From municipal amalgamation to public sector competition, AIMS President Brian Lee Crowley explains the failure of one and the potential of the other in this Commentary based on remarks to the Citizens for Halifax.

In HRM: Shaping our government, Crowley explains why the Halifax amalgamation cost the city more than four times the original estimate of under $10-million. He says there has been no cost savings, no economies of scale and no debt reduction observed yet.

Crowley also provides proven examples of where local government should be headed. He writes:

We must create a customer-service oriented culture in our municipal governments, something I have not seen much of anywhere in Nova Scotia. We must align the incentives of our elected officials so that they are rewarded for providing efficient, high quality services. This means we need them to focus on defining service levels, measuring them and rewarding superior performance by service providers.

To read the complete Commentary, click here.

To link to more AIMS’ research on urban and local government, click here.