HALIFAX, NS – Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS) is trying to find out if citizens are they’re getting the biggest bang for their municipal tax buck.
AIMS today released the Interim Municipal Report Card for New Brunswick.
The document does not give ranks and grades for all 102 municipalities in the province, but it gives New Brunswickers access to information about how they – and others in the province – live.
The report breaks down efficiencies, but does not get into the nitty-gritty of how effectively a community is managed, according to AIMS Director of Research, Ian Munro.
“We have a sense of how much money different communities are spending in comparison to one another, but we don’t know if the money is well-spent,” Munro started.
“If Town A spends twice as much as Town B, but their roads are ten times better, maybe that money is well-spent,” he continued. “But we don’t have that second kind of effectiveness measure to show how good the services are to really complete that picture.”
Munro said a quick snapshot identifies age and size demographics and financial factors, like whether a municipality has a large or small tax base and how much debt it is carrying.
To participate in the study you can visit the AIMS website.
