BRIDGETOWN, N.S. - The council and mayor of a small town in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley quit en masse Tuesday because of financial problems, but there was little explanation beyond a terse statement on the town's website.
The statement said Bridgetown's seven-member council lacks financial and human resources to manage those problems, and it is acting on the advice of accounting and legal consultants.
"Due to the magnitude and complexity of the town's financial problems ... town council of the Town of Bridgetown agreed to resign to make way for a quicker resolution of the town's present difficulties," the statement said.
The provincial government had no immediate comment on the resignations, but a spokeswoman said the RCMP is investigating.
About 1,000 people live in Bridgetown, about a two-hour drive west of Halifax.
The town's administrative assistant said the municipality's acting chief administrative officer, Grant Cooke, would not be returning phone calls due to the high volume of inquiries.
"The phone has been ringing off the wall," said the woman, who confirmed her position but declined to release her name.
She said Mayor Art Marshall was not available to comment because he is no longer the mayor.
Calls to Marshall's home were not returned.
Marion Tanner, manager at the Bridgetown Motor Inn, said she was surprised by the resignations and she is concerned about who will be appointed to run the town in the council's absence.
"It puts us in a predicament as a small town," she said. "There's a lot of projects underway and hopefully they will continue on."
She said townsfolk were aware there were problems with finances for about a year, but details were murky.
"There's a lot of questions that people have. The main thing is who is going to take over the finances and run the town until a new council is formed ... but there's really no answers right now."
