Canada/Three Lac-Saint-Jean municipalities plan to merge
The municipalities of Hébertville, Hébertville-Station and Saint-Bruno are looking into the possibility of combining their services. The three municipal councils have passed a resolution to this effect.
The Ministère des Affaires municipales will be working with them to analyze all the possibilities.
The mayor of Hébertville, Marc Richard, is convinced that this is a promising option, especially in view of the many new responsibilities involved. He has no hesitation in asserting that an outright merger is in the air.
As mayor, I want to prepare for the future, and I don't think the status quo is the solution. We need to think about regrouping.
A quote from Marc Richard, Mayor of Hébertville
In an interview on the program C'est jamais pareil, the mayor pointed out that the three municipalities already share certain services, so the foundations for this alliance have already been laid. We already have administrative links," he says.
A meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs is scheduled in a few days' time. A number of questions remain unanswered, such as how the three populations will be represented on a future council, the location of city hall and how the debt will be shared.
If discussions go smoothly, the mayor of Hébertville even believes that the three municipalities could ask that the vote scheduled for autumn 2025 be postponed and held at a later date.
A study in the Lac-Saint-Jean-Est MRC
Consolidation is also being considered elsewhere in the region. The Lac-Saint-Jean-Est MRC is currently conducting a study to determine what could be shared among its 14 municipalities.
Couldn't the MRC, for example, manage all municipal permits for all municipalities? That would be potentially conceivable. Could we potentially have an accounting department that could centralize the clerical management of the municipal administration in one place? explained Louis Ouellet, MRC prefect and mayor of L'Ascension.
Source: ici.radio-canada.ca/
