Denis Coderre promises to “straighten out” Montreal’s finances. The candidate for mayor of Montreal pledged Wednesday to limit tax increases to 2% if he is brought to power on November 7.
“We are on the edge of the abyss. We have spent like sick people for the past four years, ”said the leader of Ensemble Montréal. He estimates that the current mayor, Valérie Plante, has damaged the city’s finances by increasing the budget to $ 6.2 billion and increasing its debt ratio to 120%.
He maintains that between 2013 and 2017, his own administration had succeeded in cleaning up the city’s financial situation, in addition to limiting the budget to 5.2 billion and increasing Montreal’s credit rating. “Everything has to be started over. After four years of Projet Montréal in power, they have reached a level of financial supervision, ”said Denis Coderre. He intends to carry out a precise analysis of the state of finances upon his return to town hall in order to determine the financial adjustments to be made.
As for the tax increases that he intends to limit to 2%, he maintains that this rate will have to include borough taxes – at least those held by the elected members of Ensemble Montreal, he said. This increase could be lower if the inflation rate is less than 2%.
And according to him, the tax freeze imposed by the Plante administration resulted in a shortfall of $ 56 million. However, he says, the Plante administration is now trying to get Quebec to assume this difference. “We need experts to straighten out Montreal’s finances,” said Denis Coderre.
The leader of Ensemble Montréal is not considering cutting back on municipal staff for the time being, but refers to an “optimization” of resources and the search for new sources of funding. The city has 1,244 more employees than in 2017, he said.
Further details will follow.