’48 years later, we’re still waiting’: residents say they’ve been overtaxed and underserviced
About 50 people gathered in the gallery of Tantramar council chambers on Tuesday night, the majority there to hear a presentation by former councillor Ken Hicks, asking council to consider changes to the town’s taxation system.
Hicks lives in Frosty Hollow, within the former town of Sackville boundaries, but in a decidedly rural setting, with no access to water and sewer, and other amenities like street lights and sidewalks. But his tax rate is the same as the one charged on properties in other parts of the former town, where services like water and sewer and sidewalks are de rigeur. His predicament is similar to that of the Greene family, his in-laws, which CHMA reported on in March.
While the current amalgamation kicked off the recent protest from Hicks and the Greenes, their issue is a longstanding one. In his presentation Hicks harkened back to the source of his concern: a 1975 annexation of parts of Frosty Hollow, as well as Middle and Upper Sackville, into the then town of Sackville.
“At that time a commitment was made to provide services to these areas,” Hicks told councillors, “and 48 years later, we’re still waiting.”
Hicks told council that when Tantramar amalgamated, he and some of his neighbours expected that their tax rates would be changed, based on comments by local government minister Daniel Allain, who repeatedly stated that residents would only be taxed on the services they receive.… Continue
Council okays downtown EV charger project, with three nay votes
Town council has given the green light on plans to install an EV charger in downtown Sackville, in the parking lot between Goya’s Pizza and the Post Office. Three motions authorizing staff to seek funding, purchase a charger, and have electrical infrastructure installed passed on Tuesday night, with three councillors voting against all three motions.
The project involves hiring local company Tantramar Electric to install infrastructure downtown that can accommodate a number of chargers, and the purchase of a level 3 Flo Charger to operate as part of NP Power’s E-charge network. Unlike the free level 2 charger at the Sackville Visitor Information Centre, people using the new charger would pay for their electricity via a smartphone app or e-charge account.
Climate Change coordinator Kirsty Mrazek told council last week that advantages to the e-charge network includes access to advertising, customer service, and a payment management system. The Flo is a fast charger, which means people will be able to get a significant “fill up” in about 30 minutes.
Mrazek told council the project would encourage EV drivers to stop in Sackville while on longer drives, bringing them close to “downtown amenities such as restaurants, stores, parking lots, or public washrooms and parks.” A fast charger would also serve local EV drivers, said Mrazek, “especially those living in multi unit residential buildings who are looking to drive an EV but do not have access currently to overnight charging infrastructure.”… Continue
Councillors express dismay at under-representation; ask for a single Sackville ward with reps at-large
On Thursday evening, Sackville’s municipal reform committee met for a third time, with a narrow mandate of providing input on whether Sackvillians would elect their future Entity 40 representatives at large, or in up to four separate wards.
But before they got to that question, councillors sounded off on a previous decision made by the province, to forego its own representation-by-population guidelines and allot just 50% of representatives to the former town of Sackville, which is home to 68% of the population of the new Entity 40.
Right off the bat, Councillor Allison Butcher asked Deputy Mayor Andrew Black if there was any chance of changing what she called “a skew as far as population goes?”
“No,” said Black. “That has been decided. That meeting that we had on the 15th, whatever decision was made at the end of that night with the advisory committee that was there, that decision was final.”
It’s become a theme of the municipal reform process so far: rushed decisions made in private meetings, with no substantive engagement with councils, much less the general public.
It was enough for Butcher to forego her usual attempts to put a positive spin on her comments: “At the risk of sounding really, really jaded, it probably doesn’t matter what I think should happen with the four councillors representing the 7000 people,” said Butcher, “because I’m starting to feel like it doesn’t matter what we think.”
Black told the committee that after a 1.5 hour meeting on February 15 with provincially appointed facilitator Chad Peters and the eight appointees to the provincial advisory committee, there was a consensus reached among all members, including himself and Mayor Shawn Mesheau.… Continue
In a tense meeting, Sackville council turns down two motions to slow down amalgamation
Things move quickly in the world of New Brunswick municipal reform, and on Monday two Sackville town councillors took a stab at slowing that down.
Councillor Bill Evans presented his motion calling for a boycott of the amalgamation process, instructing staff and councillors not to engage in advisory committees set up by the province. Evans argued that it would be more effective to protest the forced amalgamation by making the province “do their own dirty work.”
“Remember, they’ve only got one facilitator [for] five amalgamations,” said Evans. “They can’t do our amalgamation without our help. So let’s not help them. Let’s try to shame the bully and say, maybe we can’t stop you, but we’ll be damned if we will help you.”
Right off the bat, CAO Jamie Burke reacted with a strong message of alarm. Burke said he consulted with the town’s lawyer about the motion, and was paraphrasing from that conversation when he spoke to council Monday.
Burke made that case that Evans’ motion was actually illegal, because the province has passed Bill 82, giving it the tools to impose municipal amalgamations across the province in the next year. Burke said Bill 82 also gave the province, “the right to make inquiries into the assets and liabilities of local governments affected by restructuring,” which would mean that himself and town staff would be required to cooperate with Chad Peters, the provincially-appointed facilitator.… Continue
Hicks and Butcher talk skateboards, rink fees, defining the press, and Sackville’s wish list for lobbying the provincial government
Councillors roundtable is a monthly feature on CHMA Talks. This month, councillors Ken Hicks and Allison Butcher joined in the conversation, recapping some issues from Tuesday’s discussion meeting, and looking forward to items up for consideration on Monday, August 9, for council’s regular monthly meeting.… Continue