A word from the chair of the executive committee

The 2019 budget is both responsible and pragmatic. It clearly shows our will to align our investments with the needs of Montrealers, as well as with the challenges facing our metropolis, in order for it to continue to flourish. The total amount of $5,705.1 M, which represents a $232.9 M increase compared to 2018, reflects our massive efforts to control expenditures in order to limit the budget increase. In fact, if we subtract the special $86.2 M contribution made towards the urban agglomeration deficit in 2017, as well as the strategic increase in our cash payments for infrastructures in the amount of $80 M, the city’s general and recurrent expenditures will only increase by $66.7 M, or 1.2%, which is well below the projected inflation rate increase. For 2019, the city has chosen not to increase general property taxes. As for water infrastructure taxes (1%), road infrastructure taxes (0.05%) and ARTM taxes (0.35%), they will increase by 1.4% overall. Our choice to increase these dedicated taxes, rather than general property taxes, is motivated by both responsibility and transparency. Over the next few years, our metropolis will be facing budgetary challenges, mainly due to the elimination of the maintenance deficit of water and road infrastructures, as well as the public transit system. This will enable us to protect investments in these areas, and will prevent future administrations from reverting to deficient investments and lack of accountability towards the population. As far as boroughs are concerned, there will be a 0.3% service tax increase, on average, for residential immovable property, and a 0.1% increase, on average, for non-residential immovable property. The total change in tax charges will thus amount to 1.7% for residential immovables, and to 1.3% for non-residential immovables, which is slightly below the forecasted inflation rate for the metropolitan area. Because quality of life equates to neighborhood living, we are increasing the amounts allocated to boroughs by $25.1 M, for a total of $904.6 M. The amount of $2,295.3 M is provided for the remuneration of municipal employees, which represents a $35.3 M decrease as compared to the last fiscal year. Consequently, the proportion of our annual budget earmarked for global remuneration dropped from 42.6% in 2018, to 40.2% in 2019. The three-year planning required for the TCWP enables us to establish our administration’s priorities coherently with respect to capital works investments. It is the result of rigorous financial planning by all city departments. Much like the budget, the TCWP is an essential roadmap for Montréal’s administration to realize its vision. The program outlines the priorities and nature of investments projected for the next three years. For these reasons, we wanted to disclose our TCWP in the most transparent of ways, by presenting it coherently, along with the budget. For the 2019-2021 period, the TCWP amounts to $6,496 M, which means that investment levels were maintained as projected. While 72% of the total sum will be earmarked for the protection and rehabilitation of our assets, 28% will be allocated to new projects. We want to continue to offer citizens high quality infrastructures, all while following through with our decision to accelerate the development of our city. As a responsible administration, it is also our duty to continue to work towards eliminating the investment deficit. Upgrading water and road infrastructures represents a true challenge, as much in terms of our budget, as for the TCWP, because a major maintenance deficit was accumulated over the past few decades. In order to achieve this, we will have to make daring choices. It is our responsibility to do so. In an effort to ensure access to high quality drinking water for all Montrealers, this TCWP provides investments of $1,582.8 M in water infrastructures. As for road infrastructures, $1,955.3 M will be invested to maintain their condition and to continue to develop them where necessary. Debt management is a key issue for Montréal’s financial health. The city has therefore rolled out a strategy to increase cash payments for capital works in order to achieve effective control of its debt. Consequently, for this TCWP, cash payments for capital works total $1,588.3 M, which represents a growth of 15.2% in comparison with the previous three-year period. The 2019 budget, highlights this commitment by increasing cash payments for capital works by $80 M compared to the previous budget. The operating budget provides $441.6 M for cash payments. On January 1, 2019, the city’s new administrative structure will take effect. Through this change, the city seeks to modernize its services in order to increase their efficiency. This transformation will allow for highly efficient human resource management, generating savings of $22.7 M in the 2019 budget for global remuneration, all while maintaining a high standard of services to the population. We will continue to improve the state of our public finances and to maintain firm control of municipal expenditures. We will continue to work in the spirit of the mandate we were given by the population, that of ensuring Montréal’s vitality, within the boundaries of our taxpayers’ ability to pay. I firmly believe that the choices we have made in this budget and in our TCWP will enable us to fulfill the vision we have proposed.