Image of Mayor Robert Rochon retrieved from fundyalbert.ca Submitted by: James Wilson
With a provincial election going to be well underway by the time this article is published and the municipal council of Fundy Albert past the halfway point in its term I sat down with Mayor Robert (Bob) Rochon to get his views on the election and issues concerning Fundy Albert.
James:With the provincial election just around the corner what do you, as Mayor of Fundy Albert, hope to see in terms of commitments from the candidates and parties?
Bob:As a member community of the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick we want to see commitment to the white paper on local governance reform which had four key recommendations: a new partnership one that empowers municipalities, engagement with municipalities before decisions are made, respect for local government, and collaboration between levels of government. We are more in tune with local needs than a higher level of government. When people want something done, they come to us.
With a provincial election going to be well underway by the time this article is published and the municipal council of Fundy Albert past the halfway point in its term I sat down with Mayor Robert (Bob) Rochon to get his views on the election and issues concerning Fundy Albert.
James:With the provincial election just around the corner what do you, as Mayor of Fundy Albert, hope to see in terms of commitments from the candidates and parties?
Bob:As a member community of the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick we want to see commitment to the white paper on local governance reform which had four key recommendations: a new partnership one that empowers municipalities, engagement with municipalities before decisions are made, respect for local government, and collaboration between levels of government. We are more in tune with local needs than a higher level of government. When people want something done, they come to us.
Bob (con't): As a municipality of small communities we have aging infrastructure that requires a lot of attention and cash to operate. We need to find new funding levers. Currently the only funding lever we have to raise revenue is property taxation which means we either have to raise taxes or cut services. The Union of Municipalities has asked the government for new funding levers. The idea has been floated that a portion of the HST could go to the municipalities which we could use to fund the municipality and provide some tax relief.
James:The current council is halfway done its term; what initiatives have you been most proud of?
Bob:Here are some of the accomplishments so far; developed a new strategic plan for the municipality, created a new logo and brand for the municipality, purchased a new fire truck, and worked towards a consolidated rural plan.
The strategic plan which covers five key priorities: village services, infrastructure, building strategic partnerships with outside groups, economic development, and tourism. The municipality has a role to play in tourism along with the province.
The new logo and brand for municipality needed to be created due to local government reform creating a new entity. We are very happy that the consultative process was embraced by the community and what resulted from that.
We have been working towards a consolidated rural plan. This has proved somewhat controversial. Concerns have been raised and we’ve gone back to the drawing board. Some folks got quite anxious about the new rural plan. I want to make clear that its not to make a brand new plan but to bring all currently existing rural plans and combine them into one plan. Concerns have been raised how this might effect hobby farms and we are not opposed to people having hobby farms. We are going to strike a committee to take another look at the consolidated rural plan.
James:If you had to pick just one of the above initiatives?
Bob:The strategic plan by far. When I was first elected as Mayor of Hillsborough I wanted to implement one but with the announcement of local government reform there seemed little point to create a plan for a municipality which would soon no longer exist. The plan gives council a way to focus on its priorities.
James:What issue do you feel has caused council the most trouble?
Bob:We are still hearing that we are not communicating enough with the community. Now, everybody gets their communication in different ways. We use fliers but not everyone gets fliers. We also use Facebook for getting the word out about meetings but we don’t use Facebook for conducting business. People are struggling with this because if they ask questions on there we will not answer them. If they need assistance they need to call the office (Author’s Note: 506-734-3733) or drop into the office.
We are implementing the use of the Voyent Alert app which will allow us to push out information and notifications to the public. Things like water advisories, events, emergency alerts, weather advisories, and construction alerts. Alerts would go out to text or email and a flier explaining this system has been sent out.
Another concern has been the video and audio recordings of council meetings. We continue to struggle with this and we will continue to struggle with this until we find a permanent place for council meetings. Our setup has improved but its still not great.
James:In your own words, what happened with regards to the Steeves Street property sale? How would its detractors portray this sale?
Bob:The detractors would probably say that it wasn’t a transparent process, that there wasn’t a long enough period to submit bids, that it wasn’t advertised properly, and that we sold it for $14,000 less than the proposal that was rejected.
The whole process started on May 14th when council declared certain parcels of land to be surplus. That process was done at a public meeting with it being decided we would sell it with a request for proposals. The period for submitting proposals was between 10-14 days and was advertised on the website as well as social media. What we are hearing is people only heard about this well after which goes back to the issue of communication. Was it communicated as well as it could have been? Probably not, but it was an open and fair process.
Council looked at the proposals and voted on which they felt was the best fit for the site. The land is zoned for industrial use and it was important not to create a future conflict in land use. It also has no water or sewer hook-ups and in the request for bids we asked each submitter to state they understood this. It is close to the Nelsons Waste Remediation building and the public works building. One proposal suggested having tour buses stopping there. Essentially it came down to choosing one of two businesses in the community. The one that did eventually get the property is going to use it as a central location for their trucking business with a large maintenance facility and office on site.
James:Are there plans for a permanent council meeting spot or do you foresee alternating meeting locations remaining the norm?
Bob:There are no immediate plans to change the way we are doing things. Ideally council would be situated somewhere centrally located. Right now, due to local government reform we ended up with three former municipal offices and three sets of employees. Eventually, either this council or a future council will have to select a central location for the municipal office.
James:Is there a pattern to where meetings are held each week or is it more-or-less random?
Bob:Yes, actually. There are three types of council meetings: regular meetings which are held on the first Tuesday of each month, committee of the whole meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month, and special meetings which are held as needed.
Regular meetings rotate between Alma and Riverside-Albert. Committee of the whole meetings are always held in Hillsborough due to municipal staff attending these meetings and Hillsborough being the most convenient to get to. Special meetings are held where it makes most sense to do so.
James:What is the number one thing people think the council controls but it doesn’t?
Bob:That is a bit of a loaded question. Local governance reform has created an expectation that we control areas that we don’t. Some examples: road repairs and herbicide spraying. We have an advocacy role but we can’t control these issues.
Some residents also feel the mayor has a lot of say, I don’t. The procedural by-laws allow me to vote on motions. I don’t think I should have this power. My role is to guide the meetings but it is the councillors who decide what council does. My role is to then publicly defend what council has decided.
Many thanks to Mayor Rochon for taking the time to sit down and speak with me.
Interview conducted on September 11th, 2024
James:The current council is halfway done its term; what initiatives have you been most proud of?
Bob:Here are some of the accomplishments so far; developed a new strategic plan for the municipality, created a new logo and brand for the municipality, purchased a new fire truck, and worked towards a consolidated rural plan.
The strategic plan which covers five key priorities: village services, infrastructure, building strategic partnerships with outside groups, economic development, and tourism. The municipality has a role to play in tourism along with the province.
The new logo and brand for municipality needed to be created due to local government reform creating a new entity. We are very happy that the consultative process was embraced by the community and what resulted from that.
We have been working towards a consolidated rural plan. This has proved somewhat controversial. Concerns have been raised and we’ve gone back to the drawing board. Some folks got quite anxious about the new rural plan. I want to make clear that its not to make a brand new plan but to bring all currently existing rural plans and combine them into one plan. Concerns have been raised how this might effect hobby farms and we are not opposed to people having hobby farms. We are going to strike a committee to take another look at the consolidated rural plan.
James:If you had to pick just one of the above initiatives?
Bob:The strategic plan by far. When I was first elected as Mayor of Hillsborough I wanted to implement one but with the announcement of local government reform there seemed little point to create a plan for a municipality which would soon no longer exist. The plan gives council a way to focus on its priorities.
James:What issue do you feel has caused council the most trouble?
Bob:We are still hearing that we are not communicating enough with the community. Now, everybody gets their communication in different ways. We use fliers but not everyone gets fliers. We also use Facebook for getting the word out about meetings but we don’t use Facebook for conducting business. People are struggling with this because if they ask questions on there we will not answer them. If they need assistance they need to call the office (Author’s Note: 506-734-3733) or drop into the office.
We are implementing the use of the Voyent Alert app which will allow us to push out information and notifications to the public. Things like water advisories, events, emergency alerts, weather advisories, and construction alerts. Alerts would go out to text or email and a flier explaining this system has been sent out.
Another concern has been the video and audio recordings of council meetings. We continue to struggle with this and we will continue to struggle with this until we find a permanent place for council meetings. Our setup has improved but its still not great.
James:In your own words, what happened with regards to the Steeves Street property sale? How would its detractors portray this sale?
Bob:The detractors would probably say that it wasn’t a transparent process, that there wasn’t a long enough period to submit bids, that it wasn’t advertised properly, and that we sold it for $14,000 less than the proposal that was rejected.
The whole process started on May 14th when council declared certain parcels of land to be surplus. That process was done at a public meeting with it being decided we would sell it with a request for proposals. The period for submitting proposals was between 10-14 days and was advertised on the website as well as social media. What we are hearing is people only heard about this well after which goes back to the issue of communication. Was it communicated as well as it could have been? Probably not, but it was an open and fair process.
Council looked at the proposals and voted on which they felt was the best fit for the site. The land is zoned for industrial use and it was important not to create a future conflict in land use. It also has no water or sewer hook-ups and in the request for bids we asked each submitter to state they understood this. It is close to the Nelsons Waste Remediation building and the public works building. One proposal suggested having tour buses stopping there. Essentially it came down to choosing one of two businesses in the community. The one that did eventually get the property is going to use it as a central location for their trucking business with a large maintenance facility and office on site.
James:Are there plans for a permanent council meeting spot or do you foresee alternating meeting locations remaining the norm?
Bob:There are no immediate plans to change the way we are doing things. Ideally council would be situated somewhere centrally located. Right now, due to local government reform we ended up with three former municipal offices and three sets of employees. Eventually, either this council or a future council will have to select a central location for the municipal office.
James:Is there a pattern to where meetings are held each week or is it more-or-less random?
Bob:Yes, actually. There are three types of council meetings: regular meetings which are held on the first Tuesday of each month, committee of the whole meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month, and special meetings which are held as needed.
Regular meetings rotate between Alma and Riverside-Albert. Committee of the whole meetings are always held in Hillsborough due to municipal staff attending these meetings and Hillsborough being the most convenient to get to. Special meetings are held where it makes most sense to do so.
James:What is the number one thing people think the council controls but it doesn’t?
Bob:That is a bit of a loaded question. Local governance reform has created an expectation that we control areas that we don’t. Some examples: road repairs and herbicide spraying. We have an advocacy role but we can’t control these issues.
Some residents also feel the mayor has a lot of say, I don’t. The procedural by-laws allow me to vote on motions. I don’t think I should have this power. My role is to guide the meetings but it is the councillors who decide what council does. My role is to then publicly defend what council has decided.
Many thanks to Mayor Rochon for taking the time to sit down and speak with me.
Interview conducted on September 11th, 2024
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