2022 Financial statements

Apr 25, 2023

The Edmundston municipal council just adopted the 2022 financial statements for Edmundston and the village of Rivière-Verte. Following the merger process, effective as of January 1st, 2023, the Edmundston municipal council was responsible for adopting the village of Rivière-Verte’s financial statements for the last year of operation.

According to the budgetary method, for Edmundston, the general operating fund shows a surplus of $43,399. The operating fund for water supply and wastewater disposal services (water and sewage) recorded a surplus of $23,623. The surplus of the electricity generation operating fund amounts to $41,657. The New Brunswick Local Governance Act states that any surplus must be credited to the current account of the following second year. Thus, the surpluses of these three funds will be included in their respective 2024 budgets.

According to Mayor Eric Marquis, these positive outcomes are the result of the council's desire to continue to manage taxpayers' funds cautiously. “We manage, again this year, to have positive financial results despite the significant inflation that we experienced in 2022.”

For Edmundston, debt ratios are 11.5%; 9.7% and 9.7% for the general fund; the water and sewage fund and the electrical fund respectively, as of December 31, 2022.

2022’s net debt was reduced by $8.1M compared to the previous year. The debt went from $108.2 million in 2012 and is now down to $37.7 million as of December 31st, 2022.

For the former village of Rivière-Verte, the general operating fund shows a deficit of $37,932. Meanwhile, the operating fund for water supply and wastewater disposal services (water and sewage), also recorded a deficit of $28,811. The New Brunswick Local Governance Act indicates that the 2022 deficit for the general fund will have to be added to the budget of the Rivière-Verte entity in the next budget of 2024. The 2022 and the previous years’ deficit for the water and sewage fund will have to be added to the water and sewage budget for the Rivière-Verte entity in upcoming budgets.

According to Mayor Eric Marquis, the deficits for the former village of Rivière-Verte are signs of the financial challenges faced by most of New Brunswick municipalities. "The steep inflation of 2022, the rise in fuel prices, the costs of the water and sewage network’s maintenance as well as the costs related to the water filtration plant are relevant examples of the cause of these deficits. »

The debt ratios are 5.6% et de 33.2% respectively for the general administration fund and for the water and sewage fund for the village of Rivière-Verte as of December 31, 2022.

According to the Canadian public sector accounting standards (PSAS), the consolidated surplus for Edmundston amounts to $9.1 million. For the village of Rivière-Verte, the consolidated deficit amounts to $204,000. It should be noted that the subsidies received within the framework of various projects are part of the income while depreciation on fixed assets is part of the expenses.

Edmundston accounts in its reserve funds a total amount of $10.4 million on a consolidated basis, compared to $9.3 million for last year. Rivière-Verte records an amount of $157,000 in its consolidated reserve funds.

The presentation of the financial statements was carried out by Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Firm during the April 25^th public meeting. Copies of the 2022 financial statements are available at City Hall or can be downloaded from the municipal website at www.edmundston.ca in the “Regulations and publications” section.

-30-

CONTACT: Mr. Éric Marquis, Mayor, 506.739.2115, eric.marquis@edmundston.ca