Budget

The 2023 budget was adopted on December 19, 2022. The average Beaconsfield property value is $1,033,418 after the Agglomeration of Montreal new property assessment roll was submitted in September 2022. We are therefore in the first year of the 2023-2025 role.

The Council used $2,165,000 of its surpluses and reserves to present a balanced budget. The City's overall budget rose to $57,766,400 which represents an increase of 8.40%, compared to the previous year.

It is allocated as follows:

• Operating and financial activities: $28,112,795               5.03% increase
• Agglomeration share:                $29,653,605                 11.81% increase

Agglomeration taxes are a complicated issue. To better understand the current problem with the quotes-parts taxation, we need to go back to an agreement signed in 2008 by all 15 demerged municipalities, the City of Montréal and the Government of Québec.

This agreement established the relative weight for each city’s sharing of agglomeration expenses which was to remain constant for future assessment roles; only new development could change the relative weight up or down. It was also agreed that a new calculation algorithm at every evaluation role would ensure that the neutrality factor be maintained.

In 2017, a transition measure was reached to accommodate a specific situation: the transfer of the Veterans Hospital located in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue from federal to provincial jurisdiction, creating a distortion in establishing the real estate wealth of this city.

It was agreed that this transition measure would expire at the end of 2019 before the 2020 assessment role became official. It was also agreed that, during the 2017-2019 period, negotiations would take place to find a new, fair, and just formula to share agglomeration expenses between the demerged municipalities and the City of Montréal.

Unfortunately, the City of Montréal stonewalled the negotiations to the effect that no new agreement was signed and agreed upon by all concerned parties, including the provincial government. Most importantly, the 2008 agreement was never rescinded or annulled.

The 2008 agreement should have kicked back in for the 2020 and 2023 assessment roles and the relative weight maintained to assure neutrality, as determined in the 2008 agreement. Montréal did not do this.

By not applying the neutrality factor established in the 2008 agreement, the City of Montréal is able to reduce its share of agglomeration expenses by 122 million dollars and increase the share of the demerged municipalities by 122 million dollars for the 2020-2025 period which covers two assessment roles.

That is also why our share of agglomeration expenses will go up by 11.9% compared to 2.7% for the City of Montréal and an average of 8% for all demerged municipalities. There is no increase in services to justify such an exaggerated increase.

In Beaconsfield, the average home will pay 488.38 dollars more for agglomeration taxes in 2023. On the other hand, the local Beaconsfield taxes for the average home will go up by 94.43 dollars or 3.98% in 2023.

The real problem is the governance of the Agglomeration. The City of Montréal has 87% of the vote and demerged municipalities 13%. As a result, decisions at agglomeration council meetings are rubber-stamped. We are not consulted in the preparation of the agglomeration budgets, and we are also not consulted on decisions affecting agglomeration expenses.

An example is the decision to add 250 SPVM officers. No one ever came to the demerged municipalities to discuss this decision and the benefits for us. We just pay!

In 2019, it was established that the residents of demerged municipalities paid about 60% more than Montréal residents for the same agglomeration services. This has become worse since 2020 because the neutrality factor is no longer respected in assessment roles.

Demerged municipalities are cash cows for the City of Montréal and have no proper representation.

The Agglomeration was created by the provincial government and only the provincial government has the power to make changes.

I highly recommend to Beaconsfield residents who are unhappy and dissatisfied with the scandalous agglomeration tax increases to write to Ms. Andrée Laforest, Minister of Municipal Affairs, and copy your MNA Mr. Gregory Kelley as well as me as your Mayor.

 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 quotes-parts de l’agglomération de Montréal préparé par la Ville de Beaconsfield et présenté à la ministre des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation du gouvernement du Québec, madame Andrée Laforest, en date du 12 août 2020 – document principal, annexes et tableaux
• Demande introductive d’instance en contrôle judiciaire #500-17-115279-211 datée du 14 janvier 2021 – Ville de Beaconsfield (demanderesse) c. Procureur général du Québec (Ministère des affaires municipales et de l’habitation) et Ville de Montréal (défendeurs) et als (mises en cause)
• 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):

Letter from the Mayor - Mise à niveau de l'entente constitutive de l'Agglomération de Montréal

Letter from the Mayor - Participation au comité de négociation sur la révision de l'Agglomération de Montréal