Budget and financial reports - 2024

Beaconsfield’s share

• 87% property tax increase for residential properties
• Annual garbage fee increases: by $10 for a 120-litre bin (total $190), $15 for a 240-litre bin (total $210), and $20 for a 360-litre bin (total $230)
• Incentive tariff increase per lift: by $0.15 for a 120-litre bin (total $1.55), $0.20 for a 240-litre bin (total $2.40), and $0.25 for a 360-litre bin (total $3.00)
• $40 annual water rate maintained
• Water rate increase from $0.8136/m³ to $0.8687/m³
• 47% total tax increase for Beaconsfield’s share - for the average home using 29 garbage collections (12 of which are included in the flat rate) and consuming 300m³ of drinking water

Agglomeration of Montreal share

• 76% property tax increase
• 29% water tax increase
• 06% total agglomeration tax increase

Combined share

• 3.57% overall annual increase

To reflect the work of the City's Finance Committee, we thought it would be interesting to present a table showing the history of tax rates since 2013. The “Total” column represents the cumulative sum of annual rates and is not the compounded result of the rates. We note that the tax increase for the Beaconsfield portion is 12.68%, less than half the comparable CPI for the Montreal region of 29.7%, while the tax increase to pay for the Agglomeration's proportionate shares is 56.6%, nearly double the CPI for the same period.

The City’s budget was adopted according to the standards established by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy. The elements of the budget that seem most interesting to us for the activities we manage in Beaconsfield are listed below.

Increasing revenue:

• $878,973 for our agglomeration share
• $734,328 in lieu of taxes and government transfers, mainly as a result of the tax pact
• $587,148 for the local property tax
• $400,000 for bank interest
• $131,373 for waste management other than selective collection
• $120,947 for the water tax – agglomeration share
• $109,004 for the water tax – Beaconsfield share

Decreasing revenue:

• $1,280,000 to balance the budget
• $150,000 in urban forestry to subsidize tree planting on private properties and urban forestry maintenance
• $100,000 in infrastructure for ditch improvements and repairs, and street resurfacing
• $50,000 in various professional services
• $32,500 to prepare for the 2025 general election

Reserves and surpluses:

• $1,500,000 to balance the budget
• $200,000 in infrastructure for ditch improvements and repairs, and street resurfacing
• $200,000 in urban forestry to subsidize tree planting on private properties and urban forestry maintenance
• $100,000 in free surplus for the demolition of the barn at LRYC
• $85,000 in technological innovation
• $80,000 in various professional services

The budgetary expenditure categories are revised according to anticipated needs and costs. The details of the most significant changes are summarized below:

Revised increasing expenses:

• $959,195 for our agglomeration share
• $558,192 for salaries and fringe benefits, including an additional resource
• $370,000 in reimbursement to the working capital fund
• $210,000 in professional services to enhance implementation of the 2024-2026 PTI
• $199,332 for leisure activities and the arena
• $189,535 for the purchase and distribution of drinking water
• $173,932 for the municipal garage and vehicle fleet management
• $107,284 for traffic and parking management
• $106,783 for repayment of debt in capital and interest
• $104,440 for the disposal of dry materials, in particular for the new rules on soil traceability
• $100,000 for resurfacing and repairing sidewalks for a total of $2,100,000, including $600,000 for ditch repairs

Revised decreasing expenses:

• $300,000 for demolition of the barn
• $254,000 for miscellaneous building maintenance
• $162,321 for selective collection, 100% of which will be paid by Éco-Entreprise Québec as of January 1, 2025

The 2024 projects for the 2024-2026 PTI show the general intentions of the Council to improve municipal assets, infrastructure and various equipment. These are investments for an estimated total amount of $15,960,000. The sources of funding will be:

• $4.005 M from the working capital fund
• $1.6 M in subsidies for various projects
• $2.550 M from the operating budget for road work, ditch repair and building maintenance
• $6.750 M from long-term loans
• $1.055 M from reserves and surplus for professional services and various projects.

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Dear citizens,

I am pleased to announce that Council has adopted the 2024 budget. We were able to restrain the increase of the 2024 tax bill for the Beaconsfield portion to 4.47% which is below the inflation rate of 4.6% for Montreal. The increase of 4.47% applies to the portion of the property tax and tariffs for garbage collection and water consumption that we control in Beaconsfield. The attached table details the tax rates for calculating the tax bill for a property of average value, currently evaluated at $1,033,418, with a medium-sized 240l garbage bin and an average water consumption of 300m³. 2024 is also the second of three years of the property assessment roll.

Regarding the portion of the Montreal Agglomeration, our proportionate share has increased by 3.23%. This results in an overall increase of 3.06% in agglomeration services on the tax bill for a property of average value.

All in all, property taxes and tariffs are increased by 3.57%. The first installment of your tax bill will be due on February 29, 2024, and the second on May 31, 2024.

While we appreciate the various services provided by the Agglomeration, I cannot stress enough that we are paying way too much for these services. As you know, Council has mandated the administration and legal counsellors to take all necessary means to demonstrate this injustice from a technical and a legal point of view. The City has now requested mediation in the hope of settling the issue of proportionate shares, for which the amount claimed exceeds $15 million without interest.

I can only hope for a conclusion that is advantageous for the citizens of Beaconsfield, and I will continue to keep you updated on the developments and results of our proceedings.

You can always count on me as well as on the members of Council and the administration to protect your interests and to preserve our quality of life in Beaconsfield.

Your Mayor,

Georges Bourelle

Please consult the brief and the application for judicial review filed in Superior Court and its amendments (in French only):

• Mémoire pour rétablir l’équité des quotesparts de l’agglomération de Montréal, annexe, tableaux
• Demande introductive d’instance en contrôle judiciaire
• Demande introductive d’instance en contrôle judiciaire modifiée datée du 2 février 2021
• Demande introductive d’instance en contrôle judiciaire modifiée datée du 5 janvier 2022

Request to participate in the negotiating committee on the revision of the Agglomeration of Montreal (in French only):

• Lettre du Maire - Mise à niveau de l'entente constitutive de l'Agglomération de Montréal
• Lettre du Maire - Participation au comité de négociation sur la révision de l'Agglomération de Montréal

Press releases:

• Proportionate shares paid to Montréal Agglomeration - Beaconsfield mandates its representatives to participate in negotiations (February 21, 2023)
• Agglomeration surtax of 19 million dollars for Beaconsfield, 122 million dollars for the 15 demerged cities (December 1, 2022)
• Overtaxation by Montréal Agglomeration - Beaconsfield increases claim from 6 to 10 million dollars (September 21, 2022)