Nova ScotiaAbout a year after Victoria County unilaterally cancelled all its funding arrangements with Baddeck, the village commission has developed a 98-page proposal that lays out the responsibility for taxes when it comes to infrastructure and services used by residents of both municipalities.Village commission has developed 98-page proposal laying out responsibilities for taxationTom Ayers · CBC News · Posted: Oct 24, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesVictoria County, which has its office in the Village of Baddeck, is considering a proposal to share the cost of services and infrastructure used by residents of both municipalities. (Tom Ayers/CBC)Despite a rocky relationship, the Village of Baddeck and neighbouring Victoria County are working on a shared services deal to divide up the tax burden fairly.This comes about a year after the county unilaterally cancelled all its funding arrangements with the Cape Breton village.Baddeck’s village commission has developed a 98-page proposal that lays out the responsibility for taxes when it comes to infrastructure and services used by residents of both municipalities.Commission chair Jennifer MacDonald said it is intended to get a public discussion going.”We’re not so much talking about numbers at this stage,” she said. “We’re just talking about, ‘Should that be seen as a piece of infrastructure that is important for the entire municipality? And if so, how do we make sure that tax dollars are being allocated in an equitable way?'”Examples include the arena, community club, sewer and water, and snow clearing on sidewalks.Baddeck village commission chair Jennifer MacDonald says the 98-page proposal is a comprehensive deal that reflects the modern usage of infrastructure and services by many county residents. (Erin Pottie/CBC)Some of the village infrastructure extends beyond its boundary with the county, and other infrastructure is used by residents from other communities.Baddeck residents pay a limited amount of taxes to the village, but also pay taxes to Victoria County at the same rate as those in other communities, such as Ingonish and Neils Harbour.No other community in Victoria County pays a local tax rate.MacDonald said the proposal is a comprehensive deal that reflects modern usage of infrastructure and services.”Ninety-plus pages, I don’t know if we can say it’s a succinct way of putting it together, but it’s a really clear package that identifies the issues and identifies our strategic direction and positions,” said MacDonald. “We really, really are looking forward to hearing back from council around how they perceive some of those issues and how they look at the partnership going forward.”Victoria County Warden Jackie Organ would not say whether the county believes the plan is fair, but says it has been sent off for legal advice and council will discuss it behind closed doors. (Tom Ayers/CBC)Victoria County Warden Jackie Organ would not say whether the county believes the plan is fair, but said it has been sent off for legal advice.”Like all proposals, we’ll go through it with a fine-tooth comb and we’ll tweak it a little bit on our side, they’ll tweak it a little bit on their side, and hopefully we can come to an agreement in the end that will benefit the whole county,” she said.MacDonald said the village developed the 98-page proposal with public input from a series of meetings and has posted it on its website. The village commission sent the proposal to the county last month and suggested they hold a joint public meeting to get input from all taxpayers.Organ said the county council will be discussing the proposal behind closed doors.Negotiations routinely held in camera”Negotiations are routinely discussed in camera to allow an open dialogue about complex legal, financial, staffing matters, etc., and we feel that it should be held in camera right now so it can be discussed openly,” she said.”The voters put … their trust in us to make the best agreements for them, so it will become public when everything is ironed out, and then the public can have a say.”Earlier this year, the county posted a notice on its website saying it was willing to discuss shared services, but calling on the village to come up with a five-year capital plan and supporting financial documents before it would agree to any funding deal. At the time, MacDonald said the two sides had a strained relationship.Since then, the village commission chair has been the subject of a code of conduct complaint made by a county staff member.Complaint may colour discussionsEarlier this month, an independent investigator determined the complaint was unfounded, clearing MacDonald, and the village commission voted to accept that finding.MacDonald said that process, which cost the village about $10,000, might have an effect on the shared services discussions.”I think it does affect our relationship,” she said.”From a personal perspective, I’m trying really hard to not let that interfere with the really important conversation that the commission and the council needs to have, but certainly it was a very difficult process to be on the receiving end of a complaint like that.”However, MacDonald said, the village commission has made the shared services proposal in good faith with the best interests of taxpayers in mind.Under the province’s new code of conduct rules, few details are made public.MORE TOP STORIESABOUT THE AUTHORTom Ayers has been a reporter and editor for 39 years. He has spent the last 21 covering Cape Breton and Nova Scotia stories. You can reach him at tom.ayers@cbc.ca.
Baddeck, Victoria County navigate rocky road toward shared services agreement
