Tax bill 2008

Message from the Mayor

Your council and our staff spent a lot of time and effort putting together the City of Côte Saint-Luc 2008 budget. The revenues collected by the city will be used to provide residents with the best quality service at the lowest possible cost.

This year, we will spend $30 million to provide local services such as library, recreational programs, improvements and maintenance to parks, Emergency Medical Services, snow clearing, garbage, recycling and organic waste (brown bin) collection, road maintenance, major improvements in our water infrastructure system, and more. The average residential property tax increase is 1.69 percent, which is below the rate of inflation.

Your city is governed by business people who understand the value of a dollar and who never forget where the money comes from. I can assure you that  we will invest  your money wisely.

How your tax dollar is spent

Côte Saint-Luc has budgeted $30 million for local services. Here is how every tax dollar is spent.

Your tax bill

Your local property tax is determined by dividing your taxable property valuation by 100 and multiplying that by the tax rate (or “mill rate”). Côte Saint-Luc sets the mill rate for your local tax bill, but the Evaluation Department of the City of Montreal  assesses the value of your property.

Property valuations

The value of your property is used to calculate your tax bill. We are now in the second year of the property assessment roll, which was spread over four years to minimize the impact of large increases in property valuations.

Example:

Guiding principles of the 2008 CSL budget building process

1. Balanced budget: Expenditures cannot exceed revenues
2. Minimize municipal tax increase: Average increase to be lower than cost of inflation
3. Respect rules of by-law concerning budget control and monitoring

Tax rates

We have maintained different tax rates for different property types, which include: Residual (Residential), Vacant Land, Residential Apartments (6+ units), and Non-Residential.

We have also maintained a special tax for a water reserve which covers the cost of water purchased from the City of Montreal, the debt service for the water distribution network, and maintenance and repair of our water/sewer network.

Budget control and monitoring

In addition to the 2008 budget, the City Council adopted a new budget control and monitoring by-law, which will take effect on January 1, 2008. Although the current spending procedures provide us with sufficient financial internal controls, this new by-law re-affirms and identifies the process to ensure the availability of funds prior to purchases being authorized.

How to pay your taxes

Your Côte Saint-Luc municipal tax bill can be paid using any of the following methods:

1. Internet*¹

2. At your financial institution:

• Teller²
• Bank machine²
• Phone*

3. At Côte Saint-Luc City Hall:

• Mail cheque to the address below and attach payment stub(s)
• In person (cash, cheque, Interac) at Côte Saint-Luc City Hall weekdays between 8:30am and 4:30pm

* You will need your 18-digit “Matricule” number to identify your municipal account
¹ Add “Côte Saint-Luc” to list of suppliers
² You will need your tax bill payment stub(s)

Payment deadline

The first installment is due March 3, 2008. The second installment is due June 2, 2008.

If paying by cheque, please include your second installment post dated to June 2, 2008 when sending your first installment. If no post-dated cheque is received for the second installment, you will receive a reminder two weeks prior to the deadline for payment.

Questions

If you have any questions, please call 514-485-6800 weekdays between 8:30am and 4:30pm.