With just two of the seven municipalities expressing even a passing interest, amalgamation is not on the table in Northumberland County.
Commissioning a third-party consultant to look at finding efficiencies through cost-sharing will definitely be on the table, however, after each of the seven municipalities responded to the county with their preferred restructuring options.
Northumberland proposed two options to its member communities: a full amalgamation or Option B, a “detailed study” of several services with recommendations that could lead to efficiencies, cost savings and enhanced benefits.
Other areas under consideration included:
Financial Systems – with the county and six of the seven of the municipalities using an expiring financial software system a switch is needed
Roads Asset Management and Operations – a review of service delivery models and potential “redistribution” of road and bridge assets between the upper and lower tiers
Water and Wastewater Services– there was an interest in exploring opportunities for alternate service delivery models to ensure compliance with …