Beaconsfield budget approved despite opposition

BY ELYSE AMEND

elyse.amend@transcontinental.ca

While Beaconsfield Mayor Bob Benedetti says the city’s 2008 budget is “quite an accomplishment,” not everyone agreed at last Wednesday’s special council meeting.

“We should be showing more leadership in our budget, particularly in expenses,” said District 6 councillor David Pollock before council approved the 2008 budget with a four to one vote. Councillors James Hasegawa and Kate Coulter were absent from the meeting.

Pollock criticized council for only reducing taxes by about two percent, instead of giving its citizens a three per cent, or preferably five per cent, reduction. He added he does not support council’s decision to increase services such as the municipal patrol to 24 hours a day, because citizens have not asked for it, and does not think the city should be putting $500,000 aside in 2008 for a new $4.5 million library at this time.

“Beaconsfield does not need this multi-million dollar project. I have yet to speak with a Beaconsfielder who agrees with this project,” Pollock said.

Beaconsfield’s $21 million 2008 budget is up just under $33,500 from 2007’s. The city will increase spending on municipal patrol, extending their hours from 18 to 24 per day, which will cost $284,270 in 2008, up 29.55 per cent from $219,431 in 2007.

Beaconsfield is also moving back to six branch collections a year from four annual collections in 2007 at a cost of $90,376, up 77.9 per cent from $50,793 in 2007.

The city will also spend $500,000 per year over the next three years for its ditch rehabilitation program, and will be subcontracting tree trimming and maintenance work for its urban forest in 2008 at an additional $200,000.

The average home in Beaconsfield will see a slight tax reduction in 2008. Homeowners will be charged $0.58 per $100 valuation, a $0.07 change from $0.66 per $100 valuation in 2007. Residential properties with six units or more will be taxed just under $0.6 per $100 valuation, while commercial properties will have a $2.3 per $100 valuation bill. Vacant lots are marked at just under $1.7 per $100 valuation.

The Montreal Metropolitan Community (MMC) tax adds about $0.02 per $100 valuation. The water tax flat rate remains $40, while each cubic metre used will cost $0.97. The average home in Beaconsfield should expect to pay about $350 in water taxes in 2008. Garbage collection fees have gone up 30.5 per cent, from $143.19 in 2007 to $173.71 in 2008.

With everything added up, the average home in Beaconsfield, valued at $325,567, will receive a $2,196 tax bill, down $32 from last year’s $2,227 average.

“We are actually quite pleased with this budget,” Benedetti said, adding the numbers mean about 94 per cent of homes will see either a tax freeze or reduction. Of that, 77 per cent should see a reduction, with half of those homes paying about 2.13 per cent less in taxes than last year.

Despite this, Pollock said the city should have reworked its expenditures in order to give Beaconsfielders a bigger tax break.

“The city’s priorities need to be refocused,” Pollock said. “I cannot support this capital budget.”