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Budget

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2022 BUDGET

The budget was adopted on January 24. The average Beaconsfield property value is $732,212, after the Agglomeration of Montreal property assessment roll was submitted in September 2019. This brings us to the third and final year of the 2020-2022 roll.

The Council used $1,775,000 of its surpluses and reserves to present a balanced budget. The City’s overall budget rose to $53,289,364 an increase of 6.22%, compared to the previous year.
  • Operating and financial activities: $26,767,164      2.57%  increase
  • Agglomeration share: $25,522,200                      10.18%  increase
 
HIGHLIGHTS
Beaconsfield’s share
  • 1.5% property tax increase for residential properties
  • Annual garbage fee increase by $15 to $25 for all bin sizes; $175 for the 120-litre bin, $185 for the 240-litre bin and $195 for the 360-litre bin
  • Incentive tariff increase of $0.15 to $0.35 per lift; $1.15 for a 120-litre bin, $1.95 for a 240-litre bin, and $2.75 for a 360-litre bin
  • $40 annual water rate maintained
  • Water rate increase from $0.7737 to $0.7920/cubic meter
  • 2.49% 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 300 cu. m. of drinking water
 
Agglomeration of Montreal share
  • 9.89% tax increase
  • 7.56% increase of the water tax
  • 9.82% total agglomeration tax increase
 
Combined share
  • 6.89% overall annual increase
 
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.
 
REVENUE - BEACONSFIELD
Increasing revenue:
  • $2,397,158 for our Agglomeration share
  • $600,000 for property transfer duties
  • $238,822 for the local property tax
  • $175,641 for residual materials
  • $109,000 library grant
  • $100,000 for reimbursement of labour costs related to the pandemic
  • $95,647 for the 2020-2024 fiscal pact
  • $85,000 for the issuance of permits for the leaf drop-off
  • $36,192 for the water tax – Beaconsfield share
 
Decreasing revenue:
  • $595,000 for a decrease in the use of reserves and surplus from $2,370,000 to $1,775,000
  • $171,221 in repayment of the capital and interest of the government portion of the debts
  • $84,000 decrease in grants related to sustainable development (received in 2021) 
Reserves and surpluses:
  • $1,275,000 to balance the budget
  • $200,000 in infrastructure for ditch improvements and repairs
  • $200,000 in free surplus for the demolition of the barn at LRYC
  • $100,000 in urban forestry to subsidize tree planting on private property

EXPENSES – BEACONSFIELD
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:
  • $2,450,660 for our Agglomeration share
  • $446,140 for salaries and fringe benefits, including costs related to the pandemic
  • $337,015 for transportation and collection services for all residual materials: garbage, organic waste, leaf drop-off, recycling, etc.
  • $225,000 for infrastructure improvements, street resurfacing and ditch repairs for a total of $1,800,000
  • $122,000 for public tree maintenance and planting
  • $100,000 in donations and grants for tree planting on private property to improve the canopy throughout the city
  • $98,370 for professional services to regulate rights-of-way
  • $72,000 in professional services for sustainable development
  • $61,825 for various insurance costs, which have increased significantly
  • $50,000 for scientific and engineering services
  • $45,000 for Beaurepaire Village flower bed maintenance and parking lot lighting
  • $40,200 for fleet maintenance and operations
  • $33,680 for salt and snow removal
  • $30,015 for computer functions; software and upgrades
  • $26,929 for the Recreation Centre management contract to account for inflation
Revised decreasing expenses:
  • $596,000 in debt service payments
  • $131,456 in interest on debt service
  • $111,800 for general elections
  • $104,837 in reimbursement to the working capital fund
  • $100,500 in small non capitalized equipment
  • $67,000 in electricity and natural gas

 

THREE-YEAR CAPITAL EXPENDITURE PROGRAM (PTI)
The 2022 projects for the 2022 - 2024 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 $14,530,000. The sources of funding will be:
 
  • $5.215M from working capital funds for projects less than $1M
  • $3.440M in subsidies for various projects
  • $2.5M from the operations budget for road work, ditch repair and building maintenance
  • $2.050M from long-term loans
  • $1.325M from reserves and surplus for professional services and various projects of $350,000 or less

Click here to read more (PDF)

 
 
 
January 18, 2022 – While the Municipal Council of the City of Montréal is preparing to officially adopt its 2022 budget of 6.46 billion dollars on Friday, the City of Beaconsfield increases its claim to 6 million dollars to recuperate taxes paid in excess for regional Agglomeration services.
 
“This is a matter of fundamental fairness for us. For three years now, our residents have been paying an additional 2 million dollars per year with no added services, whereas Montréal has lowered its contribution and obtained more services over the same period. This situation contradicts the principles of municipal taxation of the Québec government: each taxpayer contributes to the cost of services in proportion to the benefits obtained,” reiterates Beaconsfield’s Mayor Georges Bourelle. 
 
This injustice started in 2019 with the adoption of a Ministerial Order that differed from the rules established in the 2008 agreement on the reconstitution of the municipalities following the demergers in 2006. The new calculation algorithm became incomplete by the omission of the neutrality factor, thereby distorting the historic equity that had previously established the proportionate shares of the 16 municipalities on the island of Montréal for regional services, such as police and fire services, public transit, drinking water and waste water management. 
 
In 2020 and 2021, the Minister for Municipal Affairs and Housing, Andrée Laforest, tried unsuccessfully to find consensual solutions with Montréal who rejected them all. “All propositions aiming at re-establishing equity and justice would increase Montréal’s contribution and reduce ours. That is the only reason for Montréal’s continued stonewalling,” explains Mayor Bourelle. 
 
The mayor of Beaconsfield states that his administration has taken all useful and necessary actions with the Québec government as well as with the City of Montréal to address this overtaxation prior to resorting to legal procedures in order to secure and protect the rights of the citizens of Beaconsfield.
 
The injustice will get worse
 
Mayor Bourelle also notes that the injustice against Beaconsfield and, consequently, other municipalities with high residential density on the island of Montréal will be exacerbated by increasing property values which will be reflected in the next three-year (2023-2024-2025) property evaluation roll. Experts project an average increase of 30% in residential property values, but little change for commercial and industrial properties. This penalizes in particular the municipalities of Beaconsfield, Westmount, Mount-Royal, Hampstead, Kirkland, Dollard-des-Ormeaux and Montreal-West. 
 
“This injustice is intolerable. It is unconceivable to pay more taxes without receiving additional services, just because of a distorted algorithm resulting in inequitable sharing of regional service costs. It unnecessarily reduces the contribution of municipalities that have many businesses and industries at the expense of cities where the municipal taxes are paid, for the most part, by the citizens,” concludes Mayor Bourelle.
 
 
Please consult the brief and the application for judicial review filed in Superior Court and its amendments (in French only):