The provincial regulator is keeping the size of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality council as is, saying a municipal study to determine a fair size was flawed.

For now, the number of councillors will stay at 16 for the next municipal election in 2008.

In a decision released Tuesday, the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board said it cannot decide on an appropriate number of councillors because it was not presented with proper evidence on what the community wants.

The board criticizes Coun. Vince Hall, who headed the CBRM's boundary review committee, saying he ignored some opinions and derided people who disagreed with him.

In a statement, Hall said he accepts the board's decision in a matter that was "polarized by political agendas" from the beginning.

He said the board legitimized his work as chair of the boundary review committee.

Committee member Tom Wilson said the group did everything it could to get input from members of the public, who he said were sometimes argumentative.

"My own view is that I would have sat there taking notes and just taken the information available to me and made a decision," Wilson said.

The case was brought to the review board by CBRM Mayor John Morgan, who filed on behalf of a citizens group, claiming residents wanted a much smaller council.

Everett Baker, spokesman for Voices of the Electorate, said he accepts the review board's ruling.

"It's better that they erred on the side of caution rather than just make an order to reduce [council] down. We've got to do this thing right this time," Baker said.

The utility and review board said the CBRM should do another study and file an application by Dec. 31, 2010.

Dannie Hansen, a former councillor who had intervener status during the public hearing in June, said the review board did its job.

"I wish with all my heart that the committee had of done it properly in the first place so we wouldn't have to go through the whole thing again," Hansen said.