The Commission municipale du Québec recently audited the performance of three of the province's municipalities, including Hudson, in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region. The purpose of the audit was to assess whether the municipality's accumulated operating surpluses and financial reserves are being properly managed. This mandate is part of a series of financial viability audits.

The main finding? The management of surpluses and reserves in the audited municipalities could be improved in several respects, particularly in terms of planning and supervision. This situation reduces their ability to manage their surpluses and reserves as a lever for structuring development and sustainable financial management.

"The implementation of a formal framework and appropriate management mechanisms is essential for the proper and rigorous use of surpluses and reserves. These represent an interesting lever for structuring development for municipalities, which requires good planning. It's all the more important to monitor them regularly, given the substantial amounts they accumulate," says Nancy Klein, Vice-President, Audit, at the Commission municipale du Québec. 

In particular, the management of surpluses and reserves is not well integrated into the planning of the audited municipalities, particularly in terms of capital investment planning, in order to use the surpluses and reserves at their disposal in the most advantageous way possible. 

Furthermore, the municipalities have not established any formal framework for the management of surpluses and reserves.In the absence of sufficient frameworks and management mechanisms, we found that legal and normative requirements were not met.  

The full report of the Commission municipale du Québec is available here: https://www.cmq.gouv.qc.ca/contentFiles/files/Verif/2024/A16606_CMQ_Audit_gestion-excedents-et-reserves_EPAC.pdf.   

To read also: 

- Walmart fire: Luciano Minisini Burke remains in custody

- March Break Day Camp in Hudson

- MRC division: "We are at a crossroads"