N.S. premier's hometown moves to dissolve municipal status

A sign greets visitors to Bridgetown, N.S. on Thursday, July 2, 2011.

BRIDGETOWN, N.S. -- The hometown of Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil is moving to dissolve its municipal status amid financial pressures.

Town council in Bridgetown passed a motion Monday to file an application for dissolution to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.

The decision was made as council held public sessions on the town's budget and comes weeks after Springhill decided to dissolve itself as a town for similar reasons.

Bridgetown Mayor Horace Hurlburt says the move is necessary to ensure the community's viability.

The town hopes to have a new governance structure in place by April 1, 2015.

Fewer than 1,000 people live in the Annapolis Valley community, which was incorporated as a town in 1897.

On its website, Bridgetown says it's considered "the prettiest little town in Nova Scotia."