The Town of Saint Andrews has contracted planning and building inspection services with the Southwest New Brunswick Service Commission. This service will continue and be offered to the Wards of Bayside and Chamcook. Under the planning process, the Wards of Bayside and Chamcook will also be regulated by the Planning Advisory Committee of the Town of Saint Andrews.
The Planning Advisory Committee consists of volunteer members from the community, governed under the Community Planning Act and Town By-Laws, that act as an independent body to give views to Council on
Upon completion of the Local Governance Reform, members of the Wards of Bayside and Chamcook will have an opportunity to sit on the Planning Advisory Committee. More information will come on the processes and how to apply.
Residents of Bayside, Chamcook, and Saint Andrews can contact Town Hall for the Town of Saint Andrews at 506 529-5120 or by email to speak to:
All 78 of the new municipalities will be created by regulation and therefore must specify a name. As was the case with municipal type, the Transition Committee has chosen to maintain the name "Town of Saint Andrews".
With the restructuring of existing local governance entities, local governments, and rural districts will maintain different tax rates in different areas to reflect the level of service being provided. The need to maintain differential tax rates, as well as the phase-in of impacts will be addressed in each individual regulation as the newly formed entities are created under the Local Governance Act. The differential tax rate will allow municipalities to charge citizens for the services they receive and recognizes that all citizens do not receive identical services. Local governments will have additional flexibility in determining variable tax rates.
The Town of Saint Andrews, LSD Bayside and LSD Chamcook will go to a by-election in November of 2022. Bayside and Chamcook will become Wards with the representation of 3 new Councillors. Chamcook will have 2 Council representatives and Bayside 1 Council representative based on population. The new Council will be comprised of 9 Councillors and 1 Mayor. The citizens of Chamcook and Bayside will vote on their representatives. As this is a by-election, the Council of Saint Andrews will remain the same. After the election, all Councillors will have to be sworn in to represent the new community.
We are currently in the process of moving through the Local Governance Reform process with the transition facilitator and advisory committees. The new community will take effect on January 1, 2023. A brief timeline of the process is as follows:
In very general terms, local governance reform is the process of changing what we have into what we need. This process involves understanding the issues and challenges facing our local governance system and how they relate to one another, considering options to address the issues, and implementing changes that will make a positive difference. The exact nature of the changes has yet to be defined.
We had to ask ourselves: are we organized locally and regionally in a way that best serves the needs and interests of all of us as New Brunswickers and the communities we live in?
We needed to find ways to strengthen our local governance system and make it sustainable, while continuing to improve our quality of life.
The time for study is over; the status quo is no longer serving the needs of many New Brunswickers. After extensive engagement with New Brunswickers, we now have a plan to bring the required reforms.
Local Service DistrictA local service district (LSD):
is a structure that allows for the administration and delivery of local services such as streetlights, recreation, garbage collection, and fire protection, etc. to areas of the province that are not incorporated (i.e., do not have a mayor and councillors). These services are coordinated by the provincial government through the Department of Environment and Local Government. (LSD)
Rural District (RD):
With reform, we will introduce a new type of entity: a rural district.
The rural districts will replace the former local service districts. Rural districts will be made up of the local service districts, or parts of those, that have not joined a local government in the restructuring. We will establish elected advisory committees in the newly formed rural districts, whose members will be elected as part of municipal elections.
A local government is an incorporated entity that provides services and makes decisions on local matters for a defined geographic community. Each local government has a council comprised of a mayor and councillors who are elected through a general municipal election every four years.