JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1019 Report

For the first time, residents of Vaudreuil-Dorion will have the floor to express their concerns and priorities to elected officials for the next annual municipal budget. A public pre-budget consultation is being organized for Wednesday, Oct. 23.

“We felt that usually we just have these discussions among the elected officials and the administration, but we don’t really have a chance to chat with citizens themselves and hear what their thoughts are,” said councillor Jasmine Sharma, who is co-organizing the meeting.

Sharma, along with city councillors Diane Morin and Karine Lechasseur, will be on hand to inform, answer questions and deliberate with citizens on priorities for the 2025 municipal budget and investments for future projects in the city. The takeaways from the meeting will be included in next month’s budget discussions and preparation between elected officials and city administration.

Vaudreuil-Dorion has held citizen consultations in the past on various topics, ranging from municipal communications to public transit. But for the annual budget, this is a first.

“The whole idea of doing these chats is to really get people’s perspectives, hear their concerns (and) understand their reality as well,” Sharma said.

She added that the event will act more as a conversation than the regular question-and-answer period that occurs at the monthly city council meetings.

The meeting takes place Wednesday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. at the Centre Multisport André-Chagnon. Attendance is open to all residents of Vaudreuil-Dorion. A registration link is being prepared on the municipality’s website. Though registration is not required to participate, it is encouraged to help organizers plan.

“At the end of the day, if we can come out of these meetings having been exposed to one argument, one perspective, one concern that we weren’t necessarily sensitive to going in, it’s a win,” said Sharma.