Tantramar Mayor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell in her new office at town hall

Tantramar Mayor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell says she can’t say who is chief of the Sackville Fire Department.

“I’m not able to answer that at the time,” she said during a brief interview in her office at town hall.

She was commenting on a news release suggesting Sackville Fire & Rescue is finally on the road to recovery after the town administration, acting at the direction of council, took unspecified actions to resolve issues within the department.

The release says they were acting on the findings of a report from the Saint John law firm that investigated allegations dating back more than five years that included harassment, bullying, favouritism, failures of leadership and a poisoned work environment.

After 12 more volunteers turned in their pagers on January 5th, fire department membership fell to only 18 out of a full complement of 43.

Today’s release says the town administration will work with those 12 volunteers “to develop a return-to-work plan for members interested in returning to duty.”

But Wiggins-Colwell would not comment today on that plan or any other issues relating to personnel including whether Craig Bowser is still the fire chief.

The town’s release says that while the municipality recognizes “this situation is of significant public interest,” no further details will be released, “to respect privacy obligations and maintain the integrity of the personnel process.”

The town of Sackville took the same position five years ago when it received a report from the Montana Consulting Group in Moncton. Its 20 recommendations, which were never released to the public, did not resolve the workplace problems that continued to fester within the department.

Mayor Wiggins-Colwell says in today’s release that it’s been a difficult time for both the fire department and for the community.

“Now we can focus on recovery for Sackville Fire & Rescue, and on maintaining a safe, respectful workplace while providing exceptional fire service to Tantramar residents,” she adds.

‘Frustrated public’

Terry Jones addressing town council in March about the proposed Centre Village gas plant

Meantime, Terry Jones, who ran unsuccessfully for the Tantramar mayoralty, has written an open letter to members of town council, the CAO, and the new communications officer calling for the release of more information on the administrative actions that the town has taken.

“I, as a resident of Tantramar, feel that we the people deserve to be informed as to what these actions are,” she writes in a Facebook post.

“I completely understand that the specifics are confidential, however, we need to know if there has been restructuring, resignations or terminations. These allegations, if they have been proven, are serious and the public has a right to know just what steps are being taken to ensure that those at fault and those that were aware of the toxicity in the Department are no longer a part of the system,” Jones adds.

“As it sits right now the press release has created more gossip, upset and concern. Every member of Council, including the Mayor, campaigned on transparency and accountability. This press release did not inform the public as to what the appropriate administrative actions were, so once again, it is left to the imaginations of a very frustrated public,” she concludes.

To read the town news release, click here.

To read what Debbie Wiggins-Colwell and the other Tantramar mayoralty candidates had to say about the fire dept. crisis during the recent municipal election campaign, click here.