Poor Financial Report Card for Oxford and Cumberland

The Town of Oxford and the Municipality of Cumberland are on the dubious list of nine Nova Scotia municipalities at risk of financial instability.

The province’s fifty municipalities are rated each year on a series of thirteen bench marks set by the province. They are measured on their debt, their tax base, and even the speed with which residents pay their taxes.

The province issues a colour-coded rating, noted in red for a problem, yellow for a concern, and green for a financial item in good shape.

The list is not new, and being on the short list for the local municipalities is also not new. However, what is new is that both are improving.

A report, out today, is based on statistics from two years ago. Since then, Oxford and Cumberland have been very watchful and have been slowly, but steadily, moving to eliminate the red flags, reduce the yellow flags, and try to hit green lights in all categories.

The county’s Director of Finance gives detailed financial statements to council with great regularity. In his most recent review, Andrew MacDonald said the county would soon move onto the good side of the province’s report card.

The Town of Oxford has been making similar moves and if assessed today would likely have a much better outcome.

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