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N.B. is changing the way it funds local government — what does it mean for Tantramar?

Reforms to local government funding received Royal Assent on Tuesday, after Minister of Local Government and Local Governance Reform Daniel Allain (right) introduced Bill 120 last week. Allain is pictured in Sackville on Friday, May 6, 2022. Photo: Erica Butler

The provincial government says changes to local government funding will “provide financial stability to local governments and rural districts,” but changes to the law have prompted a backlash.

Bill 120 received Royal Assent on Tuesday, effectively freezing local government funding across the province at its current level of about $76 million for the next five years.

Megan Mitton, the MLA representing Memramcook-Tantramar, said municipal reform will download more responsibility from the province onto local governments without funding them adequately.

“Municipalities want there to be stability, but not stagnation,” Mitton told lawmakers in the provincial capital last week.

Liberal MLAs also criticized the law. Jacques LeBlanc, who represents Shediac-Beaubassin-Cap Pelé, said in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday it will force municipalities to raise taxes.

Opposition members also criticized the government for rushing the legislation through the Legislative Assembly.

Formula changing

The current formula has been in place since 2013, and includes so-called equalization and core funding.

The equalization system, which dates back to 1967, involves the redistribution of tax revenue across the province so that less prosperous communities can still offer a certain level of services.

Under the new system, equalization payments remain in place, but will be adjusted annually by a maximum of three per cent, through a comparison of local and provincial tax base growth. … Continue

New town engineer says Sackville in good position, expects amalgamation to go ‘surprisingly well’

Jon Eppell, Sackville’s new town engineer, on the rooftop garden at Sackville Town Hall. Photo: Erica Butler

Jon Eppell might just be the only person working for the town of Sackville who knew full well when he was hired that the town would be undergoing radical changes in the coming months, including a new name, new boundaries, new communities, and a new government. And he wanted the job anyway.

As Sackville’s new Town Engineer, Eppell leads the public works department and oversees all roads, facilities and the town’s sewer and water services.

In mid-September, CHMA dropped by town hall to meet Eppell and find out a bit more about the new public works boss:

Eppell comes to the town of Sackville after working the past three years with Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, but he’s been a Sackville resident since 2009, when his wife took a job in town and his family made the move. For years he commuted to Nova Scotia for work, first as engineer for Halifax Harbour Bridges and then as operations manager for Cumberland County.

When the post for Town Engineer went up earlier this year (after former Town Engineer Dwayne Acton moved on to a position with Mount Allison,) Eppell says he was “quite excited at the opportunity.” One of the reasons Eppell made the move from Halifax Harbour Bridges to Cumberland County was to be closer to family in Sackville, and so the new job was a natural fit.… Continue

Allain dismisses Sackville council concerns and affirms appointment of Jennifer Borne as Tantramar CAO

Minister of Local Government and MLA for Moncton East, Daniel Allain. Photo: pcnb.ca

Note: This story was updated at 5:45pm to include comments from Sackville councillor Michael Tower.

Local Government Minister Daniel Allain has turned down Mayor Shawn Mesheau’s request for an independent review of the process behind hiring a new Tantramar CAO. In a letter to council this week, Allain said he was sticking with his appointment of Dorchester CAO Jennifer Borne to head up the staff for the new municipality of Tantramar. The only other candidate for the job was Sackville CAO Jamie Burke.

Mesheau wrote to Allain about two weeks ago after Sackville town council asked him to do so at their regular July meeting. Mesheau called the process which resulted in Borne’s appointment “fundamentally flawed”, and asked for a meeting with Allain and a review of the whole process by an independent HR consultant.

The minister and the mayor met last week, and this week, Allain sent his reply to all councillors expressing his “confidence in the recruitment process leading to [his] decision to appoint Jennifer Borne to the role.”

Allain’s letter mentioned the province’s contract with Jennifer Murray Consulting of Moncton, whom he said were “responsible for overseeing a biased free [sic] recruitment process leading to a fair and objective evaluation of candidates.”

The letter reads, “The position advertisement, essential qualifications, competencies, and candidate evaluation grid were based on an objective assessment of the position requirements and all candidates were assessed based on the established criteria.”… Continue

Resignation and call for review after Dorchester’s Borne recommended over Sackville’s Burke

Before a three-person HR committee appointed to recommend a CAO for the soon-to-be-amalgamated town of Tantramar could complete their work, the member representing Sackville resigned over concerns that the process was unfair and rushed. Despite that resignation, consultant Chad Peters passed along a recommendation to hire Dorchester’s Jennifer Borne for the top municipal job.

This week, Sackville mayor Shawn Mesheau wrote to Peters’ boss, Minister Daniel Allain, calling for a review of what he called the “fundamentally flawed” hiring process, and a spokesperson for Allain’s department says a meeting will be scheduled.

‘It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t reasonable’: Andrew Black on why he resigned from committee to hire a new CAO

Sackville Deputy Mayor Andrew Black says that in mid-June, when it became apparent to him that his original misgivings about the CAO hiring process were well-founded, he decided he had to resign. “I felt that it was an unfair process,” says Black. “I felt that it was fairly biased. It wasn’t reasonable, which is, you know, terminology that has been used by the minister and his department for this process, that it would be ‘fair and reasonable’, and it was not,” says Black. “And so I left.”

Black’s resignation left the committee with two members, Dorchester Deputy Mayor Robert Corkerton and Sackville local service district resident Chris Milner, who remained on the committee for the rest of the process and recommended that Dorchester CAO Jennifer Borne take the top job in the new municipality.… Continue

Town of Tantramar mayor and council would see pay increases according to provincial formula

The town of Tantramar’s mayor and council might make more money than current elected officials in Sackville.

A draft copy of a potential salary range for elected officials was circulated recently to Sackville councillors, and seems to indicate that raises are in order for Tantramar officials over their Sackville counterparts. The provincial analysis is, “aimed at providing guidance to transition leaders and community leaders,” according to another provincial document.

For towns with a population between 5,000 and 10,000, the provincial formula came up with a median salary for mayors of $22,000, and a median salary for councillors of $8,800.

Currently, the Sackville mayor makes just shy of $15,000, and councillors make about $7800.

A chart showing salary ranges and medians for new municipalities according to a formula created by the province to reflect amalgamations.

An amalgamation advisory committee made up of elected and appointed officials will meet tonight to discuss compensation for to-be-elected officials of the town of Tantramar. Sackville Mayor Shawn Mesheau told council on Tuesday that a province-wide process would determine how much councillors and mayors get paid, and that the province was hoping to “ensure consistency with other communities of similar sizes and service levels.”

The idea of increasing the pay for councillors and/or mayor to recognize the increased workload that would come with the larger town of Tantramar was brought forward during council budget priorities discussion by Councillor Sabine Dietz.… Continue

Welcome to the Town of Tantramar

A new, amalgamated Entity 40 will be known as Tantramar, if the province approves a decision by a committee of local elected and appointed officials.

Dorchester Deputy Mayor Robert Corkerton shared the following statement Thursday morning:

“The Elected Officials Advisory Committee has reached a consensus decision on the name for Entity 40. The new community will be known as Tantramar. As per the process, the name has been submitted to the provincial government and will become official once regulations are adopted over the summer.”

Corkerton also stated the decision was based on feedback the committee received on two name choices: Beauséjour Township and Tantramar Township. “The overwhelming majority was for Tantramar,” writes Corkerton. “We as the committee backed their choice and choose Tantramar as the name.”

Corkerton says the committee also decided to drop “township” from the name. Formally, Tantramar will be a town, due to its population size. “Legally we will be known as the Town of Tantramar,” writes Corkerton, “locally it will be Tantramar.”… Continue

Entity 40 likely to be named Tantramar or Beauséjour, despite last minute information from minister

The committee of elected officials that will recommend the future name of Entity 40 will meet Wednesday to discuss the results of their informal survey on two proposed names: Beauséjour Township and Tantramar Township. Their final recommendation is due to the province by Monday, May 16, but some councillors are wondering if that deadline is more flexible than it appears.

At Monday’s council meeting, Councillor Michael Tower brought up a new piece of information imparted by Local Government Minister Daniel Allain at a closed meeting with public officials on Friday.

Tower said Allain, “was alluding to the fact that we didn’t have to get into the voting of those two, that we could actually call it either Dorchester-Sackville, Sackville-Dorchester, and let the new council decide.” Tower said that would allow more time for the decision, and also “let the new council approach the citizens for a vote.”

Recently another amalgamated entity—Entity 51—announced its new name, chosen by a vote conducted by its municipal staff. The Town of Grand Bay-Westfield is merging with a portion of a neighbouring local service district named Westfield West, and residents chose to stick with the status quo, naming the new entity Grand Bay-Westfield.

The name of Sackville was considered by a sub-committee looking at potential names, but was struck off the list because provincial guidelines required that no names of persons be used to name the new entities. (Sackville is named for Lord George Sackville, a British politician with “friends in high places”, according to the Tantramar Heritage Trust.… Continue

‘We’re making decisions for the next 50 years’: Allain on reform process and ‘keeping rural, rural’

Sackville town councillor Bruce Phinney speaking with Local Governance Reform Minister Daniel Allain after a closed meeting in Sackville on Friday. Photo: Erica Butler

Minister Daniel Allain defended his approach to local governance reform on Friday in Sackville, shortly after a meeting with local elected officials from Sackville, Dorchester and surrounding areas. Allain spent about an hour and 45 minutes in the closed door meeting, and spoke to reporters for about 10 minutes afterwards.

Allain has been heavily criticised by some Sackville town councillors who feel he misrepresented the process of local governance reform. He surprised many by prescribing amalgamations in a number of jurisdictions, including Sackville, against the wishes of local councils. He has also been criticised for offering no further public consultations on the process after the plan for amalgamations was released.

Allain disagrees with that description of events. “I think that’s not right,” he said Friday. “We’ve consulted with New Brunswickers.”

“I go to legislative assembly on a weekly basis to talk about local governance reform. As I indicated there, nobody was forced to do anything,” said Allain. Both the town of Sackville and the village of Dorchester wrote to Allain opposing the amalgamation of Entity 40, but both are powerless to prevent it.

Allain also insisted that his department had done enough public consultation, detailing the process that happened before the plan was announced, and that fact that shortly after the plan was released, existing councils were given a tight deadline to suggest changes to proposed boundaries.… Continue

Local governance reform minister Daniel Allain to meet privately with elected officials in Sackville Friday

Local government minister Daniel Allain is coming to Sackville town hall this Friday to meet with councillors and representatives from Sackville, Dorchester and surrounding areas, but the meeting will be closed to the public.

News of the private meeting with Allain was shared Monday night at Sackville town council’s monthly discussion meeting, after Councillor Bill Evans prompted Mayor Shawn Mesheau to mention it. The mayor had just finished his update on municipal reform without mentioning the meeting with the minister, when Evans chimed in to ask if he planned to mention it.

“Minister Allain’s office has reached out and has requested a meeting with members of council, members of Dorchester council and the other members who participate on the elected officials Advisory Committee,” replied Mesheau. “It won’t be a public meeting. It’ll be a private meeting with ministers.”

Secrecy has been a hallmark of the amalgamation process so far. Though the appointed facilitator for the process, Chad Peters, is authorized with creating a new budget and employment structure for the new Entity 40, he is not authorized to speak with media. And ever since the forced amalgamation was announced, neither Allain nor Peters has held a meeting open to citizens of the future Entity 40.

That doesn’t sit right with some town councillors.

Councillor Sabine Dietz told council on Monday that she would sit out the meeting in protest.… Continue

Municipal reform: Potential names for Entity 40 revealed

Tantramar or Beauséjour Township?

Those are two possible names for an area that will result from the merger of Sackville, Dorchester and other nearby communities.

The amalgamation will create a territory that’s been dubbed Entity 40, pending the choice of a new name.

Last month, the Elected Officials Advisory Committee formed a subcommittee to lead the naming process.

On Tuesday, a member of that group posted an update on social media, and asked for feedback on the potential monikers.

“We have spoken to the local historical groups and had input from the provincial topographers,” Dorchester village councillor Robert Corkerton said in a Facebook post.

The chosen name will be an “umbrella name for the entity,” and existing place names won’t actually change, he added.

“The local names of the areas in which we live are not changing, our postal addresses are not changing.”

The post included some background about the two choices. Tantramar has its roots in the French word tintamarre, meaning great noise.

“The first French Acadian settlers in the area who arrived around the last quarter of the 17th century are said to have heard great flocks of geese or maybe the incoming tide that made a great noise,” the post stated.

“They used the word tintamarre to describe this noise and, eventually, an Acadian hamlet was given the name Tintamarre before the expulsion of 1755. When anglophone settlers arrived in the region in the 1760’s, they kept the name, and after decades of different spellings, it became Tantramar in the second half of the 19th century.”… Continue

Tag: amalgamation

‘It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t reasonable’: Andrew Black on why he resigned from committee to hire a new CAO