It was a new look for Saint John common council in 2021.
After the municipal election in May, former councillor Donna Reardon was elected mayor, and five new councillors were voted in.
“Out of those five councillors have never served on council before, and three of them are in their 30s, so it gives us a really interesting dynamic on council,” said Mayor Reardon in a year-end phone interview.
Reardon also reflected on the transition from councillor to mayor.
“As a mayor, you’re the spokesperson for council, so if anything happens people look to you for a response.”
“You’re also dealing with the province, and the feds, so on a political scale that has been elevated and more complex,” continued Reardon.
It was a busy year for common council with the establishment of five priorities for 2021 to 2025.
The priorities include grow, green, belong, move, and perform.
“There’s also a lot of focus on active transportation, affordable housing, and we’ve said we would like to achieve a 3 per cent annual property tax base growth, and we said we wanted to achieve population growth at 2 per cent annually,” mentioned Reardon.
At council’s inaugural meeting in June, Reardon read a land acknowledgment for the first time.
“What I’ve done with that land acknowledgment is for every council meeting I pass that around so every councillor gets an opportunity at the table to read that as we open our meeting,” Reardon said.
Council also approved the city’s 2022 operating budget, which will move the city’s tax rate down 7.5 cents in the New Year.
“It’s a big move for the city, it’s the lowest its been for 24-years,” added Reardon.
