The Saint Andrews council has approved its 2026 budgets, but not without some dissent.
Like other local governments in Charlotte County, it held its tax rates for both rural and urban areas. The provincial government has a freeze on property assessments, creating a level of uncertainty to municipalities across the province.
Saint Andrews will hold the rate at 1.0506 per $100 of assessment. Bayside and Chamcook will hold at 0.5395 per $100 of assessment, but will face an additional fee of about 0.4115 from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.
In its general capital budget, the council set aside $1 million for the Saint Andrews wharf refurbishment. The structure is undergoing a structural assessment to determine the next steps.
It budgeted $167,000 for a new Zamboni, $280,000 for a new sidewalk machine, $125,000 to upgrade the washrooms in the W.C. O’Neill Arena Complex, and $200,000 for housing.
A focus on paving
Another major focus of the upcoming year is improvements to various roads and streets. Several are expected to see upgrades, including:
- Crestwood Lane, $280,000
- Prince of Wales, $120,000
- Water Street (replacement of asphalt sidewalk), $160,000
It is also expected to take over the former Royal Canadian Legion parking lot. Chief Administrative Officer Chris Spear told the council that if it is paved properly it could add up to 50 more parking spaces in the downtown core.
Spear said it would be funded through the tourism accommodation levy – a fund supported by visitors who stay in local hotels, motels, and inns in Saint Andrews – amounting to $486,000.
Bayview Drive is also expected to be paved, but it will be paid for through the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DTI).
Dissension among council
Council did not vote unanimously to support the budget, with Coun. Darrell Weare expressing concerns about errors contained in the budget, the debt being taken on by the municipality, and missing details on contracts the town holds with the Wellness Centre.
“All the economic think-tanks, all the people in the know the economy, where it stands today and where it is going tomorrow, are all talking about decreasing debt,” Weare said. “Yet as a town, we are continuing to increase debt. It bothers me because of what we’re putting on the shoulders of the citizens of tomorrow.”
Weare said he took issue with the town not furthering the development of the allocation model. It had been recommended by the transition facilitator to develop one. The model is a system that distributes funds, resources, or services fairly across different departments, projects, or communities.
“So here we are going into year four and we still haven’t got this financial model as was envisioned with municipal reform … I’m just wondering what is going to happen next year, we’re just going to slide by and not put the model in place, that bothers me.”
He said he felt that last-minute changes to the budget made him feel that the town wouldn’t have a financial model that was as accurate as it should be.
Lastly, Weare took issue with what he described as a verbal contract between the town and the Wellness Centre, located inside the W.C. O’Neill Arena Complex.
He said he noted that certain expenses had been removed, but a cost-of-living-adjustment clause had been added, even though it had been budgeted for previously.
“I thought it was almost mandatory for a municipality to have a contract on that,” he said. “It is just not good business practice to operate on verbal contracts. This is a business. A very important business.”
Weare said he was unable to get a response on what retention fees were being paid to the physicians working in the clinic. He asked whether a sunset clause had been applied or whether the payments were set to continue indefinitely.
“These are very valid questions on [a] contract,” he said. “Things that as a councillor, I should know for my constituents and I should have a right to know.”
Two doctors currently operate out of the Wellness Centre: Dr. Brian Peer and Dr. Julie Levesque-Taylor. Coun. Annette Harland manages her husband Peer’s practice.
The clinic receives free space from the town, and it recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Horizon Health Network for renovations in the clinic, which comes amid a provincial push to establish 30 collaborative care clinics across New Brunswick.
Chief Administrative Officer Chris Spear, who is also the town’s treasurer and is an accountant by trade, said he felt Weare’s comments questioned his credibility.
“I’ve been doing this a long, long time,” he said. “There are sometimes ups and downs, but I’ve been in the public sector too and my budget is more accurate than anything they would get in the public sector.”
Spear said he, too, had discovered the errors mentioned by Weare during a final quality check before the vote.
He explained that previous iterations of government were not putting money in reserves – an account that allows municipalities to store funds for future use, including for capital upgrades.
“We’ve been fairly proactive with replacing assets, we can always look at cuts, but I guess it is what we are going to cut,” he said.
Spear said cuts can be made to the budget if borrowing is not what the council wants to do.
“I’m not saying it’s the wrong thing or the right thing,” he said, explaining the options to the council. “Other municipalities have made these hard cuts and lived with it, it is the reality.”
Spear said he wouldn’t apologize for his recommendations regarding borrowing because he has always been transparent and honest with the council. He also agreed to sit down and try to figure out the allocation model but said previous attempts to elicit feedback from the council were unsuccessful.
“It is just not good business practice to operate on verbal contracts. This is a business. A very important business.”
Coun. Lee Heenan also defended the budget preparation and the replacement of municipal assets.
“I find that a budget is always a living document,” Heenan said. “I understand that mistakes can be made, but a budget is a living document which means it has to be able to change to accommodate the needs of a particular town.”
He said he feels the council is filling in gaps that were left in the years prior to this council’s installation.
“We get tons of feedback about minor things that happen in the town, I’ve not gotten one letter on the budget,” he said.
Heenan said he was upset by someone questioning the Wellness Centre.
“I will fight tooth and nail to make sure that our health services in the Town of Saint Andrews remain strong and committed,” he said.
Council voted six in favour of the general operating and capital budgets, with Weare voting against both.
It voted six in favour of the utility budget, with Weare abstaining. Additionally, the province provided an additional $1.6 million for the renewal of existing assets, which was passed unanimously.
