The increase in property taxes that will be announced to Montrealers at the end of November will be used in large part to absorb cost overruns of approximately $1 billion in major municipal projects.
This is what the official opposition said on Tuesday at Montreal City Hall, attacking the administration for its “inability” to manage public money.
“This administration, it is incompetent in the management of projects. The results speak for themselves, ”said Aref Salem, Valérie Plante’s counterpart to the city council. “They are doing worse than ever. They are doing worse than all the municipal governments that came before them. »
Ensemble Montréal has counted the cost overruns made public in five major projects: the restoration of City Hall (+66 million), the ozonation plant (+350 million), the Bellechasse garage (+300 million ), organic waste factories (+97 million) and IT system change (+100 million).
“Public money is taken a bit like Monopoly money,” said the mayor of Montreal-North, Christine Black. “They have to take seriously that it’s people’s money, it’s the money of the citizens of Montreal. »
Mme Black has been waiting for years for the construction of a sports center for his borough, which is poorly endowed with municipal equipment. “You know, a billion dollars, how many sports centers does that pay? “said Aref Salem.
“The administration must go back to school to learn how to manage projects and ensure that there is control over projects,” added Alan DeSousa, Mayor of Saint-Laurent.