Dorchester mayor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell is not all that worried about loss of identity for her community of Dorchester in the wake of proposed amalgamation with neighbouring Sackville, Point de Bute and surrounding areas. But she does have other concerns, mostly about unknowns in the process that is slated to begin in the new year, after local government minister Daniel Allain gets his proposed plan through the provincial legislature.
Wiggins-Colwell says she was expecting big changes from the local governance reform plan, but the merger of Sackville and Dorchester surprised her. “We thought maybe some local service district would be included, but then all of a sudden here we are—Dorchester, Sackville and Point de Bute. We’re all in this together now.”
Dorchester village council met on Tuesday night to discuss the alamagamation announcement, and concerns were expressed about community identity and the future of the local fire department. “Until we get our transition team in at the first of the year, we don’t know how this is going to look,” says Wiggins-Colwell.
Newly elected in May of this year, Wiggins-Colwell’s mayoral term will be cut short by the amalgamation, along with the rest of Dorchester and Sackville councils. She says she is interested in running again to represent Dorchester. “I will certainly seek a seat on the new council, however it will work,” says Wiggins-Colwell. She is expecting some sort of ward system to be incorporated into the new council, to replace the at-large representatives now in place in Dorchester and Sackville.
The structure of the new council will be determined by a transition team appointment by the provincial government, who will be mandated to consult with current councils and staff.
Wiggins-Colwell says the makeup of the new council is important for Dorchester. “We have to have good representation,” she says. “Whether it would be one person or two people, we’re not sure how that’s going to look.”
Parts of the plan, such as the increased role of the Southeast Regional Service Commission, could have advantages for the region, says Wiggins-Colwell. She mentions the potential of collaborating on tourism development along route 106 in particular. “I can see that being a plus for our communities,” says Wiggins-Colwell.
One of the big unknowns in the plan announced so far is the future of the now separate fire departments in Dorchester, Sackville and Point de Bute, all of which are managed through separate budgets. The provincial reform plan says very little about the future of those fire departments specifically, though it does describe the creation of a public safety committee at the regional service commission level, tasked to “encourage further collaboration on specialized services and asset management.”
The Southeast Regional Service Commission covers a wide territory with Moncton at the centre, and circling around to Cape Tormentine, Shediac, Peticodiac, and Alma. At the last meeting of the commission, 15 mayors attended, as well as representatives from four of 24 local service districts. After amalgamation, there will be 12 municipalities and one rural district represented.
The plan says that while there were suggestions for fire protection to fall under the control of regional service commissions, “the provincial government has determined it is not the time for this level of change without the various fire services being involved in such an initiative.”
But while Sackville, Dorchester and Point de Bute fire department won’t be taken over by the Southeast Regional Service Commission, they will move to being operated by one municipal entity instead of three.
“I suspect there will be some restructuring,” says Wiggins-Colwell, and that is concerning for her. “Our fire department is a super-dedicated group of men and women, so inclusive. They’ve been at the heart and soul of our community for many, many years. And they all get along so well. I just worry about how that’s going to evolve, how that’s going to change.”
In terms of naming the new municipality, Wiggins-Colwell “Tantramar Regional” as a viable option. She is confident that the distinct names of the existing communities will persevere.
We’ll still always be Dorchester, we’ll still always be Sackville, Point de Bute.”
“In Dorchester we’re very proud of our heritage. We’re a small village, but a very active village, and we don’t want to lose that.”
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