An accumulated deficit of $1 078 000, a request to delay adoption of the 2018 budget until March, the director general’s hurried retirement, elected officials dissatisfied with fiscal management… in short, things could be better at the Haut-Saint-Laurent MRC.
The abscess ruptured on January 17 during the monthly Council of Mayors’ meeting when the Director General of the MRC, François Landreville, explained the urgency of the situation. Reacting to the municipalities’ refusal to increase the MRC’s line of credit from $1.5 M to $2 M, the director general pointed out that he did not have the funds to pay for December invoices. « What do I do? » Landreville asked.
The following day, the director general who had held the position since 1990 handed in a letter of resignation to the executive council stating he was retiring for serious family-related reasons. The administrators at the MRC were left no alternative but to ask the Fédération des municipalités du Québec to find a temporary replacement.
« We are not satisfied with the way the MRC is administered. We have to stop the haemorrhage and straighten out the finances, » admitted Louise Lebrun, Prefect for the Haut-Saint-Laurent MRC. While initiating the process of hiring a replacement for François Landreville, the Council of Mayors has written to the Minister of Municipal Affairs, Martin Coiteux, to request a delay in approving the new budget.
« It’s precarious, we need a new DG. We have to go through an external network to fill the position temporarily. The Fédération des municipalités du Québec has a bank of shortlisted candidates. It would take too long to follow the usual procedure, but the position will be open all the same, » explained Lebrun.
According to the MRC Prefect, the $1 078 000 shortfall over three years is attributable to three main components: expropriation costs for the Droulers Site, deficit from the unprofitable Taxibus and a certain laxity on the part of the administration. « We have to acknowledge the fact that a change of culture is required at the MRC in 2018, » Lebrun determined.
During the January 17th meeting, the mayors agreed to implement a new procedure for controlling expenses. From now on, travel expenses must be approved by representatives from the Council of Mayors and applicants will have to provide separate invoices.
On Monday, January 22, the mayors met with the accounting firm « Goudreau Poirier » from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield in order to review the budget and obtain recommendations for managing the administrative structure. Remedial action had already been taken during the previous council meeting when the proposal to create a new position of social development agent for the Horizon project was rejected; the MRC elected officials preferred to allocate this responsibility internally.
The next meeting of mayors is scheduled for Wednesday, March 14 at the Haut Saint-Laurent MRC head office on King St. in Huntingdon.
Translated by Cathleen Johnston
