Rigaud: higher taxes cancelled after strong opposition

Archival Photo, QMI Agency
Hans Gruenwald Jr.
Mayor of Rigaud

Matthew Payen

Monday, 22 January 2018 22:33

UPDATE
Monday, 22 January 2018 22:33

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The session of municipal council of Rigaud has been very tense on Monday as more than 200 citizens crowded to interrogate or outright take part in the mayor, who planned to announce at the outset an increase of more than 10 % of the accounts of taxes this year.

“We’re going to start all over again “. The mayor Hans Gruenwald Jr has announced a few hours before the meeting that it submitted its budget, despite being already adopted by the municipal council, on the drawing table.

Citing a computer problem that has changed the situation, the mayor has ensured that a new budget will be presented at a later date that has not been clarified.

It must be said that the municipal council was facing a strong opposition citizen who braved the snow storm to fill the hall of the municipal council.

“Your vision, Mr. mayor, they are only spending “, has accused Kévin Ménard, who hosted the page Facebook Community of Rigaud.

Floods

Among the thirty people who have spoken to the mayor, the most virulent were the victims of the floods in the spring, which has severely affected the small town of 7500 souls. The victims have not appreciated that Mr. Gruenwald tip the $ 300,000 that the disaster has cost the City to justify the increase of taxes.

“It’s been eight months no longer lives with us, nothing is settled, but we pay our taxes anyway, so this increase is difficult to accept,” says Yvon Mathieu.

The citizens have rather denounced the expenditure of nearly $ 10 million, incurred in 2014 to build a city hall, fire station and a municipal garage.

“The mayor was committed at the time that these constructs do not increase our taxes,” said Isabelle Gobeil, whose account of taxes would have increased of $ 271 if the tax hike had been maintained.

“For us, this amount, this is two weeks of groceries,” says the mother of three children.