Laval: surprises expected in the tax accounts

File Photo MARTIN ALARIE
Marc Demers

Matthew Payen

Monday, 11 December 2017 11:56

UPDATE
Monday, 11 December 2017 11:56

Look at this article

The Residents will make the jump to discovering their next account of taxes since some of them will be entitled to a substantial decline, while others will experience an increase well above inflation.

Mayor Marc Demers announced in campaign, there will be no freezing of taxes during the next four years.

He did not deviate from his promise this morning by announcing an average increase of 1.4% in 2018, less than expected inflation of 1.8%, when the budget of the City.

But, in fact, 60 000 Residents will see their tax bill decrease by up to 4% compared to last year, and 50 000 others will, however, pay up to 3.5% more.

In the result of the new “strategy snow” adopted by the directors Demers.

Up here, a part of the Residents paid a fixed amount – 223$ home and$ 114 condo – when the snow was picked up in front of them. Conversely, others do not pay for snow removal from the City because the snow was just blasted in their street.

This operation, unique in Quebec, will disappear in 2018 and every Residents will pay based on the land value of their property.

For home owners who did not pay for snow removal from the City, the total increase in the tax account will be 3.5% on average, while those who paid will be entitled to a decline fee of 4%.

For condo owners who did not pay, the taxes will go up by 2.9% and those who paid will receive a decrease in taxes of 2.2%.

The mayor recalled that the snow removal benefits all and that it is therefore a question of fairness.

“For us, this budget is an opportunity to correct the ways of the days of [former mayor] Gilles Vaillancourt,” explains mayor Demers. Some have had the privilege of not paying for years, now this privilege is abolished.”

The mayor states that the City shall not be rich by changing the system. On the contrary, the upgrade will be implemented in two years to avoid the tax hike is too severe for those that paid nothing so far.

In the meantime that everyone pays for the amount planned as early as 2019, the City will have a shortfall of$ 8.6 Million that will come from the monies recovered from the fraudsters who have stolen the City of Laval during the years of collusion.

The leader of the official Opposition, Michel Trottier, deems that the mayor Demers has not acted transparently in this folder since it doesn’t talk about it in the election campaign. “I’m sure the people who will have to pay 3.5% more would have liked to know”, he said.

The budget will be adopted by the municipal Council on 19 December.