Courtesy Laurent Frey
By Rebecca Taylor
Local Journalism Initiative
In a recent interview Richmond Mayor Bertrand Ménard outlined some of the priorities and challenges the council will be dealing with in 2025
The 2025 budget has now been approved and can be found on the town of Richmond’s bilingual website at https://www.ville.richmond.qc.ca/ When citizens receive their tax account, it is important that they look at the description as there is one section for service costs, and another for the tax portion. Should anyone have questions, they can address them to the municipality.
An additional 200 lodgings are expected to be added to the town in the coming months and in order for this project to be a success, one of the town’s priorities will be to invest in the necessary infrastructure so that resources like water can reach the new developments. One planned project which the town was approached about is at the site of the old St. Famille Church (Rue Coiteux), where 48 residences for people aged 55 and older would be added. This plan includes the addition of an elevator and is central to numerous services in the area, even without a car.
Another major project that will be worked on over the next several years is in response to Quebec’s Climate Plan. Richmond’s plan will focus on the downtown and Rue Principale areas to create more green spaces in order to reduce the temperature during the summer and make walks on hot summer days more pleasant. Some areas will see trees and grass planted instead of having asphalt. To consult the complete plan, visit the town’s website.
One of the major challenges for municipalities is working with the regulations passed down from the federal and provincial governments and finding ways to implement and finance them. There are sometimes subsidies towns can apply for, but that isn’t always the case. Another challenge is meeting requests for funds from the region’s many organizations. Grants aren’t always available for their projects the mayor explained, and the groups in turn request financial assistance from the municipality. It is a balancing act for the town to try and assist them when possible, and to be fair to everyone at the same time.
There will be some changes around the council table later this year as Mayor Ménard will retiring after serving eight years as mayor, and 10 years prior to that as a councillor for the Municipality of Cleveland. The mayor said he is looking forward to having more time to spend with his family, and to go fishing and golfing once he officially retiremes from public life. It remains to be seen which councilors will reoffer as several are currently in a period of reflection.