Boosted by galloping inflation and skyrocketing property values, Montreal homeowners’ taxes will increase by an average of 4.1% next year. This is the largest increase since 2011. The Plante-Ollivier administration believes, however, that it has made efforts to limit the tax increase to a reasonable rate.
The 2023 budget reaches $6.76 billion, up $300 million from 2022. Part of this increase is attributable to investments in urban security and the payment of the metropolitan debt.
The increase in property tax imposed by the central city for the residential sector is 3.4%, but the addition of taxes imposed by the boroughs of 0.7% brings the average increase in property tax to 4.1%. property tax for the residential sector, compared to an increase of just 2% last year.
Note that the agglomeration’s property assessment roll filed in September by the City of Montreal caused the property value of buildings in the residential sector to jump by 35.5%. However, the City reduced the tax rate per $100 of assessment and spread the increase in the assessment roll over three years. The City also points out that the Conference Board of Canada anticipates an inflation rate of 4% for 2023.
These tax increases come in a context where the median selling price of properties in the metropolitan area has fallen by 10% in recent months, compared to the peak reached in the spring of 2022. A situation that is not unrelated to the economic slowdown which is watching Quebec. This is the largest tax increase since 2010. That year, they rose by 5.3%.
From one district to another
The boroughs affected by the largest tax increases are L’Île-Bizard-Sainte-Geneviève (+6%), Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve (+5.7%) and, equally, Côte-des-Neiges- Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and Pierrefonds-Roxboro (+5.4%). The smallest increase is observed in Ville-Marie, where the average increase is limited to 1.7%.
For its part, the non-residential sector saw an average increase of 2.9%. The increases will be particularly steep in Lachine (+ 15.2%) and in Saint-Laurent (+ 11.2%). They will decrease by 2.7% in Ville-Marie, where businesses have particularly suffered from the effects of the pandemic.
Urban security budget
The SPVM’s budget increases for its part by $63.2 million this year to reach $787.1 million in 2023, a greater increase than that noted last year. This increased budget will allow the police force to hire 123 police officers to deal with the rise in armed violence in the city, a number of hires also higher than that which was included in the 2022 budget, where the the plan was to add 103 police officers to the SPVM team in one year. The latter will also hire 10 other dedicated employees for its Multidisciplinary School Intervention Team.
The police force will also add seven resources to its Sex Offender Monitoring Team, including detective lieutenants and a consultation officer, at a time when it is faced with “growing needs”, mentions the city budget. The latter also specifies that a sum of 45 million dedicated to the increase in the budget of the SPVM comes from the financial assistance granted by Quebec last August to the metropolis to facilitate the hiring of police officers in Montreal.
The city is also planning an investment of $16.5 million in its Ten-Year Capital Assets Plan (PDI) for the acquisition and deployment of body cameras for SPVM patrollers, a project that is falling behind schedule. First expected this year, this deployment should take shape next year.
Mobility and housing
In terms of mobility, the City is granting $30 million to support the Société de transport de Montréal, which is accumulating a heavy deficit that threatens to affect the quality of its service next year. Of this amount, however, $24 million will be dedicated to funding free public transit for users aged 65 and over.
The City also plans to invest $300 million in the expansion of its Réseau express vélo (REV), which has been a resounding success on rue Saint-Denis. In 2023, Valérie Plante’s administration plans to extend this network of protected bike paths on the Henri-Bourassa axis, between rue Lajeunesse and boulevard de l’Acadie, as well as on the Saint-Antoine / Saint- Jacques, between rue Guy and rue du Square-Victoria. The municipal administration also plans to spend 100 million over 10 years to maintain its cycling network in good condition.
In terms of housing, the lion’s share will go to the acquisition of land for affordable housing, through its right of first refusal. The City plans to disburse $480 million for this purpose over 10 years, while $120 million will go to the acquisition of land and buildings where social housing will emerge, all at a time when funds are running out. in the AccèsLogis Québec kitty.
Ecotaxation
Montreal is introducing two eco-taxation measures. First, it will extend the parking tax to the entire territory of the City, which will allow it to collect revenues of just under $5 million. This tax, which was limited to the city center until now, will target all non-residential outdoor parking lots over 20,000 m2.
The City will also begin to charge drinking water to industries, businesses and institutions (ICI) based on their water consumption. A blank invoice will be sent to the ICI at the end of next January, which will allow them to know the amount that will be claimed from them in 2024. This measure will bring the City 15 million for the year of application 2023 and this amount will be donated to the Water Fund.
Further details will follow.