By Joel Ceausu
The Suburban
Ensemble Montréal borough mayors are denouncing impending centre city cuts to borough budgets, which they say will directly affect essential local services. “The Plante administration has decided to slash central transfers to the boroughs while also imposing significant additional costs related to collective agreement renewals,” reads an opposition statement. To make up for the shortfall, they say, boroughs will be forced to significantly increase local taxes or reduce citizens’ services, such as hours at sports and cultural facilities.
“Despite inflation, outdated infrastructures, rising compensation costs, and a growing payroll, Projet Montréal is applying a one-size-fits-all solution: cuts across the board in every borough,” said Montréal-Nord Mayor Christine Black. “The 19 boroughs will need to perform fiscal acrobatics just to maintain services.”
The Opposition insists the administration should re-examine its spending before dipping into borough budgets, and that since assuming power, the central city’s workforce has grown by 2,115 person-years compared to 692 person-years for boroughs, while central services spending has risen by 41% compared to 24% for boroughs. “These cuts are not designed to improve services for the central city but are meant to finance the Plante administration’s excessive spending,” insists Outremont Mayor Laurent Desbois, also vice-chairman of the city’s Finance and Administration Committee. “The boroughs cannot bear the burden of these decisions. We provide essential local services, and we have already done our part.”
The central transfers they say, should be increased to cover additional costs arising from new collective agreements, and be indexed annually to inflation, at a minimum of 2%.
The opposition motion to be tabled at council this week notes approximately 70% of borough revenues come from central transfers “and these revenues have been indexed by only 1% over the years and by 2% in 2023 and 2024.” This they say, despite higher-than-average inflation since 2020, while borough budgets must consider financial impacts of outdated infrastructure, increased compensation costs and population growth creating new service needs. The Opposition mayors also note the city centre has negotiated new collective agreements that create heavier shortfalls for boroughs, without any compensation having been granted to them.
As reported in The Suburban in March, in response to repeated questioning of Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante on inequitable borough financing from CDN-NDG activist Alex Montagano, executive committee chair Luc Rabouin said the city is reviewing the financing model, which will take several months and agreed “that the situation is unfair, but it is what it is, and we are trying to do the best we can within the current framework.”
The Opposition motion also calls for publication, before the 2025 budget is deposited, of the work on borough financing reform by the Sommet sur la fiscalité municipale and Forum sur la fiscalité montréalaise, as well as recommendations of the city’s expert committee, and a summary of the reviews of activities and programs. n