The town of Sackville has a new deputy mayor.
At their meeting Monday night, Sackville town council elected Andrew Black to the position, in a five to three vote. Councillor Micheal Tower was also nominated for the position.
The deputy mayor can chair council or otherwise act as mayor if the elected mayor is unable to attend or fulfill duties. Most recently, former deputy mayor Ron Aiken served as acting mayor for about eight months after the elected mayor, John Higham, resigned.
Andrew Black will be deputy mayor for at least a one year term, after which council will hold another vote for the position.
Last month, mayor Shawn Mesheau appointed the new slate of councillors to their roles as liaison councillors, who are responsible for meeting with staff monthly. In recent years, there have been two councillors for each portfolio, but this year Mayor Mesheau opted to appoint one each, and also requested that meeting dates with staff be circulated so that other councillors could attend any liaison meeting.
Here are the new assignments, which are for a period of one year:
Finance and Administration – Councillor Bill Evans
Tourism and Business Development – Councillor Kenneth Hicks
Public Property and Facilities – Councillor Matt Estabrooks
Recreation Program and Events – Councillor Allison Butcher Public Safety – Councillor Andrew Black
Policy By-Law – Councillor Bruce Phinney
Human Resources – Councillor Sabine Dietz
Corporate Affairs and Strategic Development – Councillor Michael Tower
There are also a handful of boards and committees that mayor and councillors sit on. Those appointments are:
Southeast Regional Service Commission: Mayor and Deputy Mayor (by definition)
Sport Wall of Fame: Councillors Matt Estabrooks & Michael Tower
Waterfowl Park: Councillors Kenneth Hicks & Andrew Black
Sackville Arts Wall: Councillors Allison Butcher & Bill Evans