The tax increases that will be imposed on Montreal taxpayers in the City’s next budget will not exceed inflation, promised Friday the president of the executive committee, Dominique Ollivier.
On Wednesday, Mayor Valérie Plante was unable to say whether her administration would respect her party’s electoral promise not to increase property taxes beyond inflation. Two days later, Dominique Ollivier indicated that several elements of the budget had become clearer in the run-up to the budget submission which will take place on November 15. “The mayor is right to be cautious,” argued M.me Ollivier, during a press scrum. “The latest observed inflation figures that I have seen from Statistics Canada are 5.2% upwards. I can guarantee Montrealers that we are not going there. »
Inflation and increasing service costs are weighing down the City’s finances. “Our snow removal contracts have almost doubled. Our garbage collection contracts are facing significant inflation. So, we really need to be able to find the right balance,” she said. “The current model which is based on property tax is archaic. »
The elected official indicated that all the City’s services and boroughs had undertaken a review of their expenses in order to mitigate the impacts on Montrealers’ tax bills. On Wednesday, Valérie Plante deplored the fact that cities must assume new responsibilities, such as homelessness, without having the funding required to do so.
The opposition at city hall estimates that the maximum tax increases of 5.2% mentioned by Mme Ollivier is way too high. “The Projet Montréal administration wants to choose the numbers that suit it,” indicated the mayor of Saint-Laurent, Alan DeSousa, in an email. “Experts predict inflation below 5.2% for 2023 and 2024. Valérie Plante must better manage finances before taxing more, knowing that the City’s expenses have increased by $1.3 billion since her arrival in position in 2017.”
In 2023, property taxes for Montreal owners will increase by an average of 4.1%. This was the largest increase since 2011.