Despite the economic turbulence, the City of Quebec is presenting a balanced 2023 budget and announcing the creation of a reserve intended to deal with climate change which should reach, by 2028, 300 million dollars.
“The City must adapt […] to deal with the tremor linked to climate change,” said Mayor Bruno Marchand. To do this, the City intends to allocate $15 million, as of next year, to a new envelope intended to counter the impacts of climate change on municipal infrastructures. Payments are to increase by 15 million per year to reach 75 million in 2027 and 2028.
Electoral calendar obliges, the previous budget bore the claw of the former Labeaume administration. This year, Mayor Bruno Marchand is in charge and is following through on several election promises, notably by investing $750,000 to offer social fares to less well-off public transit users.
Despite the economic turbulence, Quebec has decided to limit the increase in taxes for all of its taxpayers to 2.5% – well below the increase in the consumer price index of 5.6% on 31 August 2022. This choice represents a substantial saving on the owners’ tax bill, who will see their bill increased, on average, by $75 rather than the $167 imposed by current inflation. Total spending will be $1.77 billion in 2023, up $116.4 million from 2022.
The difficult context drawn by the war in Ukraine, inflation and the rise in interest rates, eats up an additional 31 million dollars from the finances of the capital. The economic vitality of the City, however, almost alone succeeded in absorbing this financial shock.
The construction work undertaken in Québec City in recent years alone will fill the coffers with $25.1 million in 2023. New property tax levels will add an additional $8 million to the budget. Tighter management of the municipal apparatus should also save $11 million.
Further details will follow.