Montreal 2017 budget: Property taxes up slightly, more for public transportation

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre's election-year budget includes an increase in residential property taxes, a smaller increase in non-residential property taxes and a hike in overall expenditures of 2.8 per cent. 

​Total spending for next year is projected at $5.2 billion, up $140 million over last year. Nearly $36 million of that new money will go toward public transit.

On average, residential property taxes are going up by 1.7 per cent, but the increase varies widely by borough.

"If I had to choose one word to describe this budget, I would call it 'disciplined,'" said Coderre, upon introducing the budget at City Hall this morning. "We're doing what we have to do."

Tax rate? Depends where you live

Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Outremont and Plateau–Mont-Royal are the boroughs with the biggest increases. 

• BY THE NUMBERS | Here's how much your property tax rates are going up

The average property tax rate increase is the lowest in the past eight years, Coderre said.

Commercial property tax rates are going up by only 0.9 per cent for the second straight year, which Coderre said is part of an attempt to ease the burden on struggling merchants.

Where the money goes

Here are some of the key expenses laid out in the budget: 

• Police and firefighters:  A total of $1 billion will go toward public security, with $637 million going toward the Montreal police service and the rest to the Montreal fire department. 
• Public transportation:  The STM's budget is up $25.8 million, for a total of $455.6 million.
• Municipal pensions: The city's hefty municipal pension plan costs are expected to drop by $69 million, from $306 million in 2016 to $237 million in 2017.
• Staff cuts: The budget calls for a reduction of "99.3 person years," equivalent to a savings of $11.8 million.
• Snow removal: The city has set aside $158 million for snow removal, down four per cent from last year. The city says the cuts are because borough contracts were consolidated.
• Waste management: The cost of waste management and disposal is $156 million, down by $4.8 million, partly because of a decrease in the tonnage of household waste taken to landfills.
• Culture and recreation: Roughly $548 million is going toward culture and recreation, up $13.5 million, including improvements to parks, museums and centres such as the Biodome and Planetarium.
• 375th anniversary celebration: The city set aside $11 million for the organization in charge of the events, on top of the $24 million budgeted in the previous two years. 

In its infrastructure plan released earlier this month, the city announced it will be investing a total of $6.37 billion over three years — an increase of $1.15 billion over last year's plan.

The extra cash will go toward upgrades to the city's water supply, roads and transportation network.

• Montreal outlines $6B plan to fix roads, revamp infrastructure 
• STM budget: Agency promises better Metro, bus service at no extra cost to users​

Opposition: 'Put your money where your mouth is'

Luc Ferrandez, interim leader of the opposition party Projet Montréal, questioned the priorities of Coderre's administration.

He suggested the city should focus its spending on the Montrealers who are in need.

"It's amazing ... a $17-million budget for a baseball field. Now it's another $10 million for [an] electrical car race. Who cares?" he said. 

"Put your money where your mouth is. When you're saying that you care about [frontline] operations, you put their money there."

He said city hall should be more concerned with the Montrealers struggling to afford rent, living with bed bugs and in dilapidated buildings. 

"Start by the basics. Start [with] where people hurt," Ferrandez said.