About the Commission
Mandate
What does the Village Commission look after?(946 KB)
The Commission of the Village of Chester (VOC) is responsible for a number of services and activities within the Village and beyond.
Most prominently, the Village has a partnership agreement with the Municipality of the District of Chester (MODC) to provide fire and emergency services via the Chester Volunteer Fire Department (CVFD). The CVFD's service area includes the Village itself and portions of the Municipality: all of Municipal District 3 and District 7, and part of District 1. A fire tax is levied on all properties in the service area, ensuring equal contribution to funding the services. The CVFD is governed by the Chester Fire Services Committee, a joint body of the VOC and MODC created in 2022 to provide modern, efficient, and effective fire and emergency services upon which all the residents, businesses, and organizations in the Chester Fire District can depend.
The Village owns and operates the Lido Pool and the Public Washroom building free of charge for the benefit of residents and visitors alike. The Village also owns the Jib Lot, between Victoria Street and the Prince Street Extension, and maintains it as an open space for Village residents and visitors.
The Village owns the Emergency Health Services building next to the fire station. All costs for the property and building are covered by the rent EHS pays to the VOC. The Village Commission also provides all street lighting in the Village, school crossing guards, extra summer green bin collection, and pest control.
The Commission's economic development efforts are centred on operating a Visitor Information Centre, providing community grants for local events, other tourism projects, and annual beautification - namely the hanging flower baskets in the summer, groundskeeping, and wreaths in the Christmas season. A new addition is a Commission of Oaths service.
Commissioners
The Village of Chester Commission is comprised of five Village residents who are elected by their fellow villagers to serve a 3-year term. The terms are staggered, which means there is an election every year. The Village Commission is subject to the Nova Scotia Municipal Government Act as well as its own by-laws and policies.
The following are your current elected representatives on the Commission:
Geraldine Pauley, Chair:
Term expires: May 2027
Randall O'Malley, Vice-chair -
Term expires May 2028
Laura Mulrooney -
Term expires: May 2028
Tom Mulrooney -
Term expires: May 2027
Gloria Nauss -
Term expires May 2026
Meetings
The Monthly Commission Meetings are at 6:00 pm (unless otherwise noted) on the 3rd Wednesday of every month at the Village Office, 27 Pleasant Street, and over livestream. Please come and share your thoughts with us! Any additional meetings are posted in advance on our website and social media. Agendas and minutes can be found here. Past meetings can be viewed on our YouTube channel.
The Commission also holds an Annual General Meeting to receive the Audited Financial Statement and generally inform the ratepayers of the past year's activities. The date for this meeting is usually early to mid-June, but under legislation it must be held before July 1. The date is advertised each year in local newspapers and posted on our website and social media.
