Lincoln village vs. local service district debate heats up

A plebiscite on whether the local service district of Lincoln should become a village is still a month away, but people on both sides of the issue are already competing for public support.

A recent feasibility study has recommended incorporation of the small community, located between Fredericton and Oromocto, and the chair ofan advisory committee for the local service district hopes residents will support the change.

"For the residential homeowner like myself and other retirees and other people, you know, raising families in this community, their taxes will go down and they will go down substantially in the first yearspecifically because of a change in the way the province charges us for road maintenance," said Jim Arbeau.

Business owners in the local service district, however, will see their tax rates increase because they will start paying for policing and road costs, said Arbeau.

Local business owner, Stan Barrett, of Phil's Auto and Recreation, is among those campaigning for the status quo.

He contends homeowners shouldn't be swayed by initial lower tax rates because other villages have ended up paying more in the long term. New Maryland, for example, started out with a rate of17 cents and is now paying $1.08, said Barrett.

The average village pays about $1.51, he said, suggesting the rate of 58 centsproposed for Lincoln is unheard of.

"The advantage of being a local service district for Lincoln is that we live between Oromocto and Fredericton and we have very, very little that we do not receive, and receive well," he said.

"We get great police service, we get great fire service, ambulance service. We have nobody coming in and telling us what to do in our backyard."

Barrett said business taxes would jump to about $2.85 from the current $2.25 over four years as a villagea 40 per cent increase per $100 of assessed value.

He, like other businesses, would have to find ways to cut costs, he said. "The dollar impact is substantial, and not just this year."

Barrett is encouraging residents to get out and vote in the plebiscite on May 13.

In villages, residents can elect mayors and councils, which have the power to make local decisions.

Local service districts, on the other hand, have advisory committees and the local government minister is responsible for decisions.

The New Brunswick government is encouraging local service districts to merge with neighbouring communities.

Local Government Minister Bruce Fitch has said the existing structure of 101 municipalities, four rural communities and 266 local services districts is no longer sustainable.

In 2011, there were 371 different governing bodies in the province, 83 per cent of them had a population of fewer than 2,000 people. There were more than 250,000 people without a local government, according to Fitchs department.