BONNIE JAMES
LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE
MRC PONTIAC – The MRC Pontiac’s Council of Mayors’ (CoM) monthly meeting was held January 22 at the MRC headquarters in Litchfield. Ten Alleyn-et-Cawood (AC) residents attended. A heated meeting, the majority of the evening was spent on the controversy surrounding AC’s municipal shares.
Alleyn-et-Cawood’s shares
The public question period started with 370% Task Force Chair Angela Giroux asking MRC Warden Jane Toller about item 11.3 on the evening’s agenda: Payment, shares. Toller read the resolution: the MRC is moving to hire a law firm to initiate legal action against the Municipality of AC for nonpayment of their municipal shares for 2024.
The resolution stated the MRC sent a letter to AC demanding payment on September 18. AC Pro-Mayor Sidney Squitti said AC responded on October 2 with a resolution offering to pay $150,656, the amount owed based on a revised evaluation, while the remaining $138,492 continued to be debated. Toller said the offer was discussed at plenary and rejected because the mayors were in agreement that AC owed the full amount ($289,148).
Under advice of legal counsel, AC didn’t pay the $150,656 they had offered to pay because the MRC didn’t accept the offer. On December 20, the MRC sent a formal notice to AC requiring payment of the 2024 shares. As no payment has been received, the MRC is now following up with legal action.
The motion to take legal action against the municipality carried 14-3, with Mayors Mayer (AC), Jennifer Quaile (Otter Lake), and Pro-Mayor Robert Wills (Thorne) voting against. Waltham Mayor Odette Godin abstained, stating: “I don’t agree with suing our own municipalities.”
No small victory
During the discussion, Toller mentioned there was good news from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs (MAMH). AC Director General Isabelle Cardinal elaborated by phone after the meeting. Due to the advocacy of AC on the provincial level, the province is introducing new legislation to recognize the difference between the sale of vacant lots and the sale of homes in the property evaluation process. The new law allows for a more accurate approach to the evaluation, giving the evaluator the ability to recognize and correct abnormal increases such as those experienced in AC. Cardinal said the legislation aims to “better reflect the portrait of the municipality”.
Policy change, but no reprieve
In spite of the new legislation and the municipality’s revised evaluation, Toller insists AC must pay the full amount of their shares for $300,000 worth of services she says the municipality received in 2024.
Squitti then asked Toller what services they received worth that amount.
A special mayors’ meeting was held on January 28 where expert property evaluator Charles Lapoutre was expected to explain the concepts of neighbourhoods in property evaluations and the weighting of municipalities in calculating municipal shares based on things like infrastructure and available services. Quebec Federation of Municipalities (FQM) representative Carl Provencher was also expected to present on the issue. The meeting was private, barring the media, the public, and municipal officials from attending. Details of the meeting were not available at the time of publication.
Immigration plan
Council moved to hire a firm called Communagir to help the immigration committee put together an action plan. The contract is worth $19,441 and the action plan must be completed and validated by this September.
The next CoM meeting will be held February 19.