{"id":25707,"date":"2022-07-27T14:06:34","date_gmt":"2022-07-27T17:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chmafm.com\/welcome\/?p=25707"},"modified":"2025-03-10T14:54:59","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T17:54:59","slug":"allain-dismisses-sackville-council-concerns-and-affirms-appointment-of-jennifer-borne-as-tantramar-cao","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chmafm.com\/welcome\/allain-dismisses-sackville-council-concerns-and-affirms-appointment-of-jennifer-borne-as-tantramar-cao\/","title":{"rendered":"Allain dismisses Sackville council concerns and affirms appointment of Jennifer Borne as Tantramar CAO"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Minister of Local Government and MLA for Moncton East, Daniel Allain. Photo: pcnb.ca<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Note: This story was updated at 5:45pm to include comments from Sackville councillor Michael Tower.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local Government Minister Daniel Allain has turned down Mayor Shawn Mesheau\u2019s request for an independent review of the process behind hiring a new Tantramar CAO. In a letter to council this week, Allain said he was sticking with his appointment of Dorchester CAO Jennifer Borne to head up the staff for the new municipality of Tantramar. The only other candidate for the job was Sackville CAO Jamie Burke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mesheau wrote to Allain about two weeks ago after Sackville town council asked him to do so at their regular July meeting. Mesheau called the process which resulted in Borne\u2019s appointment \u201cfundamentally flawed\u201d, and asked for a meeting with Allain and a review of the whole process by an independent HR consultant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The minister and the mayor met last week, and this week, Allain sent his reply to all councillors expressing his \u201cconfidence in the recruitment process leading to [his] decision to appoint Jennifer Borne to the role.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allain\u2019s letter mentioned the province\u2019s contract with Jennifer Murray Consulting of Moncton, whom he said were \u201cresponsible for overseeing a biased free [sic] recruitment process leading to a fair and objective evaluation of candidates.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter reads, \u201cThe position advertisement, essential qualifications, competencies, and candidate evaluation grid were based on an objective assessment of the position requirements and all candidates were assessed based on the established criteria.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allain then offered up a timeline of the process that took place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On June 3, a small HR subcommittee was appointed by provincial appointee Chad Peters. That committee included Sackville Deputy Mayor Andrew Black, Dorchester Deputy Mayor Robert Corkerton, and appointed representative from the Sackville local service district Chris Milner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Deputy Mayor Andrew Black chairing a meeting of council on July 12, 2022. Image: Youtube screencap<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Black later explained to CHMA that he had concerns about the make-up of the committee early on, because it involved two people with existing working relationships to the candidates. Black had worked with Jamie Burke for years, and Robert Corkerton had likewise worked with Jennifer Borne. That would leave Chris Milner, appointed by the province, to break a likely tie vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black says he voiced those concerns to Chad Peters before the process began, but was told the process was decided and the same process was being used province-wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black would later resign, but not before a single round of candidate interviews were conducted on June 8th and 14th. According to Allain\u2019s timeline, Black\u2019s resignation comes on June 15, a day after \u201cthe HR subcommittee finalized the evaluation of the candidates as well as their recommendation on the candidate most qualified for appointment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black agrees that he participated in both interviews and that the committee had essentially finished its work when he resigned, but he says he did not sign off on a recommendation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jennifer Borne has been CAO of Dorchester for nearly five years, managing a staff complement of three full time employees and two casual workers. Burke was hired as CAO of Sackville in April 2020, and as of this month manages about 37 permanent employees as well a temporary and summer contracts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reactions from Sackville town council<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mayor Shawn Mesheau is out of town and unavailable for comment this week, so CHMA reached out to Sackville town councillors to get their reactions to Allain\u2019s refusal to review the hiring process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councillor Bruce Phinney wasn\u2019t at the meeting where council unanimously asked the Mayor to express their concerns to Allain, and may not have supported the motion. Phinney has long been critical of Jamie Burke and was the lone vote against hiring Burke in 2020. Earlier in July, Phinney responded positively to the news that Jennifer Borne would be appointed Tantramar CAO. Phinney told CHMA via email that he felt the hiring committee had \u201chired the right person for the CAO position,\u201d and that he wished Jamie Burke all the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deputy Mayor Andrew Black had previously shared his concerns about the hiring process, but declined to comment on Allain\u2019s response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councillor Sabine Dietz, who made the motion calling for the letter to Allain, replied by email that she was \u201cnot surprised\u201d considering that the provincial government has \u201cnot given an inch\u201d on any requests from Sackville town council throughout the local government reform process. Dietz said although she wasn\u2019t surprised, the situation remains \u201cfrustrating and infuriating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Councillor Bill Evans speaking at Sackville town council. Image: Youtube screen capture<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Councillor Bill Evans, who has been a vocal opponent of the forced amalgamation process all along, was willing to share his thoughts in a phone interview Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s that interview, edited for length:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n