According to the CMQ, many municipalities not respecting the law concerning budget adoption
According to the CMQ, many municipalities not respecting the law concerning budget adoption
The Commission municipale du Québec (CMQ) published a compliance audit on the adoption of budgets for municipalities with a population of under 100,000 in the province. A total of 1,074 municipalities are included in the report.
Why audit budget adoption?
The CMQ explained their reasoning for publishing the audit, stating that budgets are documents that allow citizens to understand the priorities and direction of their municipal council.
“The budget constitutes one of the pillars on which the activities of municipal governments are based, and it serves as a kind of rudder. The budget is one of the most important documents for a municipality because it guides the council’s direction by determining the financial priorities of the municipality,” the report’s introduction states (translated).
Compliance rate in MRC Pontiac even lower than the Quebec average
The audit uses five criteria to determine whether a municipality is in compliance: the budget must be adopted (1) between November 15 and December 15 (2), in an exclusive meeting (3), and a public notice of compliance must be published (4) eight days in advance of said meeting (5). Out of all municipalities covered in the report, 57% met all the criteria.
However, in MRC Pontiac only the municipalities of Alleyn-et-Cawood, Otter Lake and Thorne met all five criteria. The Municipality of Pontiac, located in MRC des Collines was also in compliance.
The majority of municipalities not in compliance (Bristol, Bryson, Campbell’s Bay, Chichester, Clarendon, Fort-Coulonge, L’Isle-aux-Allumettes, Litchfield, Mansfield-et-Pontefract, Sheenboro and Waltham) met every criteria except holding an exclusive meeting for their budget adoption.
Portage-du-Fort was excluded from the report, and it is noted that this municipality was either subject to provisional administration, supervision or support from the Commission during the period in question.
The municipality of L’Île-du-Grand-Calumet did not adopt their budget in the time period, or have an exclusive meeting.
The Municipality of Shawville did not issue a public notice.
The only criteria that the Municipality of Rapides-des-Joachims met was adopting a budget.
The full report can be found here.
