Region of Queens Mayor Scott Christian and his fellow councillors at a town hall session at the Liverpool Fire Hall in October. (Rick Conrad / File photo)

A citizens committee is considering recommending significant raises for Queens County’s mayor and councillors.

The five-person group of volunteers appointed by Region of Queens council to review elected officials’ remuneration had their second meeting on Friday.

They agreed that the mayor’s position should be considered a full-time job. They also agreed to recommend that it increase to $68,752 a year from the current $48,033.

That reflects the current salary of the mayor in the West Hants Regional Municipality.

Councillors could see a bigger percentage bump. Committee members discussed how the annual pay for a regional councillor of $24,286 is less than minimum wage, based on a 30-hour work week.

After considering the West Hants councillor rate of $34,376, they discussed raising the salary for a Queens councillor to $41,496. 

Committee members split on that. Three supported the higher rate, while two others voted against it.

Kerry Morash said it would be difficult to justify that kind of increase to residents.

Pamela Brennan said she supports higher pay for councillors, especially in the age of social media.

“We live in a time when elected officials are targets for abuse, targets for frustration,” she said, adding that as an elected official, “potentially, you put your employable future at risk.”

She said that a higher rate of pay could encourage more people to consider running for municipal council. District 6 was the only area that was uncontested in the 2024 election. 

Committee chair Christopher Clarke, also a former mayor, said after the meeting that it’s a balancing act.

“You fall between two stools,” he told QCCR.

“On the one hand, you want to compensate people who run for office properly. And they deserve that. 
On the other hand, you’ve got to be cognizant of the fact that Queens is one of the poorest municipalities in the province. You’ve got to make sure that whatever you do doesn’t add too great a burden on the taxpayer.”

The committee’s Tara Druzina said if the new salaries are recommended by the committee and approved by council, the cost would be the equivalent of an extra $24 a year per taxpayer.

It’s important to note that the committee has not yet decided on its final recommendations to council. It will meet again on Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. in council chambers. That meeting is open to the public.

Committee members are set to discuss the rate of pay for deputy mayor, among other issues.

While they focused on West Hants for much of their discussion Friday, they’re also looking at other municipalities with a similar population or budget size.

“So we’ve been using West Hants as our comparison,” Clarke said. 

“It is a reasonably fair comparison. Population-wise, it’s more, they have more councillors. 
We’ve also been cross-referencing to the Town of Bridgewater, for example, where we’re very comparable in size, number of councillors, budget. We’ve looked at the (Municipality of the County) of Annapolis.”

The committee also briefly discussed pension options for elected officials. Some Nova Scotia municipalities allow their council members to participate in a pension plan. But the committee did not reach a consensus on that issue in their Friday meeting.

Currently, pay for Region of Queens council and the mayor is adjusted after every election. 

Any raises are calculated by using an amount equal to the cumulative percentage of the average salary increase of all region employees over the past four years or by the cumulative consumer price index over the same period, whichever is less. 

The region has had the same policy since 2018.

The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg’s mayor is paid $59,377 a year, while councillors make $29,562. The deputy mayor gets $40,208. Members of council can also participate in a health and dental benefits package and be part of the provincial public service pension plan, which MODL belongs to as an employer.

The committee is due to report back to Region of Queens council by Feb. 28. Councillors will have the final say on how they are compensated.

Committee members are: Christopher Clarke, Velta Vikmanis, Tara Druzina, Kerry Morash and Pamela Brennan.

Two staff members are helping them with research and background. They are Holly McConnell, the region’s director of people and culture, and Alex Wilson, the region’s policy analyst and strategic initiatives co-ordinator.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

The Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board has approved increases for customers of the Region of Queens Water Utility. (Rick Conrad)

More than 1,200 water utility customers in Liverpool and Brooklyn will see a significant spike in their bills this year.

In a decision released Dec. 22, the Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board has approved an 85 per cent increase in water bills for customers of the Region of Queens Water Utility. Once the full increases take effect, it will mean an extra $300 per year for most residential customers.

The new rates took effect Jan. 1, but the board also ordered the utility to phase in the increases to 2027 to help mitigate “rate shock”. It also ordered that interest on the utility’s debt to the municipality be eliminated, and to adjust the utility’s earnings and debt forecasts.

“The Board finds that the utility is in a difficult position,” board members wrote.

“The Board also finds that, other than the minor adjustments directed above, the required revenues in the application are just and reasonable, and necessary to produce safe, reliable water. Yet its rate increases clearly fall within the definition of ‘rate shock’.”

The average residential customer will now pay $531.28 a year, an immediate 60 per cent increase. It will eventually rise to $664.08 in 2027.

At a hearing on Nov. 19, the region said the utility needed to increase rates dramatically to deal with a mounting $1.4-million deficit.

Mayor Scott Christian told QCCR this week that the board’s decision allows the water utility to pay off some of its deficit and continue to provide good-quality drinking water to its customers.

“I think it’s a fair judgement. It gets us to a place where we can run a water utility in a sustainable way, while helping to cushion the blow a little bit to the consumer in terms of the spike in that rate.”

In November, regional councillors approved a utility assistance rebate for water customers on low incomes. People are eligible for up to a $200 annual break on their water bills.

With that rebate applied, the municipality projects less than a one per cent increase this year for people in the lowest income bracket and about a 40 per cent increase by 2027.

Christian said he understands that even with the rebate, some people will still struggle with the higher water costs.

“The utility for a long time was run in a way that didn’t position us to have a sustainable, solvent utility. I understand for sure that people are having a tough time making ends meet. Any additional cost to folks for running a household is always challenging.”

The Queens Community Health Board had opposed the rate increases at the November hearing.

Board chair Tara Druzina did not want to do an interview this week, but said in an emailed statement that the board is concerned about the size of the rate increases “and the impact they will have on households already under financial pressure.”

She applauded council’s adoption of the rebate, but said the region still needs to address affordability concerns for all users.

The review board also “strongly encouraged” the municipality to begin replacing customers’ water meters, most of which are at least 50 years old.

A 2024 report for the utility found that it was losing up to 69 per cent of its treated water, either through leaks or because the old water meters were inaccurate.

“So it was a bit of a moment of clarity for me that sure, some of it is seeping, weeping, leaking, older pipes,” Christian said.

“But then some of it too is that we’re actually delivering the water and it’s being underreported. It helps us to identify an action in addressing that and getting those metres in place that can actually more accurately report that water consumption.”

Christian said the municipality will begin working on replacing those old meters.

He said he’s not sure when the rate increases will be reflected on people’s water bills.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Members of the Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board held a water rate hearing in Liverpool on Wednesday. (Rick Conrad)

If the Region of Queens Water Utility doesn’t double its rates over the next three years, the whole system is in jeopardy.

That’s what a consultant hired by the region told provincial regulators on Wednesday during a hearing into the utility’s request for an immediate 85 per cent increase, part of its overall 102 per cent requested hike in rates.

Bruce Fisher, chair of the three-member Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board panel, asked Gerry Eisnor of G.A. Eisnor Consulting, what would happen if the board held the rate increases to 15 to 20 per cent.

“I don’t want to be cynical, but really, if you cut that much out of this budget, I would be buying bottled water,” Eisnor said.

“You will not have a reliable system. 
I think if you cut this back enough, you’re either going to have a water quality issue or a water delivery issue. Either way, you’re in trouble. … This utility needs to be brought up to be funded properly so it can go forward. It will not be what I would call a sustainable, successful operation.”

Eisnor and consultant Blaine Rooney wrote the water rate study that forms the region’s application for an increase for its 1,233 customers in Liverpool and Brooklyn.

Eisnor said the Queens water utility has been undercharging customers for years, especially when compared to other municipalities like Mahone Bay and Shelburne with similar water quality.

The region made its case on Wednesday for rate hikes that the Queens Community Health Board has called “unreasonable, unjust and unprecedented”.

Even the appeals board’s Fisher referred to the application as “rate shock”.

“We don’t typically see 100 per cent rate increases,” he said during Wednesday’s hearing.

Board members questioned region officials on why they need such a large rate hike, their budget assumptions, staffing, the system’s water leaks and loss, and other issues.

They heard that the municipality has been subsidizing the water utility for at least 20 years, as losses have been covered by general revenue.

And that meant that deficiencies in the system were left unaddressed.

Until 2021, the region didn’t have a good handle on the utility’s expenses. The region’s finance director Joanne Veinotte told the board on Wednesday that when she was hired, she began to implement stricter accounting measures. 

Eisnor said there had been no inventory control over things like water meters, which in many cases are 30 to 40 years old and need to be replaced.

“I don’t think the protocols and procedures were as rigorous as they should have been,” Eisnor said. 

“It was worse than we thought,” Veinotte said. “It took us a while to sort through it.”

But when Fisher asked for specifics on exactly what that means, Eisnor and Veinotte could not provide them.

The utility is also struggling with aging infrastructure, Eisnor said, with much of the piping dating from the 1880s. 

The region says it needs to jack up rates immediately to stem a $516,000 deficit. If rates don’t rise, that deficit is expected to swell to more than $3 million by 2027/28.

The Queens Community Health Board intervened in the rate hearing. It said the region’s initial first-year 106 per cent rate hike request was too high, especially for vulnerable residents on fixed incomes.

After they objected, the region lowered its Year 1 request by taking some funds from other budget reserves and smoothing out depreciation charges over a longer period.

Tara Druzina, chair of the community health board, said during the hearing on Wednesday that she doesn’t fault the current council and staff for the water utility’s problems.

“We know this is long in coming, this has been 22 years. But the 22 years has resulted in a significant burden for our vulnerable population.”

Almost 20 per cent of water utility customers are in arrears.

She welcomed the region’s recently approved utility assistance rebate of $200 a year for people with household incomes of $35,000 or less. But she said the cap should be higher, to match the low-income cutoff for a family of four in Queens County of $48,000.

After the hearing, Druzina said she’s confident the appeals board will consider the impact on low-income residents.

“We understand that the utility needs to run a balanced budget. But now I also think that the utility and the appeals board understand that there are a lot of people out there who just cannot afford a 115 per cent increase. 
So hopefully we can strike a balance. And I’m hopeful for that, and the board seems to be siding on that as well.”

Mayor Scott Christian told QCCR that the region is trying to put the utility back on solid financial ground.

“So I think that it is a mess. It’s a mess that was a long time in the making. 
It’s going to take us a while to get out of it. All we can do is make the next responsible wise decision. And I think that the experts that we’ve convened to look at this file and the commitments that we’ve made in the future of the water utility, I think we’re headed in the right direction.”

Members of the regulatory board asked the region to provide more information on five items by Nov. 28. After that, the board has 90 days to make a decision.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

The Region of Queens is asking for a lower immediate rise in water rates. (Daan Mooij via Unsplash)

The Region of Queens is no longer asking for an immediate 106 per cent increase in water rates.

But customers will still have to pay about 115 per cent more over three years if the municipality’s application to the Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board is successful.

In documents filed with the board on Nov. 7, the region is now asking for a 43 per cent increase in the first year for the 1,200 water utility customers in Liverpool and Brooklyn. The region has diverted about $1.6 million in budget reserves to blunt the first-year increase and spread it over a longer period.

“The utility did not get in its present state overnight and it cannot be restored to its proper efficient and effective state overnight, but the process has started, and it needs a sustainable rate structure to accomplish this,” Willa Thorpe, the region’s chief administrative officer, wrote in the revised rate hike request. 

“If the current underfunding is not addressed now it just pushes the problem forward and adds unnecessary debt payments for future customers.”

• Read the region’s submission to the Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board
• Read the Queens Community Health Board’s submission to the regulatory board

Before the region filed its revised rate hike request, the Queens Community Health Board filed a comprehensive objection to the planned increases, calling them “unreasonable, unjust and unprecedented”. 

The board is the only registered intervenor in the hearing, though it has letters of support from the Queens County Food Bank, Liverpool Curling Club, Queens Transit and the Queens Care Society.

Board chair Tara Druzina told QCCR this week that many people can’t afford to pay up to an extra $461 a year for water services.

“I think the perspective of the community health board is the shock of the increase that is coming forward,” she said.

“The municipality does need to run a balanced utility and we’re aware of that. It’s just that the 115ish per cent over three years, while there’s such a large percentage of water loss, is this concerning part we have, particularly for our vulnerable residents.”

The board will hold a public hearing on the region’s water rate request on Wed., Nov. 19 at 10:30 a.m. in council chambers at the region’s offices on White Point Road.

Druzina said it’s important for residents to have their say at the hearing.

“The board members, like at a council meeting, need to know the perspective of the community impacted.”

Anybody can speak at the hearing, but you must notify the board by Fri., Nov. 14, by email at board@novascotia.ca, by phone at 902-424-1333 or 1-844-809-0010. You can also send written comments to the board by email or by sending a letter to the Clerk of the Board at P.O. Box 1692, Unit “M”, Halifax, NS B3J 3S3 by Nov. 14.

The region says it needs to raise rates by more than 100 per cent to deal with an $800,000 deficit.

The utility has operated at a loss for five consecutive years, since 2020. It’s also been struggling to keep a lid on significant leaks in the system, losing up to 69 per cent of its water each year through faulty water mains and other unrepaired damage. In a 2024 study commissioned by the region, consultants said that leakage rate placed it in the “worst” category compared to other utilities.

“The people of Queens County face a choice made by others: pay dramatically more for a service that wastes two-thirds of its water or fight for regulatory protection,” the health board wrote in its submission.

“The (regulatory) board has both the authority and the obligation to protect ratepayers from this injustice while ensuring utility viability. We recognize the challenges faced by small rural utilities. However, four years of declining performance despite board direction and significant spending demonstrates problems beyond normal operational difficulties. We are not asking the board to let the utility fail. We are asking the board to protect the people of Queens County from bearing the full cost of that failure.”

The community health board points to the utility buying used water meters from Halifax that were already past their prime, staffing shortages, improper oversight and the ongoing system leaks.

The health board wants the provincial regulator to approve a 15 to 20 per cent increase and impose mandatory targets to reduce system leaks: 10 per cent reductions a year by 2028, with a long-term reduction goal to the industry standard of 30 per cent.

In a letter to the regulatory board after the region’s revised rate request, Druzina says the lower proposed hike in the first year is better, but “without binding performance accountability measures, however, it does not address the operational failures that created this crisis or prevent recurrence.”

And she says the region’s recently approved $200 utility assistance rebate for those on low incomes is “insufficient and unsustainable”.

In a county with a 31.5 per cent child poverty rate and where more than 30 per cent of residents are over 65, Druzina says even with the rebate, people will struggle to cope with a 43 per cent immediate increase.

Recent decisions by the regulatory board have approved water rate increases of up to 17.8 per cent in Sherbrooke on Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore and 7.2 per cent over two years for Halifax.

The Queens proposal “represents the largest rate increase request in documented Nova Scotia regulatory history”, Druzina writes.

In addition to an interim hike of no more than 15 to 20 per cent, the health board wants future increases tied to reducing the water wasted through leaks in the system. It also wants the provincial regulator to order an independent system audit and quarterly public reporting, and to require a performance-based rate plan with accountability measures.

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Eric Fry speaks during a public hearing Wednesday on proposed changes to the Region of Queens land use bylaw. (Region of Queens YouTube)

It will take a little longer to find out if the old Stedman’s building on Main Street in Liverpool will have a new life as an apartment complex.

The Region of Queens held a public hearing on Wednesday on proposed changes to the municipality’s land use bylaw that would allow for more residential space on the ground floor of buildings in the downtown commercial district.

At their meeting afterward, councillors voted to seek legal advice on whether they have the authority to make one of those changes.

Developer Eric Fry wants to turn 194 Main St. into 18 residential units, four of which would be “hotel suites”, and two main-level commercial units of 300 square feet each.

Fry bought the 30,000-square-foot building earlier this year and has been trying to get municipal approval for his apartment proposal since February. His original plan was for 16 residential units, indoor parking, storage and no commercial space. Councillors refused to change the bylaw to allow that to proceed.

After Fry listed his property for sale, the region’s planning advisory committee agreed to consider a revised a proposal and return it council.

• READ MORE ABOUT 194 MAIN ST. HERE

Municipal rules require that at least half of a building’s ground floor must be commercial space.

On Wednesday, Fry spoke briefly in support of the bylaw changes. Four Liverpool residents spoke against them.

Tara Druzina said she wasn’t sure whether councillors had the authority under the Municipal Government Act to dictate who uses space in a building. A proposed change would forbid the owner or property manager from using one of the commercial spaces as an office.

“Municipalities regulate land-use types and their characteristics, but discriminating against and between identical uses based on ownership arrangements may exceed municipal jurisdiction,” she told councillors.

Denaige McDonnell said she was concerned that councillors were missing the mark in trying to change the bylaw.

“A common argument for expanding residential use is that there isn’t enough demand for commercial space, but deeper issues are at play here,” she said.

“
Many of our commercial buildings simply do not meet current building code, accessibility, or safety standards that are required for occupancy or for commercial use. And really what that’s telling us is that it’s not a demand problem, but it’s a readiness problem.”

McDonnell said the region is trying to change its bylaw to appease one property owner without having a comprehensive commercial plan.

“Structural changes like this need to be informed by clear, data-driven, county-wide strategy, not as reactions to individual development proposals.

“This proposed bylaw change may offer a short-term perception of flexibility and reward a single proponent, but it comes at a long-term strategic cost. Our commercial spaces are a very valuable part of our community. 
They are our most valuable assets for the future, and they deserve to be protected, planned and leveraged as part of a larger vision for economic sustainability.”

Susan McGibbon said she was worried the process is moving too quickly without a proper assessment of business in downtown Liverpool. 

“I’m not saying that is your fault, council. This goes way back. 
There’s been no development of an economic plan for the downtown for a very long time. So there’s no research, there’s no data, and there’s been little to no expertise in the understanding of commercial and retail in the downtown.”

Paul Deveau pointed out that during public consultations in the spring, residents and business owners said that there needed to be a downtown plan that protects commercial space while adding more housing.

“But here we are a few months later, and you’re again trying to amend a bylaw without a comprehensive plan.” 

Later in the meeting, councillors decided that they couldn’t make a decision on the proposed changes until they got legal advice.

Mayor Scott Christian asked whether staff sought advice on the wording around what landlords can do with the commercial space. 

Staff conceded they had not.

Council asked staff to have that information ready for their next meeting on Nov. 25.

Until then, the land use bylaw remains unchanged. Any substantive changes would likely restart the process and require council to have another public hearing.

Once councillors voted for a legal opinion, Christian called a break and met with Fry in his office for about 15 minutes.

Afterward, Fry told QCCR that he appreciated residents’ comments and their passion for the downtown. He said he understands that council has to make sure they have authority to make the changes.

“It’s unfortunate that this wasn’t flushed out as maybe as thoughtfully as it should have been. So, I understand there is a process to remedy, so we’ll have to wait until we hear what those next steps are.” 

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Tara Druzina, representing the Queens County Food Bank, speaks to Region of Queens councillors at their regular meeting on Tuesday. (Region of Queens YouTube channel)

The Region of Queens will again be late setting its budget, though councillors hope to begin deliberations soon.

Mayor Scott Christian said this week that recent turnover in senior management has contributed to the delay. 

“It has been a challenge,” he said in remarks during council’s regular meeting on Tuesday.

“The organization has gone through significant churn within the senior management levels and we’re seeking to improve the organization, the functions in the organization to ensure that we can govern in ways that are accountable and transparent and engaging for our residents.”

Councillors fired CAO Cody Joudry in December, and the region terminated the employment of municipal clerk Pam Lovelace at the beginning of March, three months after she was hired. 

At their regular meeting this week, councillors approved interim spending limits until the 2025/26 budget is set.

Municipalities are expected to finalize their budgets by the end of March each year.

The region was also late last year with their budget talks, beginning the process in early April.

Christian told QCCR after the meeting that another reason for the delay is that the municipality is waiting for results of its water rate study, which will set charges for the region’s 1,400 water utility customers.

He said they’ll notify the public as soon as budget deliberations begin.

When they do, councillors are facing some challenges in a region with some of the highest poverty rates in Nova Scotia.

Officials with the Queens County Food Bank appealed to councillors this week to consider granting the group $15,500 in an annual rent subsidy for the next four years.

Before the food bank was forced out of a derelict municipal property in 2019 and began leasing space on Main Street, it paid no rent. But demand for their services has grown, as food costs have risen and donations have plummeted by about 50 per cent.

Just recently, the food bank was hit with a $10,000 repair bill on its two-year-old walk-in freezer. And it has committed to begin food pantries for elementary and high school students throughout the county, said Tara Druzina, the fundraising lead for the food bank.

“This highlights how the food bank constantly adapts for emergency community needs, not just providing food every Tuesday, but ensuring that vital support reaches the most vulnerable when and where needed,” she told councillors.

“These challenges illustrate why stable operational funding is critical. Without it, the food bank cannot effectively respond to growing community needs.”

Shelly Panczyk, chairperson of the food bank, said their client list has grown by about 30 per cent in the past few years, while the organization’s food costs have ballooned to $6,000 a month.

She says the rent subsidy is something the region provided in the past, by giving the food bank rent-free space in one of its buildings.

“Food is not all donated. 
So most of our food is bought, even though we get a truck from Feed Nova Scotia every Monday, but that’s mostly produce. But most everything else, all our canned goods and all our staples have to be bought.”

She says revenue from its thrift store has helped with those increased expenses. 

“We’ve been lucky the last four years we’ve had the thrift store open, but that can change at any time and that’s where most of our money comes from.”

Mayor Scott Christian said he didn’t want to predict how budget deliberations will go, but he acknowledged the role of local governments is becoming more complex.

“There’s an incredible amount of need in our community that we have to look at and just on balance with the pressure that puts on the ratepayer. I think all municipalities (face) significant pressure and competing priorities to figure out what to do with the limited available resources.”

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