CAC: In Conversation with Fundy Albert CAO Sean Wallace

Join us as we s we continue to get to know the people behind the organizations, businesses, and community groups that serve our region! Take a moment to get to know the Village of Fundy Albert's Chief Administrative Officer, Sean Wallace. Sean has had a long personal and professional journey from his military service to now, that has brought him back to his Albert County roots. 

The Village of Fundy Albert is an integral partner to Connecting Albert County and many other non-profit and community service-based organizations in our region. The have been an integral advertising partner to CAC, and we are happy to partner with them in creating and sharing their community newsletter with residents monthly as part of our publication. CAC thanks the Village of Fundy Albert for the long-standing partnership as they continue to prove they are, indeed, "friendly by nature."

Connecting Albert County thanks our presenting sponsor, the Bennett & Albert County Healthcare Foundation.

For more information on Connecting Albert County, please go to our website or find us on Facebook or Instagram.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hello and welcome to CAC in Conversation. Today I'm here talking with Sean Wallace. He's the chief administrative officer for the municipality of Funday Albert. And he has been in his position for a little while now. I've been itching to talk to him, but wanted to give him time to get in and get comfy. And I am super grateful that he's here today. Funday Albert is a major sponsor of Connecting Albert County. And so we wanted to get to know some of the people a part of the organization. So thank you so much, Sean, for being with us for this conversation.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

Sure thing. Happy to be here.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

So glad to have you. So maybe you can just begin by telling us a little bit about yourself and what brought you to this role.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

Sure. So again, my name is Sean Wallace. I've spent um a lot of my life in uh public service. I'm uh very passionate about uh public service. I think it's uh uh a calling um that uh not a lot of people uh um tend to uh um gravitate to, um, but uh thankfully there's uh there's still a number of people out there that still do. It's uh it's a lot like volunteerism that uh you really need to find those people that are passionate about the work that they do in order to be successful. Um so I started out in the military. Um I spent 12 years in the military. Uh I was a uh senior non-commissioned officer. I was with the Royal Canadian Armor Corps and uh spent uh a lot of my career outside of Canada, but within Canada, of course, uh Gage Town is always the big place where everyone always gets a posting, as well as uh Petawawa and Wainwright, and then uh in Germany and some other places. Um, so that's kind of where um um I learned about dedication to uh uh service. Um, I've always lived by the creed of uh service before self. Um I see that a lot in uh Fundy Albert with the uh the volunteer contingent uh in uh in the municipality. After that, I ended up moving up and uh spent a lot of time in the Arctic. Um I was uh one of the people chosen to go up and help set that territory up. Uh specifically, I was with the Health and Social Services Department uh setting that uh that department up. And of course, working in New Brunswick, uh in the public service, Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. So I've uh I've had the uh the pleasure of uh working uh in a number of different provinces in public service uh in senior roles. Uh it gave me a really good background to handle um uh municipalities dealing with a lot of challenges. Um for some reason I always end up in that position, um, coming to a place where uh there are challenges and working through those challenges to make the municipality most effective it can be for uh for the uh the ratepayers here. So I have uh a wife, of course. Um I have uh three children. Um my oldest is a lawyer, um, my middle guy is a heavy-duty mechanic, and my youngest is a nurse. I've got uh three grandchildren as well. One just arrived a couple of weeks ago, the last one. So uh we're we're very excited about spending some uh some time with uh little Estelle in the near future.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

That's incredible. Congratulations.

SPEAKER_01 3:28

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 3:28

It sounds like you've lived a really full life, adventure, risk, uh community service, as you mentioned, and a dedication to family. What led you here to Albert County when you've been everywhere abroad, uh as far as ways the Arctic? We're a little small spot. What brought you here?

SPEAKER_01 3:51

Well, I was uh my last uh my last uh federal posting, or yeah, it was uh I guess you'd call it federal posting. So uh before I came back to New Brunswick, I was uh um hitting coal transition in Saskatchewan. Um and it was uh uh a rather large group of nine uh rural communities that were dealing with a catastrophic um coal transition to their economies. So basically we had to come up with uh ideas of transforming uh uh non-resource-based economies, which uh we did quite well with. Um, but I I was desperate to be home. Um traveling back and forth um, you know, once a month to Saskatchewan is incredibly trying. And uh I've you know, I wanted to be home with my family, you know, aging parents, young grandkids, uh, all that kind of stuff. So I was uh um I managed to get back, and uh I was working with the uh Regional Service Commission uh for a time, and um this position came up, and uh I said, well, I said that would be really interesting to uh uh to get back to this area. Um my family has a uh um history in this area of a couple hundred years. Um so I I do have uh family buried out in Grays Island. Um our family comes from Edget's Landing, Albert Mines, and uh is uh uh low as um Alma, so that would be the Livingstone side of my family. So uh like Livingstone Hill, Livingstone Lake, um, they're all buried at the uh most of them are buried at that uh Baptist church in uh Albert Mines in that graveyard there. So I used to come up here and spend my summers when I was uh a young man and uh spent time with my uh uh great uncle and and great aunts and uh really enjoyed it here. So I've uh I've always been gravitated to uh rural areas. That's kind of my uh my thing. I just uh love rural living.

SPEAKER_00 5:47

That's incredible because it's funny around these parts, I've talked to so many people that have moved in and they laugh because they say that the first thing a local will say to them when they've moved in is, where are you from? Who are your parents? How are you connected? And it's kind of true, you know. When I met my husband, he's from Prince Edward Island. And when I told him where I lived, I initially, when we first met, I said Moncton area. And then as we got closer to him coming to meet the family, I said, Well, Hillsboro, and I didn't realize I didn't say Edge Landing because the fact that you know where Edge It's Landing is, right, must mean you're an Albert County OG in some capacity. So I'll never forget, you know, I was driving to meet to meet the family, and we left Hillsboro and he looked at me and he's like, Where exactly do you live again? So the fact that you know all of those places and it was something that's kind of been in your the zeitgeist of of you and your psyche for so long, it's really interesting that the road has led you back to here. Serving our municipality, I say newly amalgamated, it's been three years and a bit, I think. And there's no no need to beat around the bush. We know it's been a challenging um process for a lot of folks in our region, as you mentioned. You seem to be kind of a person that comes in when there are challenges, but it is an incredible region with incredible people in it. So can you tell me a little bit about the functions of what um like the municipal office does and what you actually do? Like what is a chief administrative officer?

SPEAKER_01 7:36

These positions are basically every level of government. So chief administrative officer is the head of the administrative wing of government, uh the local government. So um council, what they do is they uh um you know, they focus on governance, policy, budget uh approvals, things like that, um, where they're um not involved in the administration per se. Um I am the only employee of council. All the other employees at work here are uh my employees. People sometimes don't get their head around that. Council communicates me uh with me. Um so if a resident has an issue with something, they would normally approach a counselor. The counselor then would come to me, or a resident can kind of call directly into the office, either or. But uh for my role, it's basically um uh just head of administration. So everything that happens in the municipality uh is generally um started here in this office after direction from council.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

How long have you been in the position?

SPEAKER_01 8:39

Uh I've been here since August, but uh not my first rodeo as uh as CAO.

SPEAKER_00 8:44

So when you think of when you arrive to where you are now, what are some of the highlights for you when you think back on what I've achieved so far, things that you're proud of that you've seen move? Because from my perspective, I have seen things move because I you and I talk in a variety of different capacities from me wearing different hats. But from your reflection, what has been satisfying for you?

SPEAKER_01 9:11

Just because of the the challenges of the last three years, it's it's been difficult for both council and administration. And um, you know, there has been a divide there. And uh, you know, that that divide has um in the last six months, um, I think everyone is working together uh the way they should be. We have uh um great morale in the office, um, which is um um something that you know it's very important for me because if uh if you don't have uh good morale amongst uh um council and administration, things are just done because they have to be done. There's not moving ahead. So I'm I'm happy in the sense that um not only are we dealing with a lot of the legacy issues from amalgamation because that was um a really, really tough thing for this community, but we also have progression of moving forward and getting things done. And um, you know, just for instance, we're we're redoing all the policies, and you know, we've got policies, some of them go back to 2005. Every couple of years you should be updating your policies. So we're we're developing new policies, updating old ones, um, because without policies and updated rules and regulations and bylaws, for administration, those are viable that's our are basically our manual that we go by to uh address all the different situations that we run into operationally on a daily basis. So when you have good policy, it actually cuts red tape, creates efficiencies to um to save um save money for the uh the taxpayers in the uh municipalities. So I'm I'm happy to say that we are, you know, everything's been under review in terms of you know the contracts that we're dealing with. Uh one of the chuckles I have is every time we buy something or or an employee comes in and says, you know, um, Sean, we need to get this piece of equipment. And I say, okay, how much is it? And they'll tell me, and I said, well, go back to them and see if that's your best price. So that that could be my the Scottish side of my family, I'm not sure. Um just because that's that's how I run my personal life. It's that you know, um, I I try never to pay full price for anything. Um, and if we can uh uh get better deals on things, um we're we're definitely gonna do that. So um negotiating uh on things is a is a new thing, I think. Um but we're uh um you know we've uh recently purchased some uh great equipment for a public works team. Uh there's been a real lack of investment on that side for for a long time. And I'm very thankful this council has um you know agreed to say, you know, look, we we do need these things, and they do create efficiencies going down the road. So for instance, um we used to hire contractors to put up you know the the uh Remembrance Day banners and all over and Christmas lights and things like that. Well, you know, I said, why aren't we doing that ourselves? And you know, so we we bought a uh uh uh a man lift. So now we can do all that stuff ourselves. And you know, we purchased a slip for a couple of grand. Well, that's gonna save us twenty thousand dollars right off the bat. Actually, I probably think it's gonna be closer to 30,000, 35,000 that we're gonna save on that front. And um, so we can also react quicker now when we need to get things done because we own that piece of equipment now. For instance, we have uh um uh we didn't have a sewer camera before. So, you know, we'd have to call a company and to actually locate blockage, blockages, and that's usually $1,500, $2,000 a pop. Well, guess what? We can do that ourselves now. And uh I figure um this year we're probably gonna save $28,000, $30,000 uh on that as well. Um, you know, renegotiating our insurance rates, things like that that you know we we really need to be looking at so that we're being more efficient uh with our equipment. Our teams are doing more in here instead of going out to consultants or contractors all the time. So I'm very happy about that, and I think that's a massive, massive uh change for this place. Um I I do know Hillsborough in the past used to do a lot of this stuff on their own. Um, so we we're kind of getting back to that for the whole municipality, and I'm uh really happy about that kind of work. Um, but I wouldn't be able to get to this point uh were it not for um uh the wisdom of council to do this, and they've been incredibly supportive, and um I'm I'm very thankful for that. Makes my life easy.

SPEAKER_00 13:49

These are really important steps, and I think I served on council for just a year and a half before amalgamation, and I love that you pointed out about the policies because I think that is under-recognized by the general public sometimes, and I don't want to make assumptions, but I know speaking for myself, it wasn't something that I recognized as being so imperative and so imperatively important until I actually sat in the seat and started looking and trying to decipher, okay, as we're making decisions, what are those guideposts, right? What are those, you know, you have to have the the wheels pointing in the right direction, and sometimes you need to have some rails to keep you in that right direction. So for me, when you said policies, it makes I think it's a nerdy me, but it makes me um excited. And the point of uh it cuts red tape.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

It does, and it also brings a shorty to people that live here that you know this is this is what they do, this is what they don't do, right? And uh it's basically it's uh I I look at it as a as a foundation, the the policies and the rules and regulations that we we have to uh abide by. And they just make things uh again, it cuts red tape and it makes it things easier for people to understand how we operate and what we can and can't do as a as a municipality.

SPEAKER_00 15:18

Can you speak to that about that idea of transparency and assurity? Because I know transparency is a word that gets you know I've seen a lot um in conversations around council and around just municipalities in general, not just ours, is the desire for transparency and giving the community that assurance or assurity, um, whether it's in relation to those policies or other areas.

SPEAKER_01 15:47

Well, I I can tell you um in my experience, and I've been in the public service for close to 40 years, Fundy Albert is actually probably one of the most transparent municipalities I've ever witnessed. I've I've had instances where citizens have called up and they said, Well, you know, you you're not being transparent. And I said, Well, did you go to the website and look at the council package? Everything is in there. Finances, what public works is doing, what I'm doing, uh, what the clerk is doing, what the staff is doing, all that information is in there. Um, there is a lack of knowledge around where that information is. So telling the world no, it's you know, um, all that information is available. Um, you know, there are some things that I will not share, um, things that uh are covered under um, you know, our privacy and confidentiality um laws that we have to abide by. And um, you know, when we do have closed meetings, um, they're for legal purposes, and that's so that we don't get sued. And the people living here aren't paying uh, you know, an extra million dollars in uh legal fees because uh we disclose something we shouldn't have disclosed. So, you know, there there are reasons for the why, uh reasons why we do things, and um, you know, I encourage people if they don't understand something that we do, um, give us a call, um, ask the question, ask where it's at, and um, we can you know direct them to where they can find that information. But um uh in my opinion, um and in the opinion of my colleagues, um they they see this place as a very transparent and open place.

SPEAKER_00 17:22

That's brilliant. That's great feedback to have and great education for our listeners as well, that the information is out there. So we just have to access it and know where to access it. So going to the website, if people don't have access to internet or the website that they can call, um, they can stop in, I'm assuming, and make an appointment or something like that, if they have those specific questions.

SPEAKER_01 17:47

Right. Yeah. So the the the door is open um to you know to ask those questions. So but I you know, I I encourage people that that a lot of the information that I get asked about is actually posted.

SPEAKER_00 17:59

It's actually posted.

SPEAKER_01 18:00

Right.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

That's wonderful to know and and to be able to point. And that's something maybe we can do with Connecting Albert County is um help point people to that information. Absolutely. So that's an area that we can certainly partner in. So shifting gears a little bit, because I can nerd out about policies and procedures and that sort of thing all day, but I'm sure some of our listeners are less enthralled. When we think about outside of work, um, you're a whole and complete person with a wide range of experience. You mentioned you have grandchildren and that sort of thing. What makes you excited? What are you passionate about? Um, service before self, you said is kind of your your personal mantra or mandate when you're thinking of self and engaging in those other areas of your life. What makes you happy?

SPEAKER_01 18:52

Well, I'm uh um I'm a veteran. Um and um I uh I'm the president of uh my uh regimental association. Um and what we do is we uh we help those that are currently serving uh in the regiment, my regiment, uh the 8th Canadian Hussires, and um and veterans of the 8th Canadian Hussars. And uh what we what we do is we uh um I'm just passionate about still serving on on that side. And um that's uh you know we have uh um three or four big events every year that we uh we organize. Um so we have a big dinner in uh September called the uh Coriano Dinner, which is a famous battle that we fought in in uh World War II. I wasn't there obviously, um, but it's uh uh a tradition that we've been carrying on since 1944. And as you know, Princess Anne was here uh a couple of years back. Organizing these uh um military events in conjunction with uh um our currently serving colleagues is very important to me. Um last year I actually went uh in theater to Latvia um on the border of Russia. Uh we had a number of troops uh from my regiment there. Every year we celebrate our regimental birthday, which is uh um April 4th, uh, 1848. It's uh we're the oldest cavalry regiment in uh Canada, and uh our troops were over in Latvia, and uh a lot of them it was their first time away from home, uh young soldiers. And I said, Well, you know what? I said uh I'm going to Europe on vacation with my wife anyway. I said, I'm gonna take a side trip to be uh 15 kilometers away from the Russian border on a base in theater and put on a regimental birthday dinner for the regiment. And uh we went there and it was uh so though those are the things that uh you know still serving my regiment in uh that capacity because uh I'm uh uh too fat to fly these days, so I can't uh necessarily uh you know keep up with the uh the younger soldiers and a lot of a lot of the things that they do, but uh uh I can be there for uh uh morale and uh uh general wellness and and things like that. So that's uh that's the big passion of my life is uh um still serving uh the military as much as I can and uh of course my family, the other very important uh uh part of my life.

SPEAKER_00 21:18

Well, thank you for your service. Oh, thank you. And thank you for what you do to uh continue to inspire and support um those that serve. That is it gives me a little bit of goosebumps, and um we really appreciate that you and people like you hold that space and and continue to serve in those capacities. It's I can't imagine what it must be like just being in that that different of an environment, let alone in some of those challenging spaces.

SPEAKER_01 21:51

I uh I I did have second thoughts about bringing my wife over there when we went. Um, but uh um it was uh we we had a good good security briefing before we. Left and uh everything was fine, and uh we'll probably be doing it again this year. Um, so that's uh something to be uh very proud of. But I I do have to say that uh my my time in the military has um basically formed the person that I am, and I I think that's why I've had uh um the successes I've had in my careers is from that service. And um, you know, it's um when you're in the military, you you have a number of people working under you and in very dangerous situations um where people can be uh horribly maimed or even killed. And um being able to motivate people to do uh very dangerous jobs. Um I you know, I I those are the things that I I directly brought with me from the military uh into my civilian career in terms of you know motivating staff and and and uh leading staff. And uh I don't uh I never use the word manage staff because you don't manage staff, you lead staff. Um and that's a very important distinction that uh um uh a lot of people don't understand. Um and that's why you know you have good leaders and bad leaders, and uh, you know, good leaders lead and uh others manage.

SPEAKER_00 23:19

So it must have impacted when I think about the position you're doing right now. Yes, when I think about the position you're doing right now, immediately my thoughts went to oh, you know, when I saw the job ad out, I'm like, that is a hard job, that is stressful. But then as you're talking about some of these other experiences you've had and how you have been able to lead and positively encourage in environments and situations where the stress level is something that I think those of us who have never served our country in that capacity, we don't have the ability to understand. But how do you manage that intensity of stress in those situations? But then in turn, how has that shaped how you manage these types of you know, difficult situations, hard conversations, um, the stress of the job that you do do now in your civilian life? Because, you know, I can imagine that my perspective of the job was like, oh, I bet that's that's a lot. So how does that inform each other? I guess.

SPEAKER_01 24:26

I guess, I guess um, I I do have the benefit that um my my past career um in the military was far more stressful than any CAO job could ever possibly be. Um because um in other places you're dealing with uh life and death scenarios. Um you know, you're you're dealing with uh strategy, um, you're dealing with making hard decisions. Um and then, you know, of course, leadership. And that's why I always think that, you know, uh veterans would make great CAOs. Don't get me wrong, it is a very busy job. There is lots of challenges. You know, stress is not something that um I would equate to my personality in this job. So I don't really uh have that level. Um, you know, I will say there is a a very uh a large workload, and and you know, that can be daunting, um, but you know, I understand it, and so it's not something that's stressful to me because you know it's it's something I understand, and uh, and you know, coming from the military, you know your own body and you know your own mind, and and you know what stress is compared to what heavy workloads are, right? So right.

SPEAKER_00 25:42

I love that distinction, the difference between stress and a heavy workload. And not that that invalidates for others, but when you have a different perspective, it informs how you manage. And I think keeping that calm head and seeing that distinction between the two would only enable you to do the position more effectively, more efficiently. Thank you for sharing all of that with us. As we wrap up, how can we as a community, the people in your community, support you and what it is that you're doing?

SPEAKER_01 26:22

In the last six months, we've we've made some major strides. Um, and you know, I've uh talked to a number of systems about that. Um, I was quite surprised, you know, since I started, you know, we've actually gotten some nice compliments coming in. Um, and you know, we share those with the staff and and we want to make sure that um you know they know they're they're doing a good job, and you know, not everything is going to be 100% all the time. Um and you know, when we do make a mistake, we own it and uh we'll do the best we can to fix it. Um I think um people in this municipality are are good folks anyway. You know, I remember coming here back in the 70s and you know, uh yeah, back 70s, my god, um you know, coming up here and spending my my my summers with my uh my family up here. And um I I know people are are very understanding here, and um, there's a lot of good people here, and I think that uh that makes for a good municipality, really happy with the amount of volunteers that we have here. There's so many people um that are um I'm just giving to the community. Um, so that's uh that's great. And uh I just uh hope people just keep um you know coming together and realizing that you know we are one community now. Um you know, there is um an amalgamation happened, um, all the former LSDs and and communities as municipal entities were abolished, um, and we just need to come together as a uh as a larger community now.

SPEAKER_00 27:55

I love ending on that note because when we continue to work together and support one another, support our municipality, um, support our community groups and our volunteers, that idea that when one of us wins, we all win.

SPEAKER_01 28:10

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 28:11

Thank you so much for your time and chatting with us today. And if you are a listener and you have questions that you would like to have answered, we may do a part two. So let Connecting Elber County know. And we're happy to provide that bridge and that relaxed atmosphere to ask the questions that you might be curious about, but maybe you're embarrassed to ask. So reach out, let us know. And again, thank you so much, Sean, for your time today. I really appreciate it because I do know you're a very busy man. I always walk away from our conversations learning more, and I do appreciate that so much. So thank you.

SPEAKER_01 28:48

I appreciate it. Great. So you prepare too.