Marked by rising inflation, a slowdown in real estate activity and increased spending on public transportation and the hiring of new police officers, the City of Montreal’s budget continues to swell and will approach $7 billion. next year. Residential owners will face average tax increases of 4.9% while those in the non-residential sector will experience average increases of 4.6%.
Two days after the resignation of the president of the City’s executive committee, Dominique Ollivier, who found herself at the heart of a controversy over the management of the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM), the administration by Valérie Plante presented her budget for 2024 on Wednesday.
Landowners are not all equal before the eternal and we observe variations in significant tax increases from one district to another. Taking into account variations in the value of buildings and the addition of borough taxes, the highest average increases will be borne by owners in the boroughs of Pierrefonds-Roxboro (7.2%) and Anjou (6 .3%). On the other hand, the lowest increases will be observed in Ville-Marie (2.6%), Saint-Léonard (3.9%) and Outremont (4.2%). For example, the tax bill for an average-value residence, or $694,541, will increase from $4,665 in 2023 to $4,892, a jump of $227, which represents an increase of 4.9%. .
Slowing real estate market
Given the slowdown in the real estate market, Montreal forecasts that transfer tax revenues should fall by $19.6 million. The City nevertheless estimates that real estate growth should bring it an additional $40 million in tax revenue next year, that borough revenues should increase by $18.4 million and that those from parking lots should increase by 3.6 million. On the other hand, revenues linked to government buildings will record a drop of 5.3 million.
Revenue from fines and penalties should remain relatively stable compared to 2023, reaching 188.5 million next year. As for revenues linked to the water tax, they should reach 470.5 million, an increase of 23.2 million.
The City, which decreed a hiring freeze at the beginning of the month, will have 400.8 more person-years in 2024. Of this number, 188 positions are linked to the needs of the boroughs and 107 to the addition of police officers. The City’s budget, however, provides that a review of programs should lead to a reduction of 91 positions during the year 2024. The City maintains that it does not intend to make any layoffs next year, but that retirements, among other things, should allow it to respect its financial framework.
Budget documents show an increase in overall employee compensation of 116 million, an increase of 4.4% — which represents 39% of its operating expenses — from 2.6 to 2 .7 billion dollars. This increase is explained, among other things, by the increase in staff at the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM), the signing of a new collective agreement for police officers as well as the “normal” growth in remuneration.
Increased funding for public transit
The expenditure increases in the 2024 operating budget are notably attributable to an increase of 48.4 million in the City’s contribution paid to the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM) for public transport, which notably includes the new contribution to the blue line and that linked to the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) which entered service last July. For its part, the cost of free public transit for seniors, which reached 24 million in 2023, now climbs to 34 million.
Public security spending increases by 35.5 million, including 33.8 million more for the SPVM. The budget of the Montreal Fire Safety Service (SIM) increases by 3.1 million.
Other spending increases include increases in borough budgets (additional 37.6 million), the cost of collecting and processing residual materials (additional 25.3 million) and snow removal (an increase of 11.4 million). million).
In terms of active transportation, the BIXI self-service bicycle service, in operation all year round as part of a pilot project, will benefit from an increase in its budget of 12.7 million. Cybersecurity and the implementation of a new office suite result in a budget increase of 10.6 million.
The Plante administration also submitted a ten-year capital expenditure plan (PDI) totaling 23.9 billion which presents the investments planned for the next ten years. The 2024-2033 PDI will be marked by an emphasis on the fight against climate change, with the City intending to devote a share of 10 to 15% to projects related to adaptation to climate change. Montreal plans in particular to invest 580.6 million for cycling infrastructure including the Express Bike Network (REV) with the aim of increasing the modal share of cycling to 15% by 2025.
Further details will follow.