In the event of incorporation, any costs that are incurred, over and above current cost levels, to provide local services to residents in Sorrento-Blind Bay would be paid solely by taxpayers within the new municipality. Please note: that the province would provide a certain amount of financial assistance to the new municipality to defer cost impacts associated with certain services (e.g., local roads).
Electoral Area C residents who live outside of the Incorporation Study Area would not pay for these costs.
On a related point, the vote to proceed with incorporation would only include residents within the Incorporation Study Area. Residents outside of the Study Area would not be given a vote.
As part of the study, the Committee is identifying service cost implications for residents of Electoral Area C who are outside of the Study Area. The cost of certain services for these residents may be lower without Sorrento-Blind Bay in the service area; alternatively, the cost of other services could be higher. Once all services have been assessed and total cost implications for Area C residents have been identified, the Committee (and community) will be able to gauge any net-cost impact on taxpayers outside of the Study Area. The province is ultimately responsible for ensuring that there are no significant adverse cost impacts on taxpayers outside of the Study Area.