Dear Editor,

During the Nov. 27, 2024 MRC municipal meeting, I asked a question regarding the shares calculation for Alleyn and Cawood. Initially their comparative factor for 2024 was 3.7 (370 per cent) but, after further investigation, it had been found that some forestry lands had not been factored into the formulation.

Afterwards, a more reasonable .85 (85 per cent) was realized. I was reassured that there were no mistakes made as my question was, “Could there be more mistakes like this in other municipalities that we just don’t yet know about?” So the next obvious question came from Isabelle Cardinal, DG of Alleyn and Cawood; “Then, if that is the case, why are our 2024 shares still reflecting the original 370 per cent comparative factor?”

Since this public response is on record, this should have been an open and shut case to adjust the Alleyn and Cawood 2024 shares to the .85 comparative factor that Alleyn and Cawood is willing to pay, but shockingly, no, no changes, no updates, no apologies. Nothing. Instead, the MRC is now taking the municipality to court to recover the original 370 per cent bill of a whopping $298,000 which is currently at an additional $35,000 in interest charges and climbing.

Why does the MRC persist? There is a simple accounting solution to this problem. The difference between the 3.7 and .85 comparative factors is $138,000. MRC Pontiac has a contingency fund that it could borrow that money from and then recover the funds in its 2026 budget as a correction to that year’s oversight.

But this would mean that the MRC would have to admit its mistake. Instead, it holds on to this error and demands that it is somehow correct about the admitted incorrect formulation of Alleyn and Cawood’s 2024 shares. And now, everything that should have been simple has culminated into this expensive proposition of a court case. Lawyers fees start at $200 per hour, add in the court fees, include time and expenses and it will be enormous for both parties.

Let’s remember that the funds that the MRC and its municipalities work with come from the citizens of the Pontiac. So, who really cares when it’s not their money? But wait, it’s actually your money, my money? They are planning this expensive game with our municipal tax dollars.

Going to court should always be reserved as a last resort. It signals a failure in one’s ability to resolve issues.

And finally, consulting lawyers is the best way to find yourself in court . . . how do you think they make their money?

Christine Anderson, Thorne