As North Hatley prepares to present its 2025 financial statements this Monday, October 5, at 6:30 p.m., it is worth taking a closer look at the municipality’s main expenditure categories, particularly general administration expenses.
General Administration and Administrative Expenses Are Synonymous
What is included in administrative expenses?
Administrative expenses, generally grouped under the “General Administration” category in municipal financial reports, represent the costs associated with managing, coordinating, and operating a municipality’s administrative functions.
They may include:
- Compensation (administrative salaries) and employee benefits: general management, clerk’s office, accounting, and administrative staff.
- Municipal administration: municipal council activities, financial management, secretarial services, and administrative support.
- Professional services: legal fees, accounting services, external auditors, and consultants.
- Operating expenses: insurance, information technology, telecommunications, office supplies, training, and other administrative costs.
What is excluded from administrative expenses?
Expenses associated with other major municipal functions are generally accounted for separately, including:
- Public safety: police services, fire protection, and emergency preparedness.
- Transportation and roads: road maintenance, snow removal, street lighting, and road infrastructure.
- Environmental services: drinking water supply, wastewater treatment, waste collection, and recycling.
- Land-use planning and urban development: territorial planning, zoning regulations, and development.
- Recreation and culture: parks, recreational facilities, community activities, and cultural programs.
- Financing costs: interest and other expenses related to municipal borrowing, which are reported under a separate category.
- Principal repayments on debt: these are not considered general administration expenses.
Please note: The classification of certain expenses may vary depending on how each municipality presents its budget. For my comparison, I use the amounts reported under “General Administration” or “Administration” in the respective financial documents. These figures therefore do not represent the municipality’s total operating costs.
Example of how General Administration is presented in North Hatley’s 2024 Financial Report
