Growth in spending: A study of mergers for small municipalities

Inflation, labor shortages, exorbitant costs and bureaucracy are forcing many of Quebec’s smaller municipalities to consider mergers. Others even entertain the idea of ​​sharing elected officials.

Two merger requests are currently in the hands of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MAMH) and around fifteen municipalities have requested studies for regrouping.

In Beauce, the elected officials of Saint-Évariste-de-Forsyth are hoping for the ministry’s agreement to merge with the neighboring municipality of Courcelles, located in the MRC du Granit.

“Don’t wait to hit the wall,” says Camille Martin, mayor of Saint-Evariste-de-Forsyth.

His Courcelles counterpart, Francis Bélanger, confirmed that more small communities in the municipal world are talking about regrouping.

“We are experiencing an outpouring of solidarity […] Everyone around the mayors’ table was of the opinion that yes, something had to happen,” he analyzed.

If the ministry gives a favorable opinion, the two municipalities could merge by 2023. Holding a referendum is not excluded as some citizens of Courcelles oppose the project.

Demand in Abitb

Other formal requests for regrouping were for La Morandiere and Rocheboucourt in Abitibi.

Elected officials of the two municipalities began the merger process in 2021 with the completion of a study, which was presented to citizens last April.

“Without regrouping, we will no longer be able to provide many services to our population and we will have to raise taxes,” said Alain Trudel, mayor of Rocheboucourt.

Like many, he laments the lack of staff. For example, the municipality of La Morandiere has been operating without a mayor for several months.

Mr. Trudel expects a response from the department in December. He also mentioned the possibility of another municipality joining the merger movement between now and the next election.

Studies for Islet and Kamouraska

In the RCM of L’Islet, the municipalities of Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies, Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, L’Islet, Saint-Aubert and Sainte-Louise await the results of the study soon to establish a new city of about 9000 inhabitants.

The exercise conducted by MAMH, in particular, reveals the estimated figures for the first budget. If the merger goes through, it would be the largest merger in the province since four firms consolidated in Drummondville in 2004.

In the neighboring MRC, 7 of the 17 municipalities in Kamouraska announced in November that they were asking the ministry to undertake a feasibility study.

La Pocatière, Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, Saint-Onésime-d’Ixworth, Rivière-Ouelle, Saint-Pacôme, Saint-Gabriel-Lalemant and Saint-Denis-De La Bouteillerie may join forces.

“Reality is catching up with us with skyrocketing costs. The responsibilities of municipalities are increasing, we have to find ways to avoid overtaxing our taxpayers,” explained La Pocatière Mayor Vincent Bérubé.

The possibility of “doing away” elected officials between municipalities was also mentioned. “No solution can be ruled out. The study will tell us,” concluded Mr. Berube.

The smallest village should be merged

A growing interest in mergers has been observed even in one of Quebec’s smallest municipalities.

Located in Bas-Saint-Laurent, Saint-Guy and its 52 inhabitants are reaching their neighbor Lac-des-Aigles.

The study is underway and the elected officials participated in a second meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs last week.

The project is causing controversy because the municipalities of Basse-Saint-Laurent border, but are not in, the same MRC.

For this reason, the MRC des Basques opposed the merger of the two institutions, fearing the loss of Saint-Guy in favor of the MRC du Temiscouata.

However, the mayor of Saint-Guy, Gilles Roussel, was interested in it for the well-being of its citizens.

Grouping requests under analysis

At the request of some fifteen municipalities, the Ministry is also working on several feasibility studies for municipal mergers.

Staff shortage is creating nightmares

Jacques Demers, president of the Quebec Federation of Municipalities (FQM), noted an unprecedented appetite from its members to integrate services.

While rising general expenses are worrying municipal officials, staff shortages are also giving them nightmares.

Be it general manager, treasurer, road worker or day camp monitor, there are many vacancies in municipalities that are difficult to fill.

“Finding general managers has become very difficult […] For snow removal, we are having trouble getting bidders for many municipalities,” stated the FQM president.

Running out of solutions

The situation is getting worse as the smaller municipalities fail to find a solution. “We have an aging staff. You are in the fall and you have no one to drive your snow plow,” exemplified Camille Martin, mayor of Saint-Evariste-de-Forsyth, Beauce.

He also recalled that in municipal elections, candidates to become councilors or mayors do not rush to the doorsteps. “Apart from the big cities, retirees beg to introduce themselves,” asserts Mr. Martin.

In fact, the number of officials elected without opposition increased exponentially in 2021, confirmed Daniel Pilate, an expert in municipal finance and taxation at UQAM.

Documents and other requirements

“We are seeing cases where there is not even one candidate,” she said.

Upadhyay expressed his concern that all the documents to be completed and other government requirements are pushing the municipalities who are struggling to meet these demands into the underworld.

“Yes, costs are rising a lot, gasoline, etc., but it’s not just, it’s a question of needs […] This is a heavy burden for small municipalities in the face of labor shortages. »

Twenty years after a painful episode of forced mergers, the Quebec government does not intend to play in the picture again, our stakeholders believe.

Elected officials tend to search for solutions to keep themselves alive.