Municipalities will face a longer transition period between the outgoing and incoming councils due to the delay in releasing results.
Typically, communities have a two-week window from election day to the first meeting of the newly-elected council.
But with the release of results on hold until the Edmundston-Madawaska region votes on May 25, the transition period will now be closer to four weeks for many communities.
That delay could have an impact on some communities, according to the executive director of the Union of the Municipalities of New Brunswick.
Alex Scholten said the province’s Local Governance Act prevents councils from doing certain things during the transition period.
“New bylaws can’t be introduced, they can’t become a party to an agreement or a contract, they can’t borrow or make payments of funds other than those provided in estimates in the budget already approved,” said Scholten, who is also the deputy mayor of New Maryland.
Councils are also barred from changing or repealing current bylaws, and they are unable to appoint or dismiss officers or employees.
But Scholten said he believes most councils would have prepared in advance for the longer transition period.
Saint John and Fredericton, for example, have passed bylaws allowing council to make decisions on certain items during the transition period, which is allowed under the Local Governance Act.
“Other councils might not have gone so far as to adopt another motion but they might have sped up the process in terms of approving bylaws or any additional costs that might be incurred that they wouldn’t have been able to approve under the restrictions, they would have done that before the election,” said Scholten.
The provincial legislation also grants exceptions in cases where the matter “is in the public interest and is urgently required.”
But in the end, Scholten said the delay will not really impact the day-to-day operations of local governments.
“If it’s not specifically outlined in the Local Governance Act, they can continue operating as outgoing council until the first meeting of the new council,” he said.
Scholten, who was re-elected by acclamation to New Maryland council, said while the decision to delay releasing the results was met by “a little level of frustration” given that most municipal councillors already had their terms extended by a year, everyone understood why it was necessary.
“It meant another delay, but that’s a small price to pay I think at this point given the serious health consequences that could have resulted otherwise.”
