Tantramar’s Deputy Mayor Josh Goguen and Councillor Allison Butcher called out the council over what they say is ongoing divisiveness, particularly in how municipal staff have been treated.
The statements were made near the end of the Sept. 8 regular council meeting, which ran for a little over three hours after an in-camera session that ran a little over two hours.
Goguen, in his remarks, asked his fellow councillors to put themselves in staff’s position if they were “questioned publicly at every turn.”
“ Many of us would find that difficult. And if it becomes (a) regular occurrence, we would likely view it as harassment.
“When interactions become overly adversarial,” he said, “it affects staff morale and can contribute to a negative workplace culture. We recently completed an investigation involving concerns of this nature, and we all saw firsthand the impact it had on an organization.”
Listen to the audio below:
Goguen is referring to the recent investigations into the leadership of Sackville Fire and Rescue.
Neither Goguen nor Butcher called out any particular councillors or actions, instead focusing on how council has been operating as a whole.
Butcher, who has served as a councillor for a decade—first for the former Town of Sackville, and then for Tantramar—said she has never witnessed a council behave like this before and that they are lucky to have the quality of staff they have.
“ Instead of coming together, I’ve watched as this council has become divided in a way that I’ve never seen in my decade here. Instead of moving forward, it seems like there are certain individuals who are focused on an alternate agenda of some kind of corporate restructuring or business transformation or something, and I have repeatedly seen advice and recommendations of our CAO and our staff disregarded and ignored.”
During the meeting, Councillor Alyssa Greene put forth two motions regarding staff operations – one about the upcoming organizational review and another about developing an ice time allocation policy.
For the operational review, Greene requested a comprehensive update and timeline on the RFP process for the review, as well as ongoing updates to council from CAO Jennifer Borne. She also sought to attach a deadline of the end of this year to the process.
Ahead of debate on the motion, Borne clarified that she had provided a timeline at the last Committee of the Whole meeting on Aug. 24, insofar as until the RFP is returned and council awards the job, a firm timeline cannot be established.
Goguen, Butcher and Councillor Tori Weldon spoke against the motion, saying the CAO should be trusted to set the timeline.
It was also reiterated that Borne already makes monthly reports to council which include necessary progress updates.
The motion was defeated, with six members of council voting against.
As for ice time, Butcher pointed out that ice time was part of the recommendations in the Master Recreation Plan council had heard a lengthy presentation on and already voted in favour of earlier in the meeting. Greene also would have seen the recommendation in the council package sent out ahead of the meeting.
The motion passed, with Butcher as the only nay.
There was also a code of conduct complaint from a resident against Mayor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell over a letter she posted on social media “on behalf of council.” In a Facebook comment, Goguen said council had not been notified or provided an opportunity to review the letter.
The complaint was dismissed, with both Goguen and Butcher, along with Councillor Kristen LeBlanc, voting to proceed.
Goguen closed out his comments at the end of the night by reminding council that they and staff are on the same team and that the public is looking to them for leadership.
“ The public expects council to work collaboratively, respectfully, and professionally, even when we disagree. Demonstrating that we can have productive discussion, treat each other with respect, and work through our differences will do far more to build public confidence than trying to score points in a debate.”
