| Budget of the City of Montreal
A budget that curbs spending increases and limits the impact of the unfreezing of assessment rolls, reducing the tax burden on the majority of taxpayers Montreal, November 21, 2000 - The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal is satisfied with the budget made public today by the City of Montreal - a budget that forecasts a slight operating surplus for fiscal 2001 while unfreezing the assessment rolls.
The major characteristic of this budget is expenditure containment, with overall spending down 0.9% in 2001, bringing it to approximately the same level as was seen in 1994. This means that the City of Montreal plans to offer citizens at least as many services as in 1994 without indexing its expenses to inflation.
This positive situation results from a budget year that manages to reduce the tax burden on the 68% of taxpayers in the residential sector, to stabilize the tax burden on 16% of taxpayers, and to increase the tax burden on fewer than 16% of taxpayers by 2.3% or more. Only 2,758 taxpayers will see their tax bite increase by more than 10%. | In the non-residential sector, where the unfreezing of assessment rolls will result in the biggest changes, both tax increases and tax decreases will be spread over three years to reduce their impact.
In addition, the city has managed to reduce its debt by more than $100 million and its actuarial deficit by $500 million. All in all, Montreal's financial situation has improved significantly. With the help of the Quebec government, its budget shows a slight surplus for the second year in a row. The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal has more than 7 000 members. Its mission is to be the leading group representing the interests of the Greater Montreal business community. The objectives are to maintain, at all times, relevance to its membership, credibility towards the public and influence towards government and decision-makers |