It was better late than never for the RM of Ritchot’s annual audited 2022 financial statements. Almost a year after the fact, on November 7, council convened with Ian Hyslop, a contracted independent auditor from The Exchange Group, to review the final numbers.
The reason for the delay, according to Hyslop, is likely due to a changeover in RM staffing, including the hiring of a new chief financial officer this year.
As well, it took some time to consolidate final numbers from all sources, which is a problem not exclusive to Ritchot, he added.
“Timely and accurate financial information is the one key component to making good fiscal decisions,” Hyslop told council, suggesting that the RM seek to wrap things up earlier, if possible, in the future.
All in all, though, things are looking positive.
“Net financial assets are the municipality’s ability to pay its obligations as they become due,” Hyslop told council. “So your net financial assets at $20 million and your net liabilities of $6.7 million show that you have [a difference] of $13 million, and that’s very healthy. If you compare that to prior years, that number’s increased. That just shows good fiscal management on a going forward basis.”
When nonfinancial assets are added to the financial assets for 2022, it means that the RM experienced a surplus of nearly $79 million that year, $2 million more than the year prior.
Turning some of the financial assets into nonfinancial assets, Hyslop adds, is a sound way to invest in the future of the RM.
“One of the hardest things for most councils to truly grasp is this concept of fiduciary duty to the ratepayers,” he said. “It’s an ongoing thing. It’s not just for the current ratepayers. It’s for the future ratepayers as well.”
Third Quarter RCMP Report
Corporals Kaven Bussieres and Melanie Rouselle Gosselin of the St. Pierre-Jolys RCMP detachment also joined council for a virtual Q&A.
Councillor Bodnarchuk noted the significant drop in traffic offences in St. Adolphe in the last quarter, and he queried whether it was due to improved driving habits or lack of enforcement.
According to Bussieres, the latter was more likely the case since some of his officers have been occupied with MPI work over the past few months. He suggests, though, with holiday season around the corner, that St. Adolphe should expect to see more police presence and checkstops in the coming weeks.
Traffic speed was also on Councillor Boulanger’s mind as she reported concerns about drag-racing on Petit Road in Grande Pointe.
“People use that road because it’s a paved road that goes to nowhere, so it seems like a perfect drag race strip,” Boulanger said.
Due to the random nature of the events, though, she admits that it would be hard for the RCMP to monitor.
Bussieres indicated no such complaints coming in at the RCMP office and recommends that Grande Pointe residents call in these crimes when they’re occurring.
Unfortunately, he said, people tend to go to social media with their concerns—and that’s where it stops.
“The more calls we get, the more we can start looking at trends [in order to get] something in place.”
In Île-des-Chênes, Bussieres reported ten additional crimes against persons filed this past quarter. Several of those offences, he said, are connected to the same individuals.
“There was a break-and-enter with some firearms that were stolen in Île-des-Chênes, so that’s why the stats were a little bit higher,” he said. “We located pretty much all of the firearms and four individuals were charged. They were all from the Winnipeg area.”
Mayor Chris Ewen also expressed concerns regarding the crime faced by Ste. Agathe and IDC businesses this year.
“I don’t know if it’s extra patrolling or if it’s a sting operation or what the answer is, but these businesses are hurting,” Ewen said. “Their insurance rates are through the roof right now. We have our own hired patrol that does it, but it’s obviously not enough.”
Bussieres said that other communities in St. Pierre-Joly’s jurisdiction are expressing the same sentiments. Oftentimes these crimes go in cycles where a series of communities are hit by a few individuals and then things settle down again.
He encouraged the mayor to contact him for continued conversations in order to create a plan for better RCMP patrols where they’re needed most.
Councillor Lemoine then pointed out what some residents in Ste. Agathe have been doing to help mitigate crime. There’s an informal community WhatsApp chat group, he said, which encourages neighbourhood awareness and extra vigilance when suspicious activities occur.
At times, he said, residents have reported confronting dubious-looking individuals or even chasing suspicious vehicles out of town.
“I think it’s good when the community gets together to look out for each other,” Bussieres responded. “The only thing I would say is that, if you guys decide to do your own thing without us being involved, you never know who you’re going to be dealing with. A lot of people we deal with, they’re high on meth, they could have weapons, you don’t know what to expect. So you don’t want to put yourself at risk or the community at risk.”
The corporal suggested to continue with the program but determine that the RCMP should be contacted if any suspicious activity was noted.
