I was asked by Councilor Phinney to share the following email to be "open and transparent" but before I do I will give some background. The response to council that I will share below is because of some council members reaching out to me inquiring if the municipality was having a New Year's Levee this year. After I said no, a couple of councilors were disappointed with my answer and said that the staff and the budget would certainly allow for such an event to occur. As an update to a piece of the email below, I have now had 1 resident ask if we were having a levee this year which remains the only person to inquire since I became Mayor in 2023.
Here is the email in its entirety:
Good morning everyone,
First off, I want to make sure that all of you are aware that this is entirely my directive to not have the levee in Sackville. I hope that everyone understands that this does not come from the staff level and is instead an action (or inaction) on my part.
There is no argument that we don't have enough money to put on a levee....an event like this would be a drop in the bucket compared to what our budget provides to departments within Tantramar. There is also no argument that we are not well staffed. I have said it in the past many times and I will say it over and over again....we have the best staff in the province. Recognizing this, I will say again, that it is my belief that they need time off over the holidays to enjoy a break from the insurmountable amount of work that they do which is why I have chosen not to have the levee. Even though it would be catered, as any event that Tantramar would host would be, it would still require planning, implementing, set up/tear down, and staffing for the event which would pull people away from a holiday rest.
I have not had a single person contact me, through any channel, to ask why we are not having a levee or if we are planning on having one. As I said in my previous email, I have been invited to attend the levee in Dorchester at the Keillor House following the Polar Dip and the doors are open to anyone who wants to attend. I plan on being there which I would also note is a whole of Tantramar event, hosted in the Village, recognizing our new post-reform reality.
These are my thoughts on the levee but if council wants to have this event in the future I would suggest bringing it forward as a motion at an upcoming council meeting."
Florence Mazerolle weighs in on Andrew Black's Facebook Post here:
"Florence Mazerolle
No need for government to spent taxpayers money on a party. If you want a levee make your own at your own expense.
Plus you’re right. Everyone needs vacation!!!
You might know Florence from her days living here in Sackville New Brunswick - she is
shown below with an award she's received from England's 96 year old queen reported as dead September 8, 2022... Instagram at .. Florence Mazerolle (@the_florence_mazerolle) • Instagram photos and videos
Pictured with Ginette Petitpas Taylor Liberal MP .... its kind of a big deal huh?
More here on Mount Allison Alumni and publisher Florence - reach her through Facebook:
Help us protect New Brunswick’s First Nations Languages. New Brunswick Reads provides educational books in four languages to elementary school students in four languages; Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, English, and French." here: New Brunswick Reads | Facebook
New Brunswick's Holt house-husband....
New Brunswick's Premier Susan Holt's Christmas Photography Shared by her on Twitter
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