figures in the municipal Financial Condition Index. The index focuses on where municipalities get their revenue, how they spend their money, and how well they manage their finances. The province also publishes a municipal profile that includes information on household income, changes in population and education levels.
Alas, since Parrsboro missed the filing deadline, there are no financial figures for the years 2012/13 and 2013/14.
Parrsboro’s mayor blames problems with a complicated new software package that the town bought to help crunch the numbers. Lois Smith says, however, that the audit is now complete and the province should receive the figures soon.
Meantime, the first set of figures for 2011/12 shows that Parrsboro was performing below some financial thresholds the province has established. For example, the town relies heavily on transfer payments from the province earning it a red rating in that category. Parrsboro also has a below-threshold rating when it comes to commercial property assessment.
To view these results yourself click here and select the year 2011/12 from the Fiscal Year menu and Town of Parrsboro from the Municipality menu, then click View This Report.
You can also view Parrsboro’s municipal profile for 2011/12.
I’ll let you know when the figures for the last two years are available on the provincial website.
When I asked the Minister whether he’s satisfied, based on the 2011/12 figures, that Parrsboro is a viable town, Mark Furey seemed to choose his words carefully.
“Each of the municipalities face financial challenges, some more challenging than others.”
The Town of Parrsboro Mayor and Council really screw things up ! the only thing the town has got going for it is the works dept and its workers. they do good job for what little budget they got. this town has high Taxes and Old age and people on fixed incomes get screwed over with the high taxes and Now this The Town of Parrsboro missed the Sept. 30th deadline for filing information the province uses to measure the financial health of Nova Scotia’s municipalities. Misses Smith and Misses Ward should be replaced with someone who can do the JOB better , ITs Very Sad to see such incompetence….
So Mr. Bond if you feel you can do better offer for council and see how difficult this position is.
This is what happens when we have a community being run by people who r well off financially and have no idea of what of taxpayers r being put thru . We have two people on council that R well off financially and do nothing but tax us as if we r all rich . Then the rest of council are people that do absolutely nothing for the people and why are they there ? It is because of the money . They should all resign and let other people run our town, let the people of our community make the decisions and not these people who are in power now. Or they can be in power and get their easy money for doing nothing but at least let the people of parrsboro decide its future . Call a public meeting but they won’t because they know things will be different . Very different and our community has to be run very differently for us all to survive this MESS !!!!!
Hmmmm this is old news and simply criticizing the current administration without showing us what they are willing to do themselves. With the current state of tax revenue with no big industry in town to derive a tax base from there is not money to base revenues on…if the mindset is to bash people for their own failures then they perhaps need to be reminded of their own failures. I remember back a few years ago when the Scotts Mill was closing and you were running for Mayor you were asked what u were willing to do and your response, “Go on welfare” That is not what these men wanted or needed to hear considering my dad was one of those men. The town has always been a seasonal town with the bulk of its income on the town’s history its positioning off the beaten track, the fact it doesn’t have bus service and the shipping of food and supplies costs more so this is not a new thing. Instead of attacking those who are doing the job, offer the alternative minus the bias towards them. there is a reason for this but i dont believe it’s political as much as it is personal.
These figures are all truely misleading. e.g. If the town does not spend money on its infrastructure , on youth programs, on its investments for the future then it will show a balanced budget or surplus when in fact it is facing total collapse. In Parrsboro the truth shows up in property values and a vibrant economy. Neither exist here . In all endevours the success or failures start from the top management downward through an organization. The town has not planned for a future thus leaving to fate its future, rather like hoping to win a lottery without buying a ticket.