The Town of Parrsboro is no basket case.

It's in the black and sitting on more than a million dollars in reserves.

But this week Parrsboro joined the growing list of small towns that have formally applied to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board to dissolve.

"I feel its the right time to change while our finances in the Town of Parrsboro are strong," said Mayor Lois Smith.

She says depopulation and increased costs will eventually catch up to the town of 1300, founded in 1899.

"With obstacles we feel will be happening in the next five to 10 years, infrastructure particularly, we don't have the finances to look after ourselves."

By 2020, Parrsboro will have to come up with a third of the cost of a new $5 million wastewater treatment plant needed to meet federal environmental standards.

"Certainly the wastewater treatment plant was one of our main concerns," she said.

'It was a hard decision'

Its 400-page application to the Provincial Utility and Review board points to the experience in nearby Springhill, a former town that has already dissolved into Cumberland County.

The application says commercial and residential tax rates in Springhill decreased and a $147 solid waste charge was eliminated.

Still, it seems people in Parrsboro need some persuading.

"It was a hard decision and we haven't been very popular in the last couple of weeks," said Smith, who is promising more public consultation.

The application seeks to dissolve Parrsboro into Cumberland County effective November 2016 — in time for the next municipal election.

In addition to Springhill, Bridgetown and Hantsport have dissolved.

This week the Town Council of Mulgrave on the Strait of Canso accepted a recommendation to dissolve from a citizens' committee.