June 23 meeting discusses new roles, finances
“We’re slowly and gradually moving forward and getting up to speed, but it is going to take time,” said Woodstock Mayor Jeff Wright during the June 23 Town Council meeting. “I would ask the community to be patient as we settle into our new positions and our new roles. It’s going to take some time to figure things out, but we are here for you, and we will do our very best moving forward.”
Mayor Wright opened the meeting by thanking the public for their understanding as his team worked hard to learn where things currently stood on a wide range of issues, including finance and union negotiations, the housing study and developments, memoranda of understanding, and more.
“We’re going to take things slow, and learn as we go,” said Wright.
Sports Wall of Fame
“It was an absolute honour to work with the people who were on Woodstock’s [Sport] Wall of Fame over the last 25 years, including the founder, John Lockwood,” said the Wall of Fame outgoing committee member Devon Judge. “What an awesome initiative it is; 30 years of sports history went up on the wall.”
Deputy Mayor Mark Rogers took time to recognize two long-standing volunteers of the Woodstock Sports Wall of Fame Committee who had recently offered up their resignations.
During the meeting, he presented Devon Judge with a certificate thanking him for 25 years of service, both for his time on the committee and for his contributions to sports in the community.
A 20-year member, Jill Dunnett, was unable to attend. Rogers also thanked her for her contributions and said she would be receiving a certificate.
“She was a valued participant and brought a lot of knowledge and did a lot of the administration behind the scenes,” said Rogers.
“This is such a rich sports town and community,” said Judge. “I look forward to seeing a few more [teams and names] go up there.”
2025 Financial Statements
During Woodstock’s town council meeting, Matthew Derrah, CPA for Nicholson and Beaumont, presented his audit report of the town’s 2025 financial statements.
“I would say the 2025 financial report shows that the town continued to manage significant capital projects while preparing for the future, and they continued to maintain below-average debt levels when they did it,” he told council.
Derrah began his presentation by discussing the $812,000 surplus in the general operating fund, explaining that the rather large surplus was planned. He noted that it existed mostly due to the provincially contributed RCMP services and would return to play in 2027, when it would be required for that phase of the town’s police expansion.
Derrah also noted a $33,000 surplus in the water and sewer operating fund.
Capital expenditures in 2025 totalled $3,952,004, covering streets and sidewalks, building and building upgrades, land and park improvements, equipment purchases, AYR Motor Centre and recreation projects, and Water and Sewer projects.
Financial assets increased for the town in 2025 by $7,350,000, as well as a “noticeable increase” in restricted cash and reserves, said Derrrah.
As of December 2025, the debt load was $2.3 million, down from $2.8 million in 2024 and $5.7 million in 2023.
Woodstock’s net debt ratio has held at 0.2 per cent over the last two years. Derrah pointed out that that was a much better rate than the historical average of towns around New Brunswick. On average, municipalities’ debt ratios are around 7.3 per cent. The maximum allowed is 20 per cent.
“Your accumulated surplus, consisting of non-financial assets less debt, shows $45 million at the end of December 2025.” Said Derrah. “That’s an increase of $1,682,000 in 2025.”
More detailed financial statements will be available on the town’s website once finalized.
