Jason Gaudet provided his first report as the CAO for Eastern Charlotte at the second to last council meeting for the Village of Blacks Harbour before it amalgamates to become a part of the newly created municipality of Eastern Charlotte.

Gaudet, who has served as the CAO for the Town of St. George, was selected to be the CAO for Eastern Charlotte in summer of 2022. Gaudet said one of the most immediate challenges of his new position is learning all the background information on the communities that will amalgamate into Eastern Charlotte, outside of St. George, which he is already well-versed in due to his long history working for the town.

"I started the job of CAO of Eastern Charlotte on October 14, 2022," said Gaudet to Blacks Harbour Mayor John Craig and his council. "And I've begun looking into the roles here in Blacks Harbour and how this will fit into the bigger picture of Eastern Charlotte. I have gone through a full-day audit of the water systems with the province, and overall the water systems seem to be in fairly good shape. In terms of ongoing work regarding arena upgrades and improvements--with the gas tax funding and the Chase the Ace funding--we are getting that back on track. You should start seeing those improvements happening over the winter. A lot of other cosmetic upgrades are in the works."

Gaudet will be accompanied by some of the members of Blacks Harbour's council when Eastern Charlotte council begins meetings in January. Mayor Craig has been acclaimed as the Mayor of Eastern Charlotte and Blacks Harbour Councillor Adam Hall will be the councillor representing Blacks Harbour on the Eastern Charlotte Council. Gaudet and the new council have much bigger roles to perform as they begin covering a large geographical region that encompasses Beaver Harbour, Pennfield, St. George, Blacks Harbour, Back Bay and Bonnie River.

"Looking ahead for the rest of the year, reform in Eastern Charlotte is occupying most of my time as well as year-end reports," said Gaudet, acknowledgeable the large workload ahead of him as amalgamation takes hold. "We are trying to finalize everything for the year-end and budgeting for next year--for Eastern Charlotte--for one large budget. The province is still sending updates regularly, so we are trying to stay ahead of that. I'm dividing my time between St. George and the other Eastern Charlotte communities. I'm usually in Blacks Harbour on Thursday and Fridays. Coming down here is a new role, and it's vitally important for me to be here to understand it."