page_title: Bridgetown, Nova Scotia
section_title: Municipal governance
hierarchical_section_title: Bridgetown, Nova Scotia / Municipal governance
caption_attribution_description: English: Looking over the narrowest part of the Annapolis Valley towards Bridgetown from Valleyview Provincial Park
context_page_description: Bridgetown is a Canadian community located in north-central Annapolis County, Nova Scotia.
context_section_description: Bridgetown was incorporated as a town on September 15, 1897. The first mayor of the town was Harry Ruggles, elected by acclamation.
  In 2011, the town council drew national headlines by resigning en masse over financial difficulties including a misappropriation of funds by a municipal employee who was later convicted. A subsequent provincial audit found that $113,195.96 had been misappropriated from the town over 5 years by one employee, and additional losses were incurred from related costs and record-keeping errors. The provincial government subsequently appointed an interim council consisting of a mayor and two councillors, which governed the town until municipal elections were held in October 2012.
  In November 2012 a new council (mayor and four councillors) was sworn in, and the provincially appointed council ceased to hold office.
  On March 31, 2014, the town council voted to give up the town's municipal charter effective April 1, 2015, dissolving the town into the larger Municipality of the County of Annapolis.  The council cited ongoing financial pressures in the form of increased costs to provide services and pension obligations, as well as declining revenue from the town's property tax base.
caption: Bridgetown from Valleyview Provincial Park at the western end of the Annapolis Valley.
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