The regional council of the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent unanimously adopted its 2026 budget during the regular monthly meeting on November 26.
The planning exercise projects expenditures of $10,170,646 for the coming year, which represents a 3.46 per cent increase in spending over the 2025 budget, which amounts to $340,656 in additional expenses.
According to a statement issued by the MRC, the 2026 budget reflects a “sustained commitment to financial sustainability, economic development, and the vitality of the region’s communities.”
Highlights include a four per cent increase in salaries for municipal administrators and employees, as well as $257,617 in anticipated expenses for asset maintenance and upkeep of the Chateau building, which houses the MRC offices, the municipal court, the Salle Culturelle Alfred-Langevin, and the Huntingdon CLSC.
The average increase in municipal contributions is significantly higher than last year at 14.8 per cent. This is mainly due to public transportation costs, which account for nearly fifty per cent of the increase. The coming year will be decisive for public transportation, as the regional governing body plans to launch an in-depth analysis of the financing, governance, and organization of its transport services.
A significant adjustment in terms of property assessment will also start in 2026, following a decision by the regional council to resolve a long-standing issue affecting over 4,000 units that have remained unchanged since before 2020. According to the MRC, this will “ensure fairness among taxpayers and growth in municipal revenues,” while increasing the contributions for local municipalities by $271,274.
The total amount of contributions from the 13 municipalities that make up the MRC for 2026 has been set at $4,448,391, which represents 46 per cent of the MRC’s total revenues. Funds from different grants and programs amount to $3,960,195, while an additional $1,197,590 in revenue from other sources is anticipated.
More than $400,000 will be allocated to economic development, including an injection of $150,000 to the Fonds de Soutien aux Entreprises business support fund which helps new entrepreneurs launch their projects.
Culture and recreation will receive more than $160,000 in 2026, while an additional $295,000 has been set aside for the second phase of the MRC’s network of murals painted on silos and agricultural buildings.
The first phase in the development of the MRC’s Climate Plan will continue in 2026 with a budget of $155,107.
Community development initiatives have been allocated a $650,000 budget, of which nearly $600,000 will come from the provincial Fonds Région et Ruralité (FRR). This fund also largely covers the MRC’s participation in various sectoral agreements within the Montérégie, as well as subregional agreements across the Montérégie-Ouest, and other agreements, including those with the Sûreté du Québec, for example.
The budget aligns with the MRC’s strategic planning and is consistent with the objectives set out in the Planification Strategique 2024-2028, as well as the Plan d’Action pour l’Économie et l’Emploi 2024-2028 (action plan for the economy and employment), the MRC’s land use and development plan, and different policies guiding the region’s development.