Sackville town council’s committee on municipal reform met for the second time this past Wednesday, and spent most of their meeting discussing the pros and cons of ward systems and at-large systems, and which might be the best fit for a new amalgamated Entity 40. (Tune in to Tantramar Report Monday for more discussion on that topic.)
Near the end of the meeting, councillor Bill Evans shared his plan to make a formal motion at Monday’s council meeting instructing staff and council not to participate in the province’s process.
Most have agreed that the province will push forward with its plan to amalgamate Sackville, Dorchester and surrounding areas, but it’s also widely acknowledged that the province itself has not put significant resources towards executing the process.
The province has hired a consultant with no direct municipal experience, Chad Peters, to spend about one day per week, at a rate of $1200 per day, to facilitate the amalgamation.
The bulk of the actual work seems like it will be left to existing staff in Sackville and Dorchester, who will be doing the work on top of their regular jobs.
What would happen should Sackville town council instruct its staff not to participate with Chad Peters is unknown. And we may not find out.
Four council members weighed in on Wednesday night as to whether or not they would support a boycott of the province’s amalgamation process. Deputy Mayor Andrew Black, Councillor Bruce Phinney, and Councillor Michael Tower all said they would choose to work with the government.
“I think I’ve made my position fairly clear,” said Black. “I will participate. I’m on the advisory committee and I will participate as much as possible. That being said, I know my concerns. I know the concerns that have been raised by my fellow councillors. I’ve heard some concerns from the community, not a lot. But I have heard some concerns and I will voice those and I will push hard for answers and or some give some give from the facilitator and the province.”
Phinney said the process was necessary, and that’s one reason he planned to take part. “I will be working with the government to turn around and try and see what we can do in the best interest of the people of the town,” said Phinney. “Do I agree with the process completely? No. Is the process necessary? It has been for a number of years.”
“I’m looking for the best way of trying to get things into the process that are going to be beneficial to the people of the town,” said Phinney. “I mean, it’s going to happen. We keep saying, it’s going to happen, whether we like it or not.”
Tower said he would work grudgingly with the system. “But I’m working for the community, I’m not working for the province,” said Tower. “And so I want to make sure that we give our two cents worth to show where the government is going wrong, which should be very easy for us.”
One councillor who spoke on Wednesday said that she would support a motion to boycott the process, while also resolving to work with the province if it failed.
“My feeling is I would support Council, if Council voted to not participate in the process,” said Sabine Dietz. “If that’s not the case, I will make sure that we push all along to the improvement of the process. So those are the two [ways to proceed.] Of course, there’s the third one of just saying, oh, okay, we go along. But that’s not an option.”
“I see those three pathways of refusing to participate in an essentially undemocratic and flawed process as a protest measure, the second one is participating, but with with clear pressures all along with improving the process as much as possible, and the third one is saying, Okay, well, let’s just get steamrolled.”
Council meets Monday at 7pm for their regular monthly meeting, and municipal reform is on the agenda near the end of the meeting. To attend at town hall in person, residents need to register in advance with town clerk Donna Beal, and the meeting is also open online.
