Municipal taxes won't exceed rate of inflation: city of Montreal

A month before the city of Montreal officially announces its new municipal tax rate in November's budget, the city is promising to keep that number below the inflation rate.

Dominique Ollivier, the city of Montreal's executive committee president, tried to strike a reassuring note, telling journalists on Friday that municipal taxes would not exceed the current 5.2 per cent inflation rate. "I can guarantee Montrealers that we aren't going there," she said.

But balancing the books has been complicated by the rising costs of running and maintaining the city, said Ollivier.

"There are realities we cannot escape. [For example], snow removal contracts have almost doubled. Garbage collection contracts [have also increased]. We have to find a balance," she said.

The official opposition finance spokesperson for Ensemble Montral, Alan DeSousa, fired back, saying that the limit of 5.2 per cent the city may be proposing is still too high.

"This would be the largest increase since 2011, and for the second year in a row. In the meantime, the Plante administration is squandering taxpayers' money with big bonuses and cost overruns," said DeSousa.

"Experts predict inflation below 5.2% for 2023 and 2024. Valrie Plante must better manage finances before taxing more, knowing that the city's expenses have increased by $1.3 billion since her arrival [as mayor] in 2017."

At a press conference earlier this week, Plante did not commit to capping the increase of municipal taxes at the inflation rate.

Montreal has been forced to take on "new responsibilities" that normally fall under provincial jurisdiction and has to do so without sufficient funding from the Quebec government, Plante said.

Last year, the city of Montreal imposed a tax increase of 4.1 percent for the 2023 budget.

Montreal's next budget will be unveiled on November 15.