Richmond Municipal Council will be charging a fire levy in Point Tupper.
At its regular monthly meeting last night in Arichat, council approved a recommendation from its committee-of-the-whole to implement a fire protection rate on all property owners in the community located just outside of Port Hawkesbury.
Councillors agreed to provide formal written notice to all Point Tupper property owners advising that, effective April 1, 2026, a rate of $0.05 per $100 of assessment will be applied. The motion also directed staff to complete all required administrative and communication steps to implement the rate.
The motion states that the Point Tupper area receives fire protection services and council has determined that a dedicated rate should be applied to all taxable properties within this service area.
Council moved that this new fire protection rate will appear as a separate line item in tax bills. They added that the fire protection rate is based on a property’s taxable assessment as provided by Property Valuation Services Corporation.
Warden Lois Landry said council cannot calculate how much revenue will be generated without receiving the assessments in January to determine the values of the properties in Point Tupper, but she said that had council approved the levy last year, it would have generated $41,815.95 in tax revenue.
District 3 Councillor Brian Marchand said the notifications to property owners in Point Tupper will include information about community engagement sessions that will be held at a time and place to be determined in the new year.
Deputy Warden Amanda Mombourquette voted against the motion, believing council “did not have enough information” to make a final decision.