Council approves direct-mail survey to gather more feedback regarding the proposal to expand Woodstock Police Force coverage to all wards
Woodstock council agreed to expand the survey to seek feedback from residents regarding its proposal to extend the Woodstock Police Force’s coverage to all wards.
In an update delivered at the July 23 council meeting, Mayor Trina Jones explained that the 433 responses to the recently completed online survey fall short of the feedback she believes is needed for the council to make an informed decision.
“We’re missing a large percentage of the population,” she said.
The mayor recommended the town direct mail the survey questions to Woodstock residents, focusing on reaching especially residents in Wards 1, 2, 3 and 5. The proposed Woodstock Police Force expansion would replace the RCMP in those wards and increase their tax rates by 15 cents per $100 of assessment.
The WPF currently covers Ward 4, encompassing the former Woodstock town boundaries before municipal reform. The police changes would not affect Ward 4 tax rates.
Jones said the 433 responses to the online survey showed 58 per cent in favour of the expansion, 26 against it and 16 undecided. She said she fears the number of responses does not accurately reflect the opinion of Woodstock’s total population of more than 10,000 residents.
Jones said the colourful mailouts would cost $1,600 to print and $760 to mail. Council approved the costs.
Jones said the schedule currently calls for the town to mail the survey on Aug. 7. She said residents could respond through an online address or drop their responses in drop boxes at AYR Motor Centre and possibly the Woodstock town hall. She said the town would also reopen its online survey.
“We’re trying to make this super easy for people to do, give them lots of ways to do it, lots of time and time for you guys (councillors) to make a more informed decision,” Jones said.
She added that the town will also host two, possibly three, open houses to provide residents with detailed answers to their questions. One public meeting will be held in Richmond Corner and another in Woodstock. She added that they could host a third open house in Northampton if necessary.
She said the mailouts would include the open houses’ locations, dates, and times.
“This is a huge decision,” she said.
CAO Allan Walker said 37 per cent of the survey responses came from Ward 4, with the remaining from Wards 1, 2, 3 and 5.
He and the mayor expressed hope a wider survey and information delivered through the open houses would convince the undecided to one side or the other.
Jones said many survey respondents took advantage of the survey to make comments, which she would share with council and the public later. She said the comments offered valuable information but also demonstrated a widespread misunderstanding of the process leading to municipal reform.
Woodstock submitted its plan, developed by Chief Gary Forward and his team, to expand coverage to all wards at the province’s request. New Brunswick Public Safety Minister Kris Austin approved the proposed plan. The expanded force would double staffing from 22 to 44 members and increase the town budget from an estimated $3.3 million to $8.7 million.
The province also agreed to provide the town with $4.2 million in transitional funding, but Jones said town and provincial officials are currently negotiating for additional funds.
In addition to expanding coverage to Wards 1, 2, 3 and 5, the proposed plan includes coverage of Wotstak First Nation if agreement is reached between the band, the town, the province and the federal government.
If approved, the expansion will occur between 2025 and 2027.
The Woodstock Police Force would begin in 2025, covering only Ward 4, and expand to Ward 5 (Grafton, Northampton and Southampton) in October 2025. Pending an agreement, the expansion would include the Wotstak First Nation at the same time.
The force would add Ward 3 in October 2026, followed by Wards 1, 2 and the highway in January 2027.
The tax hike for Wards 1, 2, 3, and 5 would begin in 2025.
