When I called North Hatley on June 13, the response was that the Township of Hatley had refused the agreement. At first glance, this made the Township of Hatley the villain of the piece.
In order to better understand, that same day I requested access to the recreation agreement between North Hatley and the Township of Hatley via a formal access to information request. In fact, I obtained the document the very same day. Thank you to the Township’s municipality for its efficiency.
Within an hour of my access request, I received a call from the Township’s General Manager, who wanted to explain to me what was going on with the North Hatley agreement. Once again, thank you for this call, which enabled me to better understand the situation even before the press release was issued.
The General Manager explained that the Municipality of the Township of Hatley wishes to continue the agreement in order to offer its citizens recreational services and access to Pleasant View Beach. This agreement has been in effect for several years, to the satisfaction of the Township of Hatley.
However, as stated in Mayor Vincent Fontaine’s press release, the Municipality of North Hatley has unhealthy financial management practices that are causing budgetary problems for the Township. In fact, he points out that bills have more than doubled without any supporting documentation. Despite numerous requests for explanations, North Hatley has not responded. Attempts by the Township of Hatley to negotiate have failed.
In such a context, it’s normal for the Canton de Hatley to stop collaborating. Imagine that your partner sends you invoices for double the price, without any justification, a year later. And when you ask for an explanation, you get no answer. At some point, you have to take action to stop this. Nobody wants to work with a partner who does this.
In the end, the Canton de Hatley isn’t as bad as we thought. In fact, it is rigorous in its budget management and demands legitimate explanations. As a municipality, as a company and as individuals, we have to manage our budgets rigorously, otherwise we’ll get lost and end up in a bad financial situation. In fact, as a municipality, sound financial management is even more important, since we manage our citizens’ money. We can’t afford to do just anything.
On that note, make sure you have sound financial management to avoid any surprises!
