Montreal property owners will have to tighten their belts in 2024 with a record average increase in property taxes of 4.9% which will allow the Plante administration not to cut its spending.
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The presentation of the budget took place on Wednesday without Dominique Ollivier, who resigned from the presidency of the executive committee on Monday in the wake of his expenses at the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM).
It is in this stormy context that the City is tabling a budget that is close to $7B with record property tax increases since 2011.
For an average residence estimated at $694,541, the 4.9% increase represents an increase of $227 on the tax bill which will go from $4,665 to $4,892.
But not all boroughs are equal: the increase reaches a peak of 7.2% in Pierrefonds-Roxboro, compared to 2.6% in Ville-Marie.
A budget of nearly $7G
The City unveils a balanced budget of $6.99B, an increase of $235M, or 3.5% compared to last year.
Administration spending has therefore continued to increase since Mayor Valérie Plante came to power in 2018 (see table below).
The largest shares of the budget are devoted to public safety (18.3%), debt management (16.6%) and public transportation (10.2%).
No cuts
After announcing in October a $115M slimming treatment for the current year, the City does not intend to cut its spending next year.
In total, the equivalent of 400 new full-time people will be hired in 2024, half of them in Montreal’s 19 boroughs.
The administration will spend $50M more for the development of public transportation, which represents an increase of 7.8% compared to last year. This will make it possible in particular to develop new projects such as the blue line and the Réseau express métropolitain (REM), in addition to covering the cost of free access for those aged 65 and over.
In terms of public security, spending will increase by $37M. By the end of 2024, the City plans to reach a workforce of 225 additional police officers. For its part, the Fire Safety Service will recruit 33 additional specialists.
CITY BUDGET SINCE MONTRÉAL PROJECT CAME TO POWER
2017 (last year of Denis Coderre) – $5.2 billion
2018 – $5.47 billion
2019 – $5.71 billion
2020 – $6.17 billion
2021 – $6.17 billion
2022 – $6.46 billion
2023 – $6.76 billion
2024 – $6.99B