BILL NO. 47

1st Session, 57th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
47 Elizabeth II, 1998



Government Bill



Municipal Government Act



The Honourable Wayne Gaudet
Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs



First Reading: October 27, 1998

Second Reading: November 6, 1998

Third Reading: December 3, 1998 (WITH COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS)


NOTE - If you are searching this Bill, note that it consists of ten documents.

Part I - The Municipality
Part II - Administration
Part III - Powers
Part IV - Finance
Part V - Deed Transfers
Part VI - Tax Collection
Part VII - By-laws
Part VIII - Planning and Development
Part IX - Subdivision
Part X - Fire and Emergency Services
Part XI - Electrical Services
Part XII - Streets and Highways
Part XIII - Solid-waste Resource Management
Part XIV - Sewers
Part XV - Dangerous or Unsightly Premises
Part XVI - Boundaries
Part XVII - Municipal Incorporation
Part XVIII - Villages
Part XIX - Municipal Affairs
Part XX - Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy
Part XXI - General
Part XXII - Halifax Regional Municipality
Part XXIII - Transitional and Repeal
Schedule A - Forms
Schedule B - Statements of Provincial Interest

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An Act Respecting
Municipal Government

WHEREAS the Province recognizes that municipalities have legislative authority and responsibility with respect to the matters dealt with in this Act;

AND WHEREAS municipalities are a responsible order of government accountable to the people;

Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:

1 This Act may be cited as the Municipal Government Act.

2 The purpose of this Act is to

(a) give broad authority to councils, including broad authority to pass by-laws, and to respect their right to govern municipalities in whatever ways the councils consider appropriate within the jurisdiction given to them;

(b) enhance the ability of councils to respond to present and future issues in their municipalities; and

(c) recognize that the functions of the municipality are to

3 In this Act,

(a) "administrator" means the employee of a municipality designated by the chief administrative officer to be responsible for the provisions of this Act respecting dangerous or unsightly premises, except where the context otherwise requires, and includes a person acting under the supervision and direction of the administrator;

(b) "assessment appeal region" means an assessment appeal region designated pursuant to the Assessment Act;

(c) "assessment roll" means the assessment roll required to be prepared pursuant to the Assessment Act;

(d) "auditor" means the auditor appointed for the municipality pursuant to this Act, except where the context otherwise requires;

(e) "automatic machine" means a mechanical or electronic device that is operated by the introduction of a coin, counter or slug, and includes a vending machine but does not include automatic scales, telephone apparatus or a machine that is licensed by the Province or an agency of the Province;

(f) "Board" means the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board;

(g) "building service connection" means a piping system that conveys sewage, liquid waste, stormwater or surface runoff from a property to a municipal sewer;

(h) "business occupancy assessment" has the same meaning as in the Assessment Act;

(i) "chief administrative officer" means the chief administrative officer of a municipality;

(j) "clerk" means the clerk of a municipality;

(k) "combined sewer" means a sewer intended to function simultaneously as a storm sewer and a sanitary sewer;

(l) "commercial property" has the same meaning as in the Assessment Act;

(m) "community" means an area in a regional municipality entitled to elect a community council pursuant to this Act;

(n) "community council" means the council of a community established pursuant to this Act;

(o) "council" means the council of a municipality, except as otherwise defined in this Act;

(p) "councillor" means a council member other than the mayor;

(q) "county or district municipality" means a municipality incorporated as a municipality of a county or district pursuant to Chapter 295 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Municipal Act;

(r) "dangerous or unsightly" means partly demolished, decayed, deteriorated or in a state of disrepair so as to be dangerous, unsightly or unhealthy, and includes property containing

and includes property, a building or structure

(s) "debenture" includes any financial instrument approved by the Nova Scotia Municipal Finance Corporation;

(t) "deed" means an instrument by which land is conveyed, transferred, assigned or vested in a person, but does not include a will, mortgage, agreement of sale or lease for a term of less than twenty-one years;

(u) "Deputy Minister" means the Deputy Minister of the Department of Housing and Municipal Affairs;

(v) "derelict vehicle, vessel, item of equipment or machinery " includes a vehicle, vessel, item of equipment or machinery that

(w) "Director of Assessment" means the Director of Assessment appointed pursuant to the Assessment Act, and includes a person acting under the supervision and direction of the Director;

(x) "dog" means a dog, male or female, or an animal that is the result of the breeding of a dog and any other animal;

(y) "drainage master plan" means a detailed plan of stormwater runoff and the courses and channels of it, including floodplains, for an entire area of drainage;

(z) "drainage plan" means a detailed plan of stormwater runoff and the courses and channels of it, including floodplains, for one or more parts of an area of drainage for all lands tributary to, or carrying drainage from, land that is proposed to be subdivided;

(aa) "dwelling unit" means living quarters that

(ab) "elector" means elector as defined in the Municipal Elections Act;

(ac) "emergency services" means services related to the provision of emergency services, including fire services, emergency medical services, search and rescue, water rescue and assistance and protection for people and property in the event of disasters including, but not limited to, floods, hurricanes, motor vehicle accidents and chemical spills;

(ad) "engineer" means the engineer of the municipality and includes a person acting under the supervision and direction of the engineer;

(ae) "farm property" has the same meaning as in the Assessment Act;

(af) "fire department" means an incorporated body that provides fire services and that may, at its option, provide one or more other emergency services, and includes a fire or emergency services department of a municipality, village, fire protection district or other body corporate;

(ag) "fire protection district" has the same meaning as in the Rural Fire District Act;

(ah) "fire services" means services related to the prevention and suppression of fires;

(ai) "fiscal year" means the period from April 1st in one year to March 31st in the following year, including both dates;

(aj) "forest property" has the same meaning as in the Assessment Act;

(ak) "grading" means the alteration of land levels, including the addition or removal of topsoil or other material of any kind, and includes a change in land that alters the permeability of the soil;

(al) "improve" includes lay out, open, construct, repair and maintain;

(am) "incorporation date" means the date prescribed by the Governor in Council on which a regional municipality is established;

(an) "mayor" means the council member elected at large to be the chair of the council;

(ao) "Minister" means the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs;

(ap) "mobile canteen" means a vehicle used for the display, storage, transportation or sale of food or beverages by a mobile vendor;

(aq) "mobile vendor" means a person who vends from a mobile canteen or a stand;

(ar) "municipal government" means a municipal unit, village or service commission in the area to be incorporated as a regional municipality, and includes every authority, board, commission, corporation or other entity of that municipal unit, village or service commission and every joint authority, board, commission, committee or other entity involving that municipal unit, village or service commission;

(as) "municipal highway" means a highway owned by a municipality, pursuant to this Act, the Public Highways Act or otherwise;

(at) "municipal sewer" means a sewer controlled by a municipality or a village;

(au) "municipal unit" means a city, a town or a county or district municipality in the area to be incorporated as a regional municipality;

(av) "municipal water utility" means a utility owned, operated or managed by a municipality, village or service commission either directly or through a board or commission, for the purpose of producing, transmitting, delivering or furnishing water directly or indirectly to or for the public;

(aw) "municipality" means a regional municipality, town or county or district municipality, except where the context otherwise requires or as otherwise defined in this Act;

(ax) "oversized sewer" means a sewer that is designed to benefit lands that are in addition to lands that will benefit from the sewer immediately upon its completion;

(ay) "owner" includes

(az) "policy" means a resolution of the council that is required, pursuant to this Act, to be recorded in the by-law records of a municipality;

(ba) "private on-site sewage disposal system" means a private system for sewage disposal serving one lot;

(bb) "private wastewater facilities" means wastewater facilities that are privately owned and serving two or more properties;

(bc) "public place" includes streets, parks and entrances, halls, corridors, washrooms, parking areas, driveways, roads, streets, sidewalks and alleys of a shopping centre, shopping mall or other shopping complex, recreation centre, restaurant and retail store;

(bd) "regional assessment appeal court" means a regional assessment appeal court appointed pursuant to the Assessment Act;

(be) "regional municipality" means a regional municipality established by, or continued pursuant to, this Act and includes the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, the Halifax Regional Municipality and the Region of Queens Municipality and the area over which each of those bodies corporate has jurisdiction;

(bf) "registered Canadian charitable organization" means a charitable organization registered pursuant to the Income Tax Act (Canada) and the regulations made pursuant to that Act;

(bg) "registrar of deeds" means a registrar of deeds appointed pursuant to the Registry Act;

(bh) "registry" means the office of the registrar of deeds for the registration district in which the land is situate;

(bi) "residential property" has the same meaning as in the Assessment Act;

(bj) "resource property" has the same meaning as in the Assessment Act;

(bk) "sale price" or "value" means the entire consideration for the sale of the property and, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, includes

(bl) "sanitary sewer" means a sewer receiving and carrying liquid and water-carried wastes and to which storm, surface or groundwaters are not intentionally admitted;

(bm) "school board" means a school board as defined in the Education Act that, from time to time, may be responsible for the provision of schools in a municipality;

(bn) "service commission" means a board, commission or corporation created by, or under the authority of, an enactment that may

but does not include a municipality, village or school board;

(bo) "sewage" means the combination of liquid and water-carried wastes from buildings, containing animal, vegetable or mineral matter in suspension or solution, together with such groundwater, surface water or stormwater as might be present;

(bp) "sewer" means a pipe or conduit for carrying sewage, groundwater, stormwater or surface runoff, and includes all sewer drains, storm sewers, clearwater sewers, storm drains and combined sewers vested in, or under the control of, a municipality;

(bq) "solid-waste management facility" means a sanitary landfill licensed pursuant to the Environment Act or a location not required to be licensed pursuant to that Act, a recycling facility, a transfer station, a waste separation facility, a household hazardous waste facility, an incinerator, a composting site or any other facility for the management of solid waste including collection, recycling, treatment and disposal;

(br) "special purpose tax" means a tax that the council, by resolution, declares to be a special purpose tax;

(bs) "special purpose tax account" means the account to which the proceeds of a special purpose tax are credited;

(bt) "special sewer connection" means a connection from a building on a property to a sewer that is not situate in the portion of the street on which the property immediately abuts;

(bu) "stand" includes a table, showcase, bench, rack, pushcart, wagon or wheeled vehicle or device that can be moved without the assistance of a motor and is used for the display, storage, transportation or sale of food, beverages or other merchandise by a mobile vendor;

(bv) "stormwater" means water from precipitation of all kinds, and includes water from the melting of snow and ice, groundwater discharge and surface water;

(bw) "stormwater system" means a method or means of carrying stormwater, including ditches, swales, sewers, drains, canals, ravines, gullies, pumping stations, retention ponds, streams, watercourses, floodplains, ponds, springs, creeks, streets or private roads, roadways or driveways;

(bx) "storm sewer" means a sewer that carries stormwater and surface runoff water, excluding sewage;

(by) "street" means a public street, highway, road, lane, sidewalk, thoroughfare, bridge, square and the curbs, gutters, culverts and retaining walls in connection therewith, except as otherwise defined in this Act;

(bz) "taxes" includes municipal rates, area rates, change in use tax, forest property tax, recreational property tax, capital charges, one-time charges, local improvement charges and any rates, charges or debts prescribed, by the enactment authorizing them, to be a lien on the property;

(ca) "tax sale" includes a sale by public auction or a sale by tender, for the purpose of collecting taxes;

(cb) "treasurer" means the treasurer of a municipality, and includes a person acting under the supervision and direction of the treasurer;

(cc) "tree" includes a bush, shrub and hedge;

(cd) "vending" means the sale, or offering for sale, of

(ce) "vending machine" means a mechanical or electronic device that

(cf) "village" means a village continued or incorporated pursuant to this Act;

(cg) "village commissioner" means a commissioner of a village;

(ch) "warden" means the council member chosen by the council of a county or district municipality to be the chair of the council;

(ci) "wastewater facilities" means the structures, pipes, devices, equipment, processes or other things used, or intended, for the collection, transportation, pumping or treatment of sewage and disposal of the effluent;

(cj) "water system" means the source, structures, pipes, hydrants, meters, devices, equipment or other things used, or intended, for the collection, transportation, pumping or treatment of water.

PART I

THE MUNICIPALITY

4 Every municipality incorporated at the date this Act comes into force is subject to this Act.

5 (1) The inhabitants of the County of Cape Breton are, and continue to be, a body corporate under the name "Cape Breton Regional Municipality".

(2) The inhabitants of the County of Halifax are, and continue to be, a body corporate under the name "Halifax Regional Municipality".

(3) The inhabitants of the County of Queens are, and continue to be, a body corporate under the name "Region of Queens Municipality".

6 (1) A reference in an enactment to a municipality pursuant to the Municipal Act, city, town, municipality of a county or district or rural municipality includes a regional municipality.

(2) A reference in an enactment to the

(a) mayor of a city or town; or

(b) warden of a municipality of a county or district, a rural municipality or a municipality pursuant to the Municipal Act,

includes the mayor of a regional municipality.

7 (1) The inhabitants, other than the inhabitants of an incorporated town, of each of

(a) the counties of Annapolis, Antigonish, Colchester, Cumberland, Inverness, Kings, Pictou, Richmond and Victoria; and

(b) the districts of Argyle, Barrington, Chester, Clare, Digby, East Hants, Guysborough, Lunenburg, Shelburne, St. Mary's, West Hants and Yarmouth,

are and continue to be bodies corporate under the name of the "Municipality of the (County or District) of ........".

(2) A municipality continued pursuant to this Section is a county or district municipality.

(3) A reference in an enactment to a municipality of a county or district, rural municipality or municipality pursuant to the Municipal Act is a reference to a county or district municipality.

(4) A reference in an enactment to the warden of a municipality of a county or district, rural municipality or municipality pursuant to the Municipal Act is a reference to the mayor or warden of a county or district municipality.

(5) The powers and jurisdiction of a county or district municipality do not include an incorporated town within the boundaries of the county or district municipality.

8 The inhabitants of an incorporated town are and continue to be a body corporate under the name of the "Town of ........".

9 The Governor in Council may, on the request of the council of a municipality, change the name of the municipality to a name chosen by the council.

10 (1) A municipality is governed by a council consisting of at least three members.

(2) One councillor shall be elected for each polling district in a county or district municipality and in a regional municipality.

(3) No more than two councillors shall be elected for each ward in a town.

11 (1) The mayor of a town or regional municipality shall be elected at large.

(2) Every person eligible to vote for a councillor of a town or regional municipality is eligible to vote for the mayor.

12 (1) The warden of a county or district municipality shall be chosen by the council members from among themselves.

(2) The term of office of the warden expires when the term of office of the council expires, unless prior to the selection of a warden, the council, by policy, adopts a shorter term of office for the warden.

(3) The warden shall be chosen

(a) at the first meeting of the council in a regular election year after the time for applying for a recount has expired; or

(b) at the first meeting of the council after the expiration of the term of a warden or when the office of warden otherwise becomes vacant.

(4) The clerk shall preside at the meeting of the council at which the warden is to be elected, until the warden is elected.

(5) If a majority of the council members are unable to agree upon the choice of a warden, the clerk shall determine the warden from the two leading candidates by lot as provided in the Municipal Elections Act.

(6) The council of a county or district municipality may, by policy, adopt rules governing the election of a warden by the council members.

(7) The council of a county or district municipality may

(a) by a vote of two thirds of the council members; and

(b) on twenty days notice in writing to the clerk, the warden and the councillors,

remove a warden from office as warden and proceed to elect a new warden.

(8) The council of a county or district municipality may, at any time not less than nine months prior to a regular municipal election, decide that the chair of the council be elected at large, in which case

(a) commencing at the next regular municipal election, a mayor shall be elected at large for the municipality;

(b) every person eligible to vote for a councillor of the municipality is eligible to vote for the mayor;

(c) the total number of council members is increased by one unless the municipality has applied to the Board and the Board has determined otherwise;

(d) subsections (1) to (7) do not apply to the municipality.

(9) A decision made pursuant to subsection (8) may not be reversed after February 15 in the year in which the first mayor is to be elected, or subsequently.

13 (1) A municipality has perpetual succession and shall have a common seal.

(2) The seal shall be kept by the clerk.

(3) The mayor or warden and clerk or the persons designated by the council by policy may sign a deed or other document to which the municipality is a party on behalf of the municipality.

14 (1) The powers of a municipality are exercised by the council.

(2) In the general exercise of its powers, the council shall take into account the principle of accessibility for its citizens with disabilities.

(3) Each council member, while in office, may administer oaths and take and receive affidavits, declarations and affirmations within the Province for use within the Province.

15 (1) The mayor or warden shall preside at all meetings of the council.

(2) During the temporary absence of the mayor or warden, the deputy mayor or deputy warden shall preside and, if neither is present, the council may appoint a person to preside from among the council members present.

(3) The mayor or warden may

(a) monitor the administration and government of the municipality; and

(b) communicate such information and recommend such measures to the council as will improve the finances, administration and government of the municipality.

16 (1) The council shall select one of its council members to be the deputy mayor or deputy warden of the council.

(2) Prior to the selection of a deputy mayor or deputy warden, the council shall determine, by policy, the term of office of the deputy mayor or deputy warden.

(3) The deputy mayor or deputy warden shall act in the absence or inability of the mayor or warden or in the event of the office of mayor or warden being vacant.

(4) The council may prescribe, by policy, additional duties and responsibilities of the deputy mayor or deputy warden.

(5) The deputy mayor or deputy warden has all the power and authority and shall perform all the duties of the mayor or warden when the deputy mayor or warden is notified that

(a) the mayor or warden is absent or unable to fulfil the duties of mayor or warden; or

(b) the office of mayor or warden is vacant.

17 (1) The mayor or a councillor may resign from office at any time by delivering to the clerk a signed resignation and such a resignation is effective on delivery by the clerk to the next meeting of the council.

(2) A resignation may not be withdrawn once it has been delivered to the clerk.

(3) A mayor or councillor who ceases to be ordinarily resident in the municipality ceases to be qualified to serve as mayor or as councillor.

(4) A mayor or councillor who, without leave of the council, is absent from three consecutive regular meetings of the council, ceases to be qualified to serve as mayor or as a councillor.

(5) When a seat on the council becomes vacant, the clerk shall report the facts to the council.

18 No council member may be employed by the municipality while a council member or for a period of six months after ceasing to be a council member.

19 (1) Notice of regular council meetings is not required.

(2) In addition to regular meetings, the council may hold such other meetings as may be necessary or expedient for the dispatch of business at such time and place as the council determines, if each council member is notified at least three days in advance.

(3) Where the mayor or warden determines that there is an emergency, the council may meet without notice or with such notice as is possible in the circumstances.

(4) The clerk shall call a meeting of the council when required to do so by the mayor or warden or upon presentation of a written request signed by a majority of the councillors.

(5) Where the council fails to meet at any time determined by law, it is not dissolved, but may hold future meetings as if there had been no failure.

(6) A meeting of the council is not an illegal or invalid meeting by reason only of

(a) a failure to give notice; or

(b) meeting elsewhere than provided in the by-laws, a policy or a notice of meeting.

20 (1) A majority of the maximum number of persons that may be elected to the council is a quorum for every meeting of the council.

(2) Where there is a vacancy in a councils numbers, the council may make a decision if a quorum is present at a meeting.

(3) Where the number of council members is reduced due to vacancies in a councils numbers below the number required for a quorum, the remaining council members may make a decision at a meeting of council if

(a) there are at least three remaining council members; and

(b) a majority of the remaining council members is present at the meeting,

but the council may not pass a by-law or policy, borrow money, set a tax rate, acquire or sell property or make any other decision that has effect after, or for a term extending beyond, the date for the election to fill the vacancies in council membership.

(4) Where the number of council members is reduced below three due to vacancies in a councils numbers, the council may not make a decision except to take such steps as may be required to fill the vacancies.

21 (1) Unless otherwise prescribed by statute, a question arising at a council meeting shall be decided by a majority of votes.

(2) Subject to the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, all council members present, including the person presiding, shall vote on a question.

(3) Unless otherwise specified in a policy, a member of the council who fails or refuses to vote on a question before the council is deemed to have voted in the negative.

(4) In the event of a tie in a vote on a question, the question is determined in the negative.

(5) The person presiding at a meeting of the council may cause to be expelled and excluded any person, including a council member, who is disrupting the proceedings of the council.

22 (1) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, council meetings are open to the public.

(2) The council may meet privately to discuss matters relating to

(a) acquisition, sale, lease and security of municipal property;

(b) setting a minimum price to be accepted by the municipality at a tax sale;

(c) personnel matters;

(d) labour relations;

(e) contract negotiations;

(f) litigation or potential litigation;

(g) legal advice eligible for solicitor-client privilege;

(h) public security.

(3) No decision shall be made at a private council meeting except a decision concerning procedural matters or to give direction to staff of, or solicitors for, the municipality.

(4) A record which is open to the public shall be made, noting the fact that council met in private and the date, but no other information.

(5) Except as provided by this or any other enactment, the meetings of a committee appointed by the council are open to the public unless the council, by policy, determines

(a) that meetings of specified committees are not public; or

(b) the circumstances under which all or parts of specified committee meetings are not public,

but where an enactment prescribes that the meetings of a committee appointed by the council are public the council may not determine otherwise.

(6) Subsections (3) and (4) apply to committee meetings or parts of them that the council has determined are not public.

23 (1) The council may make policies

(a) respecting the date, hour and place of the meetings of the council and the notice to be given for them;

(b) regulating its own proceedings and preserving order at meetings of the council;

(c) providing for committees and conferring powers and duties upon them, except the power to expend funds;

(d) providing for and fixing

(2) The council may, by policy, require that where a council member is nominated or appointed by the council to a board, commission or other position or is otherwise appointed as a representative of the municipality, any remuneration from that position, excluding reimbursement of expenses, to which that council member is entitled shall be paid to the municipality.

(3) Where

(a) an expense by a council member is authorized by an expense policy adopted by the council; or

(b) no expense policy has been adopted by the council but the expense is supported by proof that it has actually been incurred,

the expense may be reimbursed to the council member.

24 (1) The council may establish standing, special and advisory committees.

(2) Each committee shall perform the duties conferred on it by this Act, any other Act of the Legislature or the by-laws or policies of the municipality.

(3) The council may appoint persons who are not members of the council to a committee and may establish a procedure for doing so.

(4) A committee shall operate in accordance with the procedures provided in this Act and the procedural policy for the council applies to committees unless the council, by policy, decides otherwise.

(5) A member of a committee established by the council who is a council member is not entitled to additional remuneration for serving on the committee but may be reimbursed for expenses incurred as a committee member.

(6) A committee member who is not a council member may be

(a) paid an annual honorarium for serving on the committee, as determined by the council by policy, and an honorarium may be a different amount if the person is chair of a committee and honorariums may differ for different committees; and

(b) reimbursed for expenses incurred as a committee member.

(7) Where a council member is appointed to a committee, board or commission as a representative of the council, the council members appointment ceases if and when person ceases to be a council member.

25 (1) A person appointed by the council as a member of a board, commission or committee pursuant to this or any other Act of the Legislature who, without leave of the board, commission or committee, is absent from three consecutive regular meetings, ceases to be a member.

(2) The secretary of the board, commission or committee shall immediately notify the council of a vacancy, and the council shall fill the vacancy.

26 The council may establish, by policy, citizen advisory committees which shall advise the council, as directed by the council.

27 (1) The council may establish, by policy, a community committee for an area.

(2) A policy establishing a community committee shall

(a) define the boundaries of the area for which the committee is responsible and set out the duties of the committee; and

(b) include such other matters as the council deems advisable.

(3) The powers and duties of a community committee may include

(a) monitoring the provision of services to the area for which the committee is responsible and recommending the appropriate level of services, areas where additional services are required and ways in which the provision of services can be improved;

(b) the establishment of one or more advisory subcommittees;

(c) making recommendations to the council respecting any matter intended to improve conditions in the area for which the committee is responsible including, but not limited to, recommendations respecting

PART II

ADMINISTRATION

28 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the council may employ a person to be the chief administrative officer for the municipality.

(2) The council of a regional municipality shall employ a person to be the chief administrative officer for the regional municipality.

29 Where the council does not appoint a chief administrative officer, the council

(a) shall fulfil the responsibilities, and may exercise the powers, given to the chief administrative officer by this Act; and

(b) may delegate any of the responsibilities and powers of the chief administrative officer to an employee of the municipality.

30 (1) The chief administrative officer is the head of the administrative branch of the government of the municipality and is responsible to the council for the proper administration of the affairs of the municipality in accordance with the by-laws of the municipality and the policies adopted by the council.

(2) The council shall communicate with the employees of the municipality solely through the chief administrative officer, except that the council may communicate directly with employees of the municipality to obtain or provide information.

(3) The council shall provide direction on the administration, plans, policies and programs of the municipality to the chief administrative officer.

(4) No council member, committee or member of a committee established by the council shall instruct or give direction to, either publicly or privately, an employee of the municipality.

31 (1) The chief administrative officer shall

(a) coordinate and direct the preparation of plans and programs to be submitted to the council for the construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of all municipal property and facilities;

(b) ensure that the annual budget is prepared and submitted to the council;

(c) be responsible for the administration of the budget after adoption;

(d) review the drafts of all proposed by-laws and policies and make recommendations to the council with respect to them;

(e) carry out such additional duties and exercise such additional responsibilities as the council may, from time to time, direct.

(2) The chief administrative officer may

(a) attend all meetings of the council and any board, committee, commission or corporation of the municipality and make observations and suggestions on any subject under discussion;

(b) appoint, suspend and remove all employees of the municipality, with power to further delegate this authority;

(c) act, or appoint a person to act, as bargaining agent for the municipality in the negotiation of contracts between the municipality and any trade union or employee association and recommend to the council agreements with respect to them;

(d) subject to policies adopted by the council

(e) authorize, in the name of the municipality, the commencement or defence of a legal action or proceedings before a court, board or tribunal, including reporting the commencement of the legal action, defence or proceeding to the council at the next meeting and may, if the council so provides by policy, delegate this authority to employees of the municipality;

(f) where the council so provides by policy, settle a legal action or proceeding in accordance with the policy.

(3) A lease executed by the chief administrative officer is as binding on the municipality as if it had been specifically authorized by the council and executed by the mayor or warden and clerk on behalf of the municipality.

(4) Notwithstanding subsections 33(1), 37(1), 39(1) and Section 41, the chief administrative officer may, with the consent of council, perform the duties of the clerk, treasurer, engineer and administrator, or any of them, pursuant to this Act.

(5) The chief administrative officer may from time to time appoint an employee of the municipality to act in the place of the chief administrative officer when the chief administrative officer is absent or unable to act.

32 (1) The directors of departments of the municipality

(a ) are accountable to the chief administrative officer for the performance of their duties; and

(b) shall submit the reports and recommendations required of them to, and through, the chief administrative officer.

(2) A report or recommendation from the solicitor of the municipality shall be presented to the council by the solicitor and the chief administrative officer shall be informed of the contents in advance of the presentation to council, unless the report or recommendation is with respect to the chief administrative officer.

(3) Where a director of a department of the municipality disagrees with a recommendation of the chief administrative officer, the objections may be provided to the chief administrative officer who shall present them to the council.

33 (1) The chief administrative officer shall designate an employee of the municipality to perform the duties of the clerk of the municipality.

(2) The clerk shall

(a) record in a minute book all the proceedings of the council;

(b) account for the attendance of each council member at every meeting of the council;

(c) keep the by-laws and policies of the municipality; and

(d) perform such other duties as are prescribed by the chief administrative officer, the council or an enactment.

34 (1) The council may adopt a policy for the management and destruction of records.

(2) Records that are required by an enactment to be kept and minutes, by-laws, policies and resolutions of the council shall not be destroyed.

(3) The council may, by policy, specify further classes of records that are not to be destroyed or that are to be kept for specified time periods.

(4) Where

(a) a municipal record is destroyed; or

(b) an original municipal record is not produced in court,

and

(c) the clerk certifies that a reproduction is part of the records of the municipality and is a true reproduction of the original municipal record,

a photographic, photostatic or electronic reproduction of the record is admissible in evidence to the same extent as the original municipal record and is, in the absence of proof to the contrary, proof of the record.

35 Where, in an action or proceeding it is necessary to prove the authority of an employee of a municipality, a certificate under the hand of the clerk and the seal of the municipality stating that the employee has the authority is sufficient proof, without proof of the signature of the clerk or of the seal.

36 A clerk who wilfully gives a false certificate is liable, on conviction, to a penalty not exceeding ten thousand dollars and, in default of payment, to imprisonment for a period of not more than one hundred and eighty days.

37 (1) The chief administrative officer shall designate an employee of the municipality to perform the duties of the treasurer of the municipality.

(2) The treasurer may delegate any of the powers or duties of the treasurer pursuant to this or any other Act of the Legislature to an employee of the municipality.

38 The treasurer shall promptly advise the council of

(a) all moneys due to the municipality that the treasurer considers cannot reasonably be collected after pursuing all reasonable avenues of collection; and

(b) the reasons for the belief that such moneys cannot be collected,

and the council may write off the amounts determined to be uncollectible.

39 (1) The chief administrative officer shall designate an employee of the municipality to be the engineer for the municipality.

(2) Where the engineer has authority to require that action be taken by a person, the engineer may direct that the action be taken.

(3) A person shall not refuse or fail to take action when directed to do so by the engineer.

(4) Where the engineer directs that action be taken and no action is taken, the engineer may cause the necessary work to be done.

(5) The engineer may enter in or upon a property at

(a) a reasonable hour upon reasonable notice to the owner and any occupier of the property; or

(b) any time in the event of an emergency,

for the purpose of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, testing or work to be done in accordance with this Act or a by-law made pursuant to this Act.

40 (1) Where approval or permission by the engineer is required pursuant to this Act, the engineers decision to refuse the approval or permission may be appealed to the

(a) council; or

(b) where there is a committee designated by the council, by policy, to hear appeals, that committee.

(2) On an appeal pursuant to subsection (1), the council or the designated committee, as the case may be, shall

(a) direct the engineer to grant the approval or permission; or

(b) uphold the decision of the engineer.

(3) The right of appeal pursuant to this Section expires fourteen days after the engineer serves a written decision regarding the approval or permission on the owner.

41 The chief administrative officer shall designate an employee of the municipality to be the administrator responsible for the dangerous and unsightly premises provisions of this Act.

42 (1) The council shall appoint a municipal auditor who is registered pursuant to this Act to be the auditor for the municipality.

(2) The auditor shall report to the council on the accounts and funds

(a) administered by the council; and

(b) where the control is apparent or implied in the council.

(3) The auditor's report shall contain the information, and be in the form, required pursuant to this Act.

(4) The auditor's report shall be filed with the council and the Minister by July 31 in each year.

(5) The auditor shall report, to the council and to the Minister, any management letters and any communication from the auditor detailing weaknesses in internal control, deficiencies in management information systems or other areas requiring improvement.

(6) The financial statements of a municipality, as reported on by the auditor, shall set out the remuneration paid to each council member and the chief administrative officer.

(7) No person shall be appointed as auditor who, at any time during the fiscal year in which the auditor is appointed, is or has been

(a) a council member;

(b) a contractor hired by the municipality; or

(c) an employee of the municipality,

except that an auditor may be reappointed as auditor.

43 (1) The auditor has access at all times to the books, accounts and vouchers of the municipality and may require from the employees of the municipality such information and explanations as may be necessary for the performance of the auditor's duties.

(2) The employees of a municipality shall, on request, promptly provide access, information and explanations to the auditor.

44 (1) The council shall annually appoint an audit committee.

(2) The responsibilities of the audit committee include

(a) a detailed review of the financial statements of the municipality with the auditor;

(b) an evaluation of internal control systems and any management letter with the auditor;

(c) a review of the conduct and adequacy of the audit;

(d) such matters arising out of the audit as may appear to the audit committee to require investigation;

(e) such other matters as may be determined by the council to be the duties of an audit committee;

(f) any other matters as may be determined by the council.

45 (1) In this Section, "full-time employee" means an employee who is employed in full-time, continuous employment.

(2) The council shall establish a pension plan to provide pensions for full-time employees in such manner as the council shall, by policy, determine.

(3) The council may, by policy, establish pension plans to provide pensions for some or all other employees of the municipality in such manner as the council may, by policy, determine.

(4) A pension plan may include employees of a board, commission or other body corporate established by the municipality alone or jointly with other municipalities.

(5) The council may, by policy, establish a pension plan to provide a pension for the mayor or councillors or both.

(6) The municipality, the employees and, where a pension plan is established for the mayor or councillors, those for whom the pension plan is established, shall make contributions to the plans cost.

(7) A pension plan may provide for annual increases in the pensions paid pursuant to the plan, but the increases shall not exceed the lesser of

(a) six per cent; or

(b) the percentage increase in the cost of living in the preceding year, as measured by the change in the Consumer Price Index for Canada prepared by Statistics Canada.

(8) The Pension Benefits Act applies to a pension plan established pursuant to this Section.

46 Notwithstanding the Interpretation Act, no employee of a municipality holds office during pleasure, unless a written agreement between the employee and the municipality provides otherwise.

PART III

POWERS

47 (1) The council shall make decisions in the exercise of its powers and duties by resolution, by policy or by by-law.

(2) The council may exercise any of its powers and duties by resolution unless a policy or a by-law is required by an enactment.

(3) The council may exercise by by-law any of the duties and powers that it may exercise by resolution or policy.

(4) The council may exercise by policy any of the duties and powers that it may exercise by resolution.

(5) The council may make and carry out a contract, perform an act, do any thing or provide a service for which the municipality or the council is authorized by an Act of the Legislature to spend or borrow money.

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This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 1998 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Updated December 15, 1998. Send comments to legc.office@gov.ns.ca.