Campobello residents vote to incorporate as rural community

Voters of Campobello Island decided to form a rural community and leave behind their unincorporated, local service district status in a divided vote on May 10. The change in government form comes after the residents voted 275 in favor to 167 against, for a margin of 62% to 38%. Campobello has 614 eligible voters, according to Elections New Brunswick, and voter turnout was 72%.

The next steps involving residents directly likely will be the elections in September for local governance -- four councillors and a mayor, says Stephen Smart, a resident who had guided the community through several months of discussions of what rural community status would mean for Campobello Island.

"Now we are waiting for the province to move next," says Smart, who served as the chair of the local governance committee. "I have fulfilled the commitment that I made, to give the people on the island the chance to vote. That has been completed. Now there will be another set of meetings through the summer, to give the people who live here the information and education on what it really means to have a council and a mayor. We need to help prepare the people to make the transition here to incorporate. I don't have dates for those meetings; I'm just very happy that it passed."

Now the islanders' proposal to incorporate goes before the New Brunswick government. "I congratulate them for taking part in this important democratic exercise," Chris Collins, the Local Government minister, said in a press release. "I will bring this decision to cabinet for our government to approve the proposal."

Collins added, "I believe that the residents of Campobello Island made the right decision. We need strong and viable communities to play a key role in our province to achieve our self-sufficiency goals. I also commend the work done by departmental staff and the Campobello local governance committee in giving the people of Campobello the ability to choose options."

Once the provincial government approves and the department sets a date for incorporation, Campobello residents will return to the polls for another election -- for a mayor, a councillor-at-large and three more councillors elected according to the island's three wards.

The divided vote reflects many residents' concerns about the new status bringing about higher taxes.

The provincial government currently provides several local services to Campobello Island and will continue to provide them. These include police and fire protection, solid waste collection and disposal, recreation and community services, road maintenance and animal control. However, the rural community could decide, through the adoption of a bylaw, to become responsible for some of these services.

"We do have many people here on fixed incomes, so taxes going up is a legitimate concern," Smart says. "This [vote] will fundamentally change the way we do things. There is a lot of potential for change, but there's no agenda. Well, it's an agenda to try to improve our quality of life here. We will work to keep taxes where they should be. We will have more access to government assistance, and we will give ourselves a voice."

According to the Department of Local Government's press release, the model of a rural community provides increased decision-making at the local level. Initially, the rural community is responsible for land-use planning, emergency measures and administration. It is expected that the rural community will adopt a rural plan and emergency measures plan within two years of incorporation.

Back in 2008, when islanders started considering a change in status, a total of 286 residents, or 63.9% of 483 survey respondents, indicated that the island needed local government.