The municipality of Tantramar has published a new guide for residents, including a map, a high level budget breakdown, and general information on how the newly amalgamated municipality works. The guide also includes information on council meetings, including how residents can participate in them.
But it leaves out some key information. The guide says that residents are welcome to attend council meetings, but mistakenly indicates that only those who are on the agenda may address council.
In fact, Tantramar’s bylaw allows for two ways that residents can address their council. Residents can request a spot on the agenda seven days in advance, for a public presentation of up to five minutes. Or, residents can “sign in at the door” of a meeting, in order to make a two minute presentation to council.
While the bylaw does not specify a cut-off time for residents to sign in at a meeting, Tantramar staff have established a rule requiring residents to sign in before the meeting is called to order. In the case of the frequent closed meetings that precede Tantramar council’s public meetings, that means residents must show up an hour to 30 minutes before the 7pm start time for the public portion of all regular council meetings.
The omission of information about sign-in-at-the-door presentations comes shortly after one Sackville resident had a disappointing experience in her effort to address council. In March, Sackville resident Sarah Kardash was denied the right to make a two-minute presentation to council based on staff’s rule establishing a cut-off time to sign in.
Kardash had arrived early for the public portion of council’s March meeting, but after the meeting had been called to order for a private, closed session. During a recess in the meeting between the closed and public portions, Kardash asked clerk Donna Beal to be added to the presentation list. But Beal refused, citing the fact that the meeting had already been called to order.
CHMA asked Tantramar CAO Jennifer Borne about the omission of information on the sign-in-at-the-door option in the new guide. Borne responded by email to say that, “it is not possible to cover all details pertaining to by-laws” in such a publication, and said the guide was meant as a “high-level overview”, with the intention of the public contacting the town to proceed to the next steps.
The guide does provide an email address and a phone number for the Clerk’s office, clerk@tantramarnb.com or 364-4930.
