We were a committee made up of people from each of the communities affected by the reform, working together to help make sure everything was going well, and to make suggestions that would assist in combining the three municipalities and Local Service District (LSD) regions into one municipality.
Some committee members feel it is important that the people of Entity #42 (Fundy-Albert) know the truth – and that we had absolutely no say in the decisions being made.
Some committee members feel it is important that the people of Entity #42 (Fundy-Albert) know the truth – and that we had absolutely no say in the decisions being made.
Mr. Chad Peters from Moncton was the Facilitator for this committee and he had the right to veto anything that was not a consensus (even when a majority vote had taken place). It was his decision to make and his alone. He was under the direction of Minister Daniel Allain and his colleagues who are in charge of the new Local Government Reform.
We were very frustrated that even the naming process didn't go smoothly. We had decided on a name, but when someone questioned it, Chad changed the name. This was despite a majority vote twice for "Community of Albert" instead of “Fundy-Albert”. Community of Albert was intended to protect the history of our Albert County heritage, which,ch was named by Queen Victoria for her husband, Prince Albert.
The first vote was 8 to 1 in favour of the name “Community of Albert”. The vote was passed because the dissenting voter was indifferent and agreed to change in favor of the majority.
Then, to our surprise, a new meeting was called because one member who was not present for the initial vote made at the previous meeting had a problem with the name. That person thought the word “Fundy” should be in the name. We suggested adding the slogan "Gateway to Fundy" after the name to include everyone from Lower Coverdale to Alma.
Further discussion and a second vote resulted in another majority at 6-4, with one abstention, for “Community of Albert”.. The committee was under the impression that the majority would win, but to our surprise, Mr. Chad Peters indicated that due to no consensus, he would decide. The next thing we knew he had registered the name as Fundy-Albert.
Next, Mr. Chad Peters had taken on the role of contracting a human resources Firm to hire the new Chief Administrative Officer for the new Entity. He thought there may be some conflicts of interest with the committee members from the three village municipalities who might know potential candidates. Due to this, no one from the committee was on the hiring committee.
We were not given any information about the candidates or the successful applicant’s qualifications. We would have no information if a community member asked about the hiring process. All we were told was that this HR company, and all the people who looked after the interviews, were very professional. The process was completed with no input at all from the committee.
When we were asked to join this committee we all were under the impression it was to help the new Facilitator get to know what would be best for our new community. However, this was not the case. , So, if any residents of Fundy- Albert have any questions or concerns, they will have to refer to Mr. Chad Peters or Minister Daniel Allain for any information. They have had all the say and it appeared they wanted no input from the committee, regardless of the fact some haved lived in this community for all our lives or have been residents for many years.
We feel cheated. The committee ended up feeling like it was merely a facade to make people think they had a voice.. The government wanted it to look like the community was participating and providing input into the reform; however, the only decisions made were ones that the government agreed with and wanted.
We have no hard feelings towards anyone and are praying for our community to prosper and get through this amalgamation. We really do think it is a good idea to join all the communities into one. "Albert County Proud".- We live in Albert County and would never dream of living anywhere else. It has our heart.
We would like to say good luck to all those who will be running in this upcoming election and, once the election is over, the new mayor and council and CAO, Hanna Downey, will forge ahead making our community the best it can be. Please get out and vote. The new mayor and council will represent us and we need people who care about our community as a whole.
The people of Fundy-Albert have a lot to offer the Province of New Brunswick. We hope all the efforts our new representatives put forth will help us prosper in the years to come.
We will continue to support our beloved community in any way we can and support all those who help in making our community great.
Sincerely,
Jim Campbell (Mayor Riverside-Albert)
Lisa Henderson (Hopewell LSD)
Jeff Land (Councillor- Village of Hillsborough)
Barb Gebuhr (Harvey LSD)
Jim Coates (Hillsborough LSD)
Harry Doyle (Lower Coverdale)
Danny Hudson (Hopewell LSD)
Contact information for Mr. Chad Peters or Minister Daniel Allain's office :
Lynwood Strategies
Chad Peters, SCMP
President & CEO
Mobile: 506-380-9522
chad@lynwoodstrategies.ca
Minister Daniel Allain - Constituency Office
Phone: 506-856-3228
Email: daniel.j.allain@gnb.ca
Address: 75 Shediac Road, Moncton, NB, E1A 2R6
We were very frustrated that even the naming process didn't go smoothly. We had decided on a name, but when someone questioned it, Chad changed the name. This was despite a majority vote twice for "Community of Albert" instead of “Fundy-Albert”. Community of Albert was intended to protect the history of our Albert County heritage, which,ch was named by Queen Victoria for her husband, Prince Albert.
The first vote was 8 to 1 in favour of the name “Community of Albert”. The vote was passed because the dissenting voter was indifferent and agreed to change in favor of the majority.
Then, to our surprise, a new meeting was called because one member who was not present for the initial vote made at the previous meeting had a problem with the name. That person thought the word “Fundy” should be in the name. We suggested adding the slogan "Gateway to Fundy" after the name to include everyone from Lower Coverdale to Alma.
Further discussion and a second vote resulted in another majority at 6-4, with one abstention, for “Community of Albert”.. The committee was under the impression that the majority would win, but to our surprise, Mr. Chad Peters indicated that due to no consensus, he would decide. The next thing we knew he had registered the name as Fundy-Albert.
Next, Mr. Chad Peters had taken on the role of contracting a human resources Firm to hire the new Chief Administrative Officer for the new Entity. He thought there may be some conflicts of interest with the committee members from the three village municipalities who might know potential candidates. Due to this, no one from the committee was on the hiring committee.
We were not given any information about the candidates or the successful applicant’s qualifications. We would have no information if a community member asked about the hiring process. All we were told was that this HR company, and all the people who looked after the interviews, were very professional. The process was completed with no input at all from the committee.
When we were asked to join this committee we all were under the impression it was to help the new Facilitator get to know what would be best for our new community. However, this was not the case. , So, if any residents of Fundy- Albert have any questions or concerns, they will have to refer to Mr. Chad Peters or Minister Daniel Allain for any information. They have had all the say and it appeared they wanted no input from the committee, regardless of the fact some haved lived in this community for all our lives or have been residents for many years.
We feel cheated. The committee ended up feeling like it was merely a facade to make people think they had a voice.. The government wanted it to look like the community was participating and providing input into the reform; however, the only decisions made were ones that the government agreed with and wanted.
We have no hard feelings towards anyone and are praying for our community to prosper and get through this amalgamation. We really do think it is a good idea to join all the communities into one. "Albert County Proud".- We live in Albert County and would never dream of living anywhere else. It has our heart.
We would like to say good luck to all those who will be running in this upcoming election and, once the election is over, the new mayor and council and CAO, Hanna Downey, will forge ahead making our community the best it can be. Please get out and vote. The new mayor and council will represent us and we need people who care about our community as a whole.
The people of Fundy-Albert have a lot to offer the Province of New Brunswick. We hope all the efforts our new representatives put forth will help us prosper in the years to come.
We will continue to support our beloved community in any way we can and support all those who help in making our community great.
Sincerely,
Jim Campbell (Mayor Riverside-Albert)
Lisa Henderson (Hopewell LSD)
Jeff Land (Councillor- Village of Hillsborough)
Barb Gebuhr (Harvey LSD)
Jim Coates (Hillsborough LSD)
Harry Doyle (Lower Coverdale)
Danny Hudson (Hopewell LSD)
Contact information for Mr. Chad Peters or Minister Daniel Allain's office :
Lynwood Strategies
Chad Peters, SCMP
President & CEO
Mobile: 506-380-9522
chad@lynwoodstrategies.ca
Minister Daniel Allain - Constituency Office
Phone: 506-856-3228
Email: daniel.j.allain@gnb.ca
Address: 75 Shediac Road, Moncton, NB, E1A 2R6
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