Agglo cause of small tax hike in Dorval: Mayor

Although Dorval has yet to receive its Montreal agglomeration apportionment, it went ahead and adopted its $102 million 2010 budget last Wednesday.

Dorval Mayor Edgar Rouleau expects his city will receive an increase of about five per cent in its agglo bill, calculated on some preliminary data. “We went ahead and approved our budget and will work from there. We’ll see what happens,” Rouleau said. “Hopefully, there won’t be millions on top of what we have now.”

Dorval may have to adjust its budget once its agglo apportionment is made official next month. “If it’s $200,000 more, then it’s not a problem; if it’s $2 million, then we’ll have to take certain actions,” Rouleau said. “We don’t want Dorval citizens to face a big tax hike. We may have to cut here and there, we’ll see. These are tough times, there’s a recession and some people lost jobs. It’s our responsibility to do something.”

Rouleau is banking on the fact since the City of Montreal also pays about 80 per cent of the agglo’s annual budget, they won’t push through a drastic increase in regional spending. However, he said there has been a trend in the past few years to download expenses from the City of Montreal to the regional body.

In its 2010 budget, Dorval is spending $46.7 million on local services, a two per cent hike from this year, and $55.5 million on agglo costs, representing a 4.1 per cent increase from this year.

Based on the budget adopted last week, the estimated average Dorval home, valued at $266,816, will have a combined Dorval and agglo tax bill of $2,744 in 2010, about one per cent more than this year.

Dorval is reaping benefits from the expansion at the Pierre Trudeau Airport and new hotel construction since it adds to its commercial/industrial tax base, Rouleau said.

The mayor said the 2010 budget reflects the unavoidable; increases in the consumer price index, fuel and energy costs, the maintenance cost of municipal buildings and equipment.

Regarding debt, the mayor stated the city favours a “pay as you go” approach, using accumulated surplus as a source of financing for major investments, a policy aimed at limiting the annual growth of its debt.

Property owners in reconstituted municipalities on the Island of Montreal receive one municipal tax bill which includes the amount they pay for regional services, such as police, fire and property evaluation departments, public transportation and municipal court. “Unfortunately, the lack of transparency exercised by Montreal makes it difficult to exercise any form of control over expenses incurred by the agglomeration,” Rouleau stated.