Property taxes 2009

Message from the Mayor

Your city council and administrative staff have worked hard to create a city budget for 2009 that reflects the priorities of the residents of Côte Saint-Luc. As you may be aware this is the first year since demerger that we are back to one tax bill. The Quebec government adopted Bill 22 last June to reform the island-wide Agglomeration of Montreal, which is the regional level of municipal government that includes the City of Montreal and 15 suburban municipalities. In addition to other positive changes such as the return of arterial roads to local control and the perpetual protection of our EMS service, the law gives suburban municipalities, like the City of Côte Saint-Luc, the exclusive right to issue property tax bills to our residents. That means you will receive only one tax bill this year for both local and island-wide services. The City of Côte Saint-Luc will collect all taxes and remit a share to the City of Montreal for island-wide services, such as police, fire, transit and the treatment of drinking and waste water. This is a similar system to the one that existed in the days of the Montreal Urban Community before the forced mergers.

As in previous years, our priority is to provide high quality services for the residents of the City of Côte Saint-Luc while limiting municipal tax increases to an amount below the rate of inflation. This year, the tax increase on the average residential property is 1.90 percent, which is below the rate of inflation.

We will continue to run the city like a business. We will focus on waste management programs, improvements in our water infrastructure, and on providing innovative recreational and cultural programs that suit the needs of residents. We will spend our local revenues of $31 million to provide services such as library, recreation programs, improvements and maintenance to parks, Emergency Medical Services, snow clearing, garbage, recycling and organic waste (brown bin) collection, road maintenance, and more. The approved capital budget priorities for 2009 include investments in our parks, aqueduct infrastructure and reconstruction of roads and sidewalks. We are also hoping to begin the construction of an indoor swimming pool and intergenerational centre in the event that we receive a grant from the Government of Quebec that we applied for in 2008. We will continue to take advantage of revenues from the gasoline tax grant and other grants available to municipalities.

You have entrusted us to spend your money wisely. We hope we have earned your trust over the last three years and hope you are satisfied with the openness, responsiveness and professionalism of our municipal government.

Anthony Housefather
Mayor of Côte Saint-Luc

How your tax dollar is spent

Côte Saint-Luc has budgeted $54 million representing $31 million for local services and $23 apportionment for island-wide Agglomeration of Montreal services. Here is how every tax dollar is spent.

Guiding principles of the 2008 CSL budget building process

To meet the growing needs of residents, the budget building process
must ensure efficiency, and the budget monitoring process must ensure a
city-wide commitment for controlling costs, by respecting these
principles:
Create a balanced budget where expenditures cannot exceed revenues.

• Minimize the municipal tax increase where the average increase is lower than the rate of inflation.
• Respect the long-term financial viability of the city.
• Ensure that the cost of debt service never exceeds 15 percent of the annual operating budget.
• Justify long-term debt through a business analysis on a case-by-case basis.

Your tax bill

Your municipal tax is determined by dividing your taxable property valuation by 100 and multiplying that by the tax rate (or “mill rate”) established for your property type. The City of Côte Saint-Luc sets the mill rate for your local and island-wide services tax bill. However, the Evaluation Department of the City of Montreal continues to assess the value of your property.

Property valuations

The value of your property is used to calculate your municipal tax. We are now in the third year of the 2007-2010 property assessment roll, which was spread over four years to minimize the impact of large increases in property valuations. You can see the evolution of your property evaluation on your tax bill.

Example:

Tax rates

The city has 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 financial reserve, which covers the cost of water purchased from the City of Montreal, the debt service for the acquisition of the water distribution network, and the maintenance and repair of our water/sewer network.

What's new in 2009

One-time tariff for blue recycling bins

In 2009, residents of single-family homes and duplexes will receive a new, covered blue bin on wheels to replace your small uncovered blue boxes—something that many residents have been requesting for years. To help cover a portion of this expense, we have introduced a one-time fee of $50 per single-family home and duplexes for the first bin. The tariff will be payable in two installments of $25 on the same due dates as municipal taxes. The bins will be delivered in the spring of 2009 and you will able to select from two sizes of bins.

How to pay

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

1. Internet*¹ (online banking)

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 Thursday, February 26, 2009.
The second installment is due Thursday, May 28, 2009.
If paying by cheque, please include your second installment post dated to May 28, 2009 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.

If the tax bill is not in your preferred official language, please contact us at 514-485-6800 and any future correspondence will be in your official language of choice.