The province is in the process of setting up a debt collection system on behalf of municipalities. Amendments have have introduced to the Municipal Government Act to give the province the legal authority to collect debts owed to municipalities for public utility bills or by-law infractions. There is about 8 million dollars in outstanding fines owed to municipalities. The Region of Queens would like to see the legislation go a step further. Mayor John Leefe says in the event a person does not pay their fine, the municipality would be able to put a lien against any real property owned by the person until the judgement is satisfied. The Region is asking the Minister of Service Nova Scotia to approve its amendments to be included in the MGA. There is about 8 million dollars in outstanding fines owed to municipalities. Each year, the debt collection unit of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations collects over 15 million on behalf of provincial departments and agencies.
