Minister of Local Government and Local Governance Reform Daniel Allain is asked about Bill 45!!!
Charles Leblanc Minister of Local Government and Local Governance Reform Daniel Allain is asked AGAIN of Bill 45!!
Charles Leblanc Minister's power to revoke bylaws still under question by municipalities
Alarm raised over portions of Bill 45, which creates new local governance commission
An amendment limiting how the power can be used passed during a committee meeting at the legislature Thursday.
"We're happy to see the minister being willing to work with us to make those changes," Dan Murphy, executive director of the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick, said Friday.
"But there's still concerns with the bill."
Daniel
Allain, New Brunswick's minister of Local Government and Local
Governance Reform, amended the proposed legislation to narrow how the
power can be used. (Shane Magee/CBC)
The union is one of three municipal associations in the province that raised the alarm over portions of Bill 45, which creates a new local governance commission.
The commission, promised as part of sweeping local governance reforms the province has been enacting, will handle things like investigating code of conduct complaints or conflicts of interest.
But the bill would also allow the commission to review municipal bylaws and then gives the minister power to revoke them.
Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers has called it an "erosion of democracy."
The bill was back before a legislative committee on Thursday.
"We have listened to the concerns being raised and as a result we are proposing additional amendments to the bill today which would serve to further clarify the intent of the legislation," Daniel Allain, the minister of local government, said during the meeting.
The amendments change the bill so that only a landowner, instead of any person, can seek a review of a bylaw that "prevents the reasonable use of the property."
Liberal
MLA Jacques LeBlanc said there should have been more consultation about
the bill and that it gives too much power to the minister. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
During a previous committee meeting last month, Allain used an example of a farm that's existed for decades surrounded by new homes.
He said if the municipality passed a bylaw restricting how that farm can operate, the bill would allow the farmer to ask for the commission, and minister, to review the bylaw.
On Thursday, Allain said the department is working with municipal associations to limit what categories of bylaws could be subject to review or ministerial revocation.
But Murphy said the group representing 54 municipalities still doesn't understand why existing processes, which require bylaws to pass three votes at public meetings, are insufficient.
"The examples that the minister has given as to why he would use that power, when he would use that power mostly seem to deal with former local service districts that now find themselves in a municipality or new municipalities that have just been created due to reform," Murphy said.
"So that's the piece where we're saying if that's the case, then we should … prioritize working with those new communities, helping them have the information and the resources they need to make sure they're making good decisions."
Green Party Leader David Coon said it doesn't make any sense that the minister would be seeking to gain so much authority. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
Opposition MLAs also questioned the purpose of giving the minister the power to revoke a bylaw.
Liberal MLA Jacques LeBlanc said there should have been more consultation about the bill and that it gives too much power to the minister.
Green Party Leader David Coon said the party's main concern with the bill is the increased power it would grant the minister.
"From our perspective, it doesn't make any sense that the minister would be seeking to gain so much authority as it's described in this current Bill 45," Coon said.
Green Party MLA Kevin Arseneau attempted to amend the bill to remove the minister's revocation powers, but the motion was voted down.
In response to several questions, Allain has said the commission and ministerial power to revoke a bylaw are needed so landowners have a mechanism to avoid going through the "overwhelmed" court system.
"I can't see this being something used on a regular basis," Allain said.
"However, if there's a property owner that feels that they've been wronged in some way, they don't have to go to the courts. They go through the new municipal, independent local governance commission."
Allain did not provide an interview about the legislation on Friday.
The legislation is expected to continue to be discussed by the legislature's committee on economic policy. It also still needs to pass third reading.
Murphy says the union is also concerned about other aspects of the legislation, including the commission's power to access private documents and how costs related to its investigations may be handled.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Municipalities accuse NB Power of over-charging for street-light service
Margot Cragg says EUB should make the utility adhere to the rate standard the board set
Gail Harding · CBC News · Posted: Mar 23, 2018 7:33 PM ADT
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In the dark: Municipalities pay far too much for streetlights
NB Power charges cities, towns almost double service costs despite pricing guidelines
"I don't think it would be particularly difficult," said Hartland lawyer Peter Hyslop, a former intervener who used to represent the public at NB Power rate hearings.
"They could certainly come forward and make the argument they are being overcharged."
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Street lighting is one of NB Power's smallest costs, but most lucrative businesses.
The utility estimates it costs $13.4 million to supply the service, including overhead and profit charges, but it bills customers — mainly the province and municipal governments — nearly double that amount, $26.3 million.
That's contrary to pricing guidelines set down for the utility 25 years ago, but municipal governments have traditionally not attended NB Power rate hearings and without prompting the issue of streetlights rarely comes up.
NB Power is charging municipalities almost double what it costs to provide streetlight service. (CBC)
"NB Power is obliged to give all that data to the board and the board looks at it along with everything else."
Most New Brunswick municipalities rely on NB Power for streetlights and pay the bills they get without any knowledge of whether prices are fair or unfair.
The expense varies among communities depending on how many streets are serviced.
Big bills for cities, towns
A small town, such as Rothesay, pays $146,000 per year while a medium-sized community, such as Riverview, pays $518,000.
Cities pay the most, Fredericton just more than $1 million this year and Moncton just more than $2 million.
But whatever the size of the bill, all communities pay substantially more than what it costs to provide them the service.
In Miramichi, the city has budgeted to pay NB Power $558,000 for its streetlights this year according to Darlene O'Shea, the treasurer.
With
a bill of just over $2 million a year for streetlights, the City of
Moncton could see a substantial saving if it was reduced to the level
suggested by pricing guidelines for NB Power. (CBC)
It's also at least $250,000 too high according to pricing guidelines developed for NB Power by the utilities board 25 years ago.
Told to fix rates 25 years ago
In 1992 NB Power was directed to charge different customer groups 100 per cent of the cost of supplying them service, including overhead and profit, with a maximum price of 105 per cent.
At the time NB Power's prices for streetlight service were found to be the furthest from that goal, up to 70 per cent too high, and the utility was encouraged to fix it and other outliers over the following few years.
"The board expects NB Power to develop a plan to move all classes within the approved range (of fairness) over a period of time," the Public Utilities Board wrote in an April 1992 decision.
The board then reconfirmed that decision in 2005 and its successor — the Energy and Utilities Board — reconfirmed it in 2016.
If
municipalities want to see lower streetlight rates, they should show up
at NB Power's hearings at the Energy & Utilities Board, says a
former public intervenor. (CBC)
A report commissioned by NB Power for its February rate hearing this year indicated streetlight charges are now at 196 per cent of the cost of providing the service, much worse than 1992 and by far the highest price in relation to cost of any service NB Power provides.
NB Power has a rate design hearing scheduled for next spring and Hyslop said if municipalities want better prices they should show up and fight for them.
"There's no reason at all they couldn't intervene," said Hyslop.
"They're a ratepayer."
NB Power declined to comment on its streetlight pricing practices, saying those will be addressed at next year's hearing.
"We will limit our comments at this time," wrote NB Power spokeswoman Deborah Nobes in an email to CBC News.
"We look forward to providing more details with regard to NB Power's position on this matter via the hearing process."
Well Hyslop showed up and so did I as did Cardy's ex wife and Higgy et al know what has happened since Correct?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/nb-power-eub-hearing-smart-meters-1.4523382
NB Power's smart meter program among plans under microscope at EUB hearing
A proposal to enact new surcharges to help pay for unexpected events will also be scrutinized
94 Comments
This is about earlier the same day
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/nb-power-eub-hearing-smart-meters-1.4525673
NB Power's smart meter plan labelled a 'money loser' during EUB grilling
The utility estimated the total savings would fall short of the $122.7M price tag
A trio of NB Power executives were under pressure Wednesday to justify why the utility wants to invest more than $100 million to install smart meters with customers when its own accounting shows savings from the change will be less than the cost to implement it.
"Those projected costs are $122.7 million and the projected benefits are $121.4 million. Is that correct?" asked Christopher Stewart, a lawyer for J.D. Irving Ltd. during the opening day of NB Power's annual rate hearing.
A lot more can be found here
Sunday, 18 February 2018
NB Power and the very wicked Not So Smart Meter Game
EUB punts rate hearing as NB Power studies $122M smart meter plan
EUB agrees to suspend hearing so it can deal first with NB Power's proposed $122M purchase of smart meters
By Robert Jones, Posted: Sep 26, 2017 6:00 AM ATMunicipalities accuse NB Power of over-charging for street-light service
Margot Cragg says EUB should make the utility adhere to the rate standard the board set
The Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick says NB Power needs to stop raising the rates it charges for street lights.
In fact, executive director Margot Cragg said the utility not only needs to stop raising rates — it needs to reduce them.
Cragg says the EUB should make NB Power follow the standard it set for rate charges for street lights. (Cindy Grant/CBC)
Cragg made a presentation to the Energy and Utilities Board in early February after the City of Fredericton wrote a letter about the rates for street lights and the union decided to take on the fight for all municipalities.
"For Fredericton, the cost in 2017 was over a million dollars," she said. "For other municipalities in the area, like Oromocto, it was $340,000 and even for a rural community like Hanwell, it was over $41,000 … that's a pretty hefty bill."
Cragg said money spent on street lights can't be spent elsewhere.
Another increase
She added the EUB has set a standard to determine the charges to each rate class.
"So what the EUB has said is that the rate charge for each class should be about equal to the cost of supply of the service, within a range of reasonableness."
But Cragg said NB Power is proposing to increase it to 195 per cent of that cost.
"That's almost double the cost of actually providing the service."
Cragg pointed out the present rate is too high and has been getting worse year over year. She said in 2015-2016 it was 176 per cent of the cost of supplying the service.
In 2017-2018 it was 192 per cent of the cost.
"That cost to revenue ratio has been getting worse year over year," Cragg said, adding that if the proposed rate is accepted, the ratio will be even more punitive.
'Optional' service
At its rate hearing last year, NB Power said it considered street light service optional and not subject to the EUB's fair price guidelines. It also said the higher prices it charges for street lights help it to keep prices it charges other customers, such as homeowners, lower.
At hearings this week, both public intervener Heather Black and EUB lawyer Ellen Desmond pressed NB Power rate design managers to explain why they ignore the board's fair price guidelines in setting charges for both street lights and water heater rentals.
"NB Power doesn't really view street lights as a rate class," said the utility's rate design specialist Kevin Gibson. But he said it would follow whatever direction the EUB gives it on the issue.
Follow the standard
Cragg said it's up to the EUB to make NB Power follow the standard it set.
Cragg said the group asked the EUB to set the rate at one that provides fair pricing for street-lighting services within all municipalities.
"Any dollar that is spent on excessive pricing for street lighting is money the municipality can't spend fixing the road, can't spend on the water services, can't spend on the services and infrastructure you and I use every single day in our communities," she said.
With files from Information Morning Fredericton
Later this LIEbrano replaced Cardy's ex wife
Dan Murphy
- Organization: Union of the Municipalities of New Brunswick
- Posted: July 6th, 2021
Union of the Municipalities of New Brunswick (UMNB) has announced that Dan Murphy has accepted the position of Executive Director. Murphy takes over from Margot Cragg, who announced her departure earlier this spring.
Murphy has worked in the government and non-profit sectors for more than 10 years. He has served in various senior leadership roles with ministers at the federal and provincial levels, as well as with the New Brunswick Non-Profit Housing Association. Fluently bilingual, Murphy brings a strong knowledge of government as well as issues that directly affect municipalities.
“The Board of Directors is pleased that Dan has agreed to join UMNB as our new Executive Director,” said UMNB President Alex Scholten. “His experience working with stakeholders, building relationships with members, and passion for New Brunswick’s municipalities will serve the UMNB well as we move forward.”
Scholten added that the board would also like to extend thanks to Cragg for her dedication to the association and its members, as well as to Kandise Brown, who served as Interim Executive Director as the board conducted its search for a new ED.
Murphy holds a bachelor’s degree from St. Thomas University, as well as a master’s degree in Political Management from Carleton University. He is ready to put his skills and experience to work for the members of UMNB.
“The UMNB membership is made up of dedicated individuals from all regions of New Brunswick. I am excited to work on their behalf as we navigate issues related to local governance reform and a new strategic plan for the organization,” said Murphy. “I am looking forward to connecting with mayors and councillors over the next few weeks to hear their thoughts and ideas of how UMNB can continue to support their work to create vibrant communities in our beautiful province.”
https://carleton.ca/politicalmanagement/people/dan-murphy/
Dan Murphy
Executive Director, Union of the Municipalities of New Brunswick (UMNB)
| Degrees: | MPM/12 |
Dan Murphy grew up immersed in politics. His father was the mayor of their hometown of Rexton, New Brunswick, population 900. As a teenager, Murphy worked as a page in the New Brunswick Legislature. He then went on to study history and political science at St. Thomas University in Fredericton. After hearing about Carleton’s new political management program, he decided to make the leap to Ontario and join the inaugural class.
Murphy liked the idea of being a trailblazer. He also liked the idea of exploring politics in another part of the country. “I knew how we did things in New Brunswick, but I wondered what the process was like in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia?” says Murphy. “No one has a monopoly on ideas.”
Murphy also saw the value of being in the national capital. “It’s easy to volunteer for a political party, to get on the Hill, to talk politics and meet people. The network you can build when you’re living in Ottawa is limitless. You can reach out and touch decision-makers.”
The skills Murphy acquired at the program were especially useful after graduation. In 2012 Murphy helped organize the New Brunswick premier’s leadership bid, in 2013 he managed the premier’s byelection campaign, and in 2014 Murphy was the director of candidate support for the New Brunswick Liberal Association during the province’s general election. “Based on what I learned at Carleton, it took me from the minor leagues to the major leagues. It was a step up. I got to learn from the pros.”
For Murphy, the program not only exceeded expectations and gave him a solid foundation for his career, but it’s also given him one more interest to bond over with his father. “It gives both of us a chance to talk shop a lot,” he laughs. “I can’t say I have any future plans to run for mayor, but you never know.”
Last Revision: July 27, 2017
Point Lepreau licence renewal hearing moves to Saint John
Dozens of presentations from interveners, NB Power and commission staff on program for 3-day hearing
A three-day public hearing into NB Power's application for a five-year licence renewal for the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station begins Tuesday in Saint John.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission hearings will begin at 10 a.m. at the Delta Brunswick Hotel.
Dozens of presentations are scheduled over the course of the three days, including ones by clean-air activist Gordon Dalzell, the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization, Greenpeace Canada, the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, and the Canadian Environmental Law Association.
Officials from NB Power and the commission will also make presentations.
The hearing will be livestreamed on the commission's website.
The first phase of the hearing process took place in January, when NB Power officials appeared before the commission in Ottawa.
Much of that hearing focused on the nuclear plant's ability to withstand a significant earthquake. NB Power technical adviser Derek Mullin told the commission potential risks such as earthquakes, shipping disasters, plane wrecks, tsunamis and even meteor strikes had been evaluated and were not considered likely to cause public safety problems.
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NB Power's licence for Point Lepreau expires in June.
Following the hearing in Saint John, the members of the commission will review the information from NB Power, commission staff and public interveners and announce its decision on licence renewal by the end of June.
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