7.6 Topic:
Corporate Database Identifiers - Municipalities [Endnote 6]

7.6.1 Background

Unlike the county, municipalities are more likely subject to change. Therefore as municipalities change, historical references to the previously existing municipalities may need to be maintained. Such references should also be kept so as to ensure "backward compatibility" with databases holding older references to the entities.

There are at least three alternative means of dealing with historical data: (a) look-up tables can be provided for the old or new data; (b) new fields may be added to the existing database and populated with the new data; (c) or the more severe and often less preferred approach, is to simply over-write the existing data with the new.

A standard corporate identifier for municipal referencing will allow database providers to build their data using a common standard.

7.6.2 Standard

Agencies generating new databases with municipal information must adopt the standard two character alphanumeric code. The codes are outlined in section 7.6.2.1. Agencies with databases in place prior to this standard are not discouraged from maintaining those databases in their existing system, however they must disseminate their data to others as per the standard set of municipal names and codes.

7.6.2.1 Description:

This table does not provide a municipal class for activities carried on out of province. Two possible scenarios arise in dealing with out of province activities at this level: Agencies referencing activities out of province at the municipal level may (a) elect to code such activities on an individual basis, for example, Toronto, Bermuda, etc. In these cases this standard would be unable to cover all possible codes; (b) elect to aggregate all out of province municipal level activities and simply code it as "out of province".

Agencies having to code out of province at the municipal level are requested not to assign such entities with codes already assigned to Nova Scotia municipalities. Agencies electing to aggregate all out of province activities may wish to apply the code OM to their data.

7.6.3 Additional Information:

Endnotes:

(6) A Municipality is defined as a group of inhabitants incorporated as a local government with its own representative Council with jurisdiction over its defined territory, established by provincial statute. [Department of Municipal Affairs, 1996]

Chapter 7 continued - [Sections 7.0 to 7.2]   [Section 7.3]   [Sections 7.4 to 7.5]

Chapter Seven Table of Contents