Georgetown mayor breaks tie in favour of eastern P.E.I. amalgamation

With a tie-breaking vote from the mayor, Georgetown council has voted in favour of a new amalgamation plan for the Three Rivers area. 

Both Georgetown and Montague had objected to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission about their inclusion in an amalgamation proposal submitted by other communities in the area.

But with the help of a mediator appointed by IRAC, a new agreement was created, which the communities had to vote to sign off on. 

Montague town council voted in favour of the plan last week, and Georgetown was the last to do so during its monthly meeting Monday night.

"The benefits to Georgetown in the last month now in the mediation sessions were really, really — at the end of it — fantastic," said Georgetown Mayor Lewis Lavandier. 

Abstention counts as vote in favour

Of the six town councillors, two voted in favour, while three voted against the agreement. The sixth councillor, Phillip Hebert, abstained from voting. Under the province's new Municipal Government Act, if a councillor refuses to vote, it "shall be considered a vote in favour." 

I also don't feel like we really have a choice in the matter.- Phillip Hebert

With Hebert's abstention essentially a silent "yes", the mayor stepped in with the 7th tie-breaking vote, and the motion passed. 

Hebert said deciding to abstain was a difficult choice, as he still has reservations about the plans. 

"I don't think necessarily that everything in that report or what's going on is best for the town. But I also don't feel like we really have a choice in the matter," Hebert said.

"The vote tonight was just a formality," 

Support from public at meeting

Before councillors voted, the floor was opened to the public to share their thoughts. About 15 people attended the meeting and a handful got up to express their views.

While some people expressed concern that amalgamation was being forced by the province, for the most part people said they supported amalgamation, and thought the new deal was a good one for the town, particularly the lower tax rates.

"We're not going to be able to survive on our own. And to have a community 10 minutes down the road with lower taxes … where are the people going to go?" said resident Mark Gotell.

Lavandier said that through mediation most of the previous concerns he had were addressed. That included lowering tax rates, ensuring Georgetown would maintain full-time administration services and hours of operation, and maintaining its title as the capital of Kings County. 

'Too rushed'

For councillor Cindy MacLean, the process of amalgamation discussions was as much as concern as the content of the agreement itself.

MacLean was one of the three councillors who voted against the agreement, along with Faye McQuillan and Cody Jenkins. 

"It's been too rushed. It needs more input. It needed more openness and transparency. We didn't get that at all," MacLean said. 

While she supports some aspects of the new agreement, MacLean said she is worried about having just one representative from Georgetown on the new council, and also worries that some of the wording in the agreement is too vague, and might not be honoured by future councils. 

MacLean said she will continue to voice her concerns, and plans to personally send letters to the province and to IRAC.

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