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In a tense meeting, Sackville council turns down two motions to slow down amalgamation

Sackville town council in session on Monday, February 14, 2022. Image: Youtube screencap

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

Decisions on Entity 40 council will be made tonight. We asked some political scientists, what’s at stake?

The word ‘undemocratic’ has come up a number of times in describing the province’s forced amalgamation of Sackville, Dorchester and three surrounding districts. There’s the fact that despite official protest by both the elected councils of Dorchester and Sackville, the plan is being forced through by the province. There’s also the fact that the province has retained complete control on all decisions about the new Entity 40, and has refused to conduct any public engagement on key decisions, or even open up its advisory committee meetings to the public.

The first of the big decisions to be made by provincially-appointed consultant Chad Peters is up for discussion tonight, at a closed meeting of an advisory committee made up of Shawn Mesheau and Andrew Black from the town of Sackville, Debbie Wiggins-Colwell and Robert Corkerton from the village of Dorchester, Mary Ellen Trueman from the Point de Bute Local Service District (LSD), and Matt Beal from the Dorchester LSD. (There are as yet not representatives from the Sackville LSD on the committee.)

The committee will be asked to come to a consensus on how the new Entity 40 council will operate, and if they can’t, Peters will make the call. The decision will be need to be made by either Wednesday or Friday, depending on who you ask, but it will be made this week.

The lightning-fast decision process will determine how many seats there will be on a new Entity 40 council, and how those seats will be filled, either by election at-large, or election by ward, or some combination.… Continue

Council to consider motions boycotting or changing amalgamation process tonight

Sackville town councillors will be spending Valentine’s Day having one of their most controversial discussions in a long time, as two councillors prepare to make motions in opposition to the amalgamation of Sackville, Dorchester, and surrounding areas.

Councillor Bill Evans is asking council to back a complete boycott of the process, that would see both council and staff not participate in advisory committees established by the province.

It’s not clear how the province would implement the forced amalgamation without the cooperation of staff from Sackville, as they have appointed just one part-time facilitator with no municipal government experience to oversee the task. Chad Peters is expected to spend less than one day per week in the next 10 months on the amalgamation of Entity 40.

Evans’ motion indicates that the boycott is justified because councillors will have no real say in the process anyway, but if they participate, they will be held accountable for the results.

Councillor Sabine Dietz is also planning a motion for tonight’s meeting. Dietz has said before that she would support a boycott motion, but that if that failed, she was hoping to exert some council control over aspects of the amalgamation plan.

Dietz’s motion calls for Mayor Shawn Mesheau and Deputy Mayor Andrew Black (who have both been appointed to a provincial advisory committee) to hold back their advice on the future make-up of the Entity 40 council, and instead make demands for changes to the process.… Continue

Boycott amalgamation question expected at council Monday

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.

Chad Peters has been appointed facilitator to oversee the amalgamation of five new municipal entities, including Entity 40. Photo: Facebook

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.… Continue

“Is there any way to stop this?”

Sackville resident Shelley Chase addressing council on February 7, 2022. Image: YouTube screencap

Shelley Chase surprised herself on Monday night when she got up at the end of a marathon meeting of Sackville town council to ask about the topic of the day: the forced amalgamation of Sackville, Dorchester and surrounding areas.

“Is there any way to stop this?” wondered Chase, after Mayor Shawn Mesheau had just given a speech making his case for a cooperative stance with the province (albeit a stance that would lobby for an extra 12 months to complete the amalgamation as proposed.)

At least one councillor vehemently believes there is a way to stop amalgamation, or at least that it’s worth trying to. Others were more resigned to their Entity 40 fate.

Chase was at the Sackville town council meeting on another matter, to give a presentation on the status and planning for the 2022 incarnation of the Levee on the Lake. (Spoiler alert: it’s growing, save for road closures, which are shrinking.) But she was moved to get up after council’s brief discussion because as she said, “It feels very undemocratic. And I feel that the population as a whole is so tired and so beaten down.”

Finding a reason good enough

Chase spontaneously voiced the question that has been asked repeatedly on social media posts about the forced amalgamation, but had yet to be seriously posed in a council discussion on the matter: what can be done?… Continue

Decisions on Entity 40 council delayed after committee concerns over rushed process, lack of consultation

The deadline for a decision on how many councillors will govern the new Entity 40, as well as who they will represent, has been delayed. Government-appointed facilitator Chad Peters had informed Sackville town council that a decision would happen by this Friday, February 11, but has since informed them he will take more time on the decision.

A meeting of the advisory committee appointed by Peters is also delayed. It will now happen next week, on February 15. Mayor Shawn Mesheau and Deputy Mayor Andrew Black have been appointed to the advisory committee representing Sackville. The department of local government has confirmed that Mayor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell will represent the village of Dorchester, along with Deputy Mayor Robert Corkerton. Mary-Ellen Trueman will represent the Pointe de Bute Local Service District (LSD), and Matt Beal will represent the Dorchester LSD. The department still has no representatives from the Sackville LSD.

The original timeline proposed by Peters allowed no opportunity for public consultation, something that garnered much criticism last week from Sackville town councillors at the first ever meeting of their municipal reform committee.

That committee is tentatively planning to meet again this week, on Wednesday evening.… Continue

Monday on TR: Mesheau talks amalgamation; surprise vaxx clinic today in Sackville; so much snow.

Monday on Tantramar Report:

As we heard last week from Sackville town councillor Bill Evans, the new facilitator appointed to head up the amalgamation of Sackville, Dorchester and surrounding areas had his first meeting with Sackville town council last week. Former PC provincial candidate Chad Peters met with council, and while many questions about the process still remain, some aspects of the process have been revealed: there will be two committees struck, one with local representatives and one with staff. The meetings of these advisory committees will not be open to the public, although there are intentions for information sharing and consultation.

On today’s show we feature a conversation with Sackville mayor Shawn Mesheau, to find out a bit more about the first meeting and the process going forward.

Plus more news and information briefs:

Vaxx clinic in Sackville today

Booster shots and kids vaccine shots are available at the Sackville Visitor Information Centre today, in a surprise clinic hosted by the regional health networks. As of Sunday night, there are appointments available all day, from 9am to 4pm, with kids appointment available from 2pm to 4pm.

About 185 people got their booster shots at a clinic on Saturday in Sackville. Corner Drug Store pharmacist Charles Beaver says the campus clinic was busy during the morning, but closed early due to the weather. Remaining patients will be able to get their shot at the Corner Drug Store this week.

As of Thursday last week, just over 39% of the New Brunswick population have received a booster or third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.… Continue

The future of Entity 40 full of unknowns, says Sackville CAO

Various new entities in the Southeast Regional Service District. From the New Brunswick government’s white paper on local governance reform, page 50.

By this time next year, the town of Sackville won’t exist as a legal entity, and a new, larger municipality will govern locally.

The province announced in December it will go ahead with plans to amalgamate Sackville, Dorchester and surrounding areas into a new municipal unit, despite protest from both Sackville and Dorchester councils. In December, Mayor Shawn Mesheau sent in a counter proposal to the department of local government, suggesting that it leave the town of Sackville as is and amalgamate Dorchester, Port Elgin, and surrounding areas into an even larger municipality. The proposal was developed at an in camera meeting of council, so the discussions were not recorded and remain outside public scrutiny.

In an email, department spokesperson Anne Mooers says her colleagues reviewed the Sackville proposal and “determined that the best way forward to benefit the area for the next generation was to bring the two local governments [Sackville and Dorchester] together.”

“We look forward to working through the transition with them and supporting them,” writes Mooers.

But just exactly what that transition will look like is still largely unknown outside Mooers’ department.

CHMA spoke to Sackville CAO Jamie Burke last week to find out what he knows so far about the process.

Town of Sackville CAO Jamie Burke addressing council on January 10, 2022. Image: Youtube.

… Continue

Sackville shut out on revisions to municipal reform plan

When the news hit of Sackville’s destiny to become “Entity 40” back in November, local artist and screenprinter Robert Lyon came up with this t-shirt and tote design, referencing both the town’s beloved “Cube”, and its fate at the hands of the province.

The town of Sackville has been shut out of changes to the province’s plan for municipal reform.

Last Thursday was the deadline for municipalities to send in feedback on the sweeping changes to New Brunswick’s municipal map, which includes the proposed amalgamation of the town of Sackville, the village of Dorchester, and surrounding local service districts from Dorchester Cape to Point de Bute. And today the province released its list of changes to the proposed new municipal boundaries.

The recommendation for Sackville to merge with its neighbours remains the same.

Other municipalities in the Southest Regional Service District will see some changes. The village of Petitcodiac, previously stated to go it alone (unlike most other villages of its size in the province) will now be combined with surrounding local service districts Elgin Centre and Elgin Parish.

A bit farther north, the town of Richibucto, which had been slated to join with a neighbouring local service district, will now be combined with the village of Saint-Louis de Kent and two other districts to form a much larger entity.

Both the village of Dorchester and the town of Sackville had registered their opposition to their proposed amalgamation into what was dubbed by the province as Entity 40.… Continue

Sackville makes a bid to avoid amalgamation, suggests an even larger one for Dorchester, Port Elgin

Tune in to Tantramar Report on Friday to hear interviews with Sackville Mayor Shawn Mesheau and Dorchester Mayor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell, as well as Memramcook-Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton speaking in the legislature about municipal reform in the Tantramar region.

After a last minute and closed meeting of council on Wednesday afternoon, the town of Sackville has proposed an alternative to Minister Daniel Allain’s plan for redrawing municipal boundaries in the Tantramar Region. In a letter approved by council, Mayor Shawn Mesheau recommends leaving the current town of Sackville boundary as-is, and suggests instead the amalgamation of the villages of Dorchester and Port Elgin, along with surrounding local service districts, to become a large municipality that would completely surround the town, and stretch from Dorchester Cape to Cape Tormentine.

Figure from Sackville’s letter to Local Government Minister Daniel Allain on December 16, 2021.

“We have diligently evaluated alternative boundary locations for Sackville but cannot identify a geographical representation that would meet the criteria established in the Finn Report,” says the letter, referring to criteria from the 2008 report that calls for a minimum of 4,000 people or $200 million in tax base to justify a unique municipality.

The town of Sackville fits both requirements, with a tax base of over $660 million and a population of just over 5300. The suggested new amalgamated municipality would also meet both criteria, with a tax base of roughly $424 million and a population of about 4800.… Continue

Tag: amalgamation

Finding a reason good enough

Vaxx clinic in Sackville today