Council says new chief will work with existing executive and be EMO director
Woodstock Town Council has instructed town staff to proceed with hiring a full-time fire chief who will also serve as the town’s EMO Director.
It was acknowledged that with a growing community, the fire department’s workload has increased.
Mayor Trina Jones said the position will fill a need in the busy department.
The fire chief will be working with the existing volunteer fire chief and deputy chief. The new hire will supervise and manage full-time and volunteer personnel, and provide administrative support to the department. They will manage incident response, incident management, and incident control, and be responsible for data collection to aid the town council in its future decisions.
“I’m just so thankful for our volunteers,” said Coun. Julie Calhoun-Williams. “And it’s really impressive to me that we have had a fire department that’s 95 per cent volunteers for how many decades… It’s incredible.”
She also commended Fire Chief Harold McLellan.
“I’m so thankful for everything he’s done. I think it’s good that we’re looking towards the future.”
Innovation in Crime Reduction Award
Mayor Trina Jones extended congratulations to the Woodstock Police Force (WPF) during the town’s council meeting on Jan. 13.
The WPF’s Integrated Enforcement Unit is a contributing part of the New Brunswick Integrated Enforcement Unit (NBIEU). The NBIEU was selected as the national unit winner of the RCMP’s 2024 Innovation in Crime Reduction Award.
Mayor Jones explained that, in their nationally recognized work, Woodstock’s IEU is part of the NBIEU, working alongside New Brunswick’s RCMP and other municipal police services, as well as justice and public safety officers in the province.
In a letter to the council, WPF Chief Mark Bennett explained how it came about.
“The NBIEU was nominated for its combined efforts in establishing effective pathways for information and resource sharing, strengthening collaboration among partner agencies, and supporting coordinated, intelligence-led policing,” he said in the letter.
Bennett explained that the organization’s creation led to improved intelligence sharing, resulting in significant seizures of illicit materials and numerous high-profile arrests. He noted that this contributed to the safety and well-being of communities throughout New Brunswick.
Mayor Jones said that the NBIEU’s approach has drawn attention from other provinces seeking ways to improve crime prevention in their own jurisdictions.
“Obviously, we’re proud to have that unit working as part of our team, and they’re doing really great work,” said Mayor Jones.
By-Law updates: Main Street building, mayor’s salary
After confirming that the town had not received community feedback on By-Law Z-501.03, it passed its third reading. The bylaw change will allow 733 Main Street to be converted from a one or two-unit home to a low-rise residential building.
By-Law 602.01, which increases the mayor’s remuneration, also passed its first reading during the Jan. 13 meeting.
While the councillors’ current annual stipend of $18,000 and the deputy mayor’s stipend of $22,000 will remain the same, council is considering changing the compensation for the next mayor.
Mayor Trina Jones stressed that if the next mayor works part-time (24-32 hours per week), their stipend will decrease from $45,000 annually to $32,000. The next mayor would receive a salary of $50,000 only if the council approves their full-time employment (working 32-50 hours a week) and the additional $8,000 stipend only if the mayor continues oversight of the municipal police department.
Mayor Jones explained that there were benefits to having a full-time mayor in place, rather than the part-time role it has had in the past.
“Having myself in there at full time at the moment does give us the flexibility every day to move a lot of things and keep momentum rolling,” she said. “We have to be conscious that a full-time mayor does help alleviate some of the work that the staff would otherwise have to pick up.”
Some other adjustments to compensation include an RRSP or other approved retirement savings contribution of up to $ 2,000 a year after one year of service, if operating part-time, or up to $4,000 a year if operating full-time; and council-approved professional development or leadership training of up to $1,000 a year part-time or up to $2,000 a year for full-time. Previously, they had suggested there would be an allowable $5,000 for ‘discretionary spending,’ but that was removed before the first reading.
That would mean a full-time mayor who also oversees the Woodstock Police Force would make $64,000 per year, and a part-time mayor could make up to $35.000.
Council will release the information and seek public feedback in the coming days.
Street Name Change
Woodstock Town Council discussed Eastwood Drive, which currently has two distinct sections separated by a wetland. They. noted that the wetland area likely will never be developed.
Council said that, given concerns that having two separate streets with the same name could be confusing for emergency responders, it approved renaming the shorter of the two Eastwood Drives to Westerberg Lane.
French Language School
At the Jan. 13 meeting, Mayor Jones informed the public that a letter regarding the proposed French-language school would be sent to the provincial government.
The letter, addressed to the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, Claire Johnson, said the town acknowledges that education decisions are a provincial mandate rather than a municipal one and welcomes any investment in educational infrastructure, as well as the province’s efforts to ensure children can learn in their first official language.
“Our purpose in writing you, is not to oppose that objective, but rather to respectfully request that the province undertake further community-specific analysis before finalizing a solution that may function well in urban or higher density regions yet pose unintended challenges within a fully rural setting such as ours,” wrote Mayor Jones.
In the letter, Jones highlighted some of the difficulties in the area, including the ageing Woodstock High School building, which is already operating over capacity. The two K-8 schools in the area are also operating at or near capacity. Busing was also cited as a challenge within the Anglophone School District West (ASD-W).
“We are concerned that introducing a separate Francophone facility could unintentionally divert attention and capital from urgently required investments in our existing school infrastructure,” Mayor Jones said.
She suggested that strengthening French immersion programs within the Anglophone schools might be a more appropriate strategy to meet the needs of both English and French-speaking students in the area, with potential solutions such as a Francophone wing or expansion at the high school, and stronger French immersion from K-12.
Encouraging further discussion on the matter, she suggested that Minister Johnson could meet with youth in the area, including the Woodstock Youth Council and the WHS Planet Youth Club, to hear their perspectives.
“Our community is not opposed to progress — we are asking that progress be shaped by the realities of rural life, the voices of the young people most affected, and a holistic understanding of how education infrastructure intersects with youth development, mental health, and long-term community resilience,” Mayor Jones wrote. “We would welcome the opportunity to host you in Woodstock to continue this dialogue.”
