At the regular meeting of the Saint-Zotique municipal council on Tuesday, August 29, elected officials terminated the contracts of two companies providing services on the territory. At the same time, two new contracts were awarded to maintain the services offered to residents.

The first contract has been suspended. "Since the company and its two co-owners are currently under criminal investigation, we feel it is necessary to ratify our agreement with the SPCA refuge Monani-Mo and suspend it while the legal case takes its course," explained Mayor Yvon Chiasson.

On a day-to-day basis, the company was responsible for managing animal control on the territory, including the registration of all cats and dogs on the territory, whether owned or rented.

A license costs $20 per animal and is valid for the life of the animal. It is non-transferable, and in the event of loss or damage to the license, the permanent tag can be replaced at the Town Hall at a cost of $5.

The license enables the municipality, the animal controller and citizens who find a stray dog or cat to quickly identify it and inform the animal's owner. It is also required by provincial law, which requires a city to be able to identify them.

Following this decision, the elected officials mandated a new firm to take up the torch and maintain this service on municipal territory. The contract will be financed from the municipal operating budget.

A new security agency for the beach

At the same meeting, elected officials also ratified the termination of the contract with Agence de sécurité A2A inc. assigned to the municipal beach during the summer season.

"On numerous occasions, the company has demonstrated its lack of rigor.They received several warnings, didn't answer calls and didn't provide the expected service. We therefore decided to terminate our agreement. At the same time, since the summer season had to come to an end, we awarded a contract to NJE Sécurité to ensure the presence of agents at the beach. A maximum amount of $15,000 will be paid under this new agreement," concluded the mayor on the subject.