Town councillors in Port Hawkesbury want a greater say in what will be discussed at an upcoming meeting with municipal officials in Richmond County.
During last night’s regular monthly meeting in Port Hawkesbury, CAO Terry Doyle said that on Feb. 8 he, the town’s mayor, and deputy mayor, as well as the warden, deputy warden, and CAO from Richmond County met to discuss the agenda for a joint meeting.
It was decided that the CAOs will create a draft agenda that would be circulated to the committee, then presented to both councils.
Town Councillor Jason Aucoin said elected officials in town did not receive emails asking for their preferences on what items will be included on the agenda. He told council it was a waste of time to not get input from councillors which led to a situation where a “few people” were deciding on which topics should be discussed.
Doyle said both councils will be able to provide input and reach consensus on the agenda items.
Pointing to the many shared services and joint funding projects, as well as the committees both municipalities sit on, Doyle said there are many common issues but they can’t all be discussed in one joint meeting.
In addition to the 12 active files both municipalities work on together, Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton said there could be more collaboration opportunities in the future.