The borough of Verdun plans to spend $44.9 million, or $678.21 per resident, this year. The figure includes $3,985,000 in capital spending approved last summer.
The borough presented the $40,884,300 operational portion of that figure at a packed meeting on January 9. That portion of the budget works out to $617.98 per resident and is 1.94% lower than the $619.72/person budgeted last year.
“We knew we wanted to maintain services to citizens while making sure that we saved 2% compared to the budget last year,” said Verdun Mayor Jean-François Parenteau. “We’re proud of what we accomplished, but our real baby will happen next year at the same time.”
Another quarter, or 9.6 million dollars, has been set aside for arts and culture, with about a million dollars of that for cultural and recreational activities. Arts and culture administration will cost the borough another 2.3 million dollars in addition to the $3.8 million general administration budget. Garbage, sewage and water expenses make up only 13% of the overall budget.
Verdun is counting on Montreal city councillors to transfer 71% of what it needs to spend to the borough. Another $3.7 million will be provided by the tax room created by the central city and an additional $2.3 million will come from borough taxes. Fees generated by local services will pay for only 12% of the total, or $5 million. The borough will pull $819,000 from its general surplus to pay for the rest.
The 19-page document that Verdun handed out last month outlined the budget in terms of how many cents per dollar go to each expense and compared that to last year’s budget.
Some of the citizens in the audience wondered how these figures compared to actual expenditures in 2013, but they won’t be available on the expense side until April. When you compare 2012 results to the 2012 budget, however, there are lots of potential savings. Two years ago, the borough of Verdun spent $36,690,000 or $554.58 per resident. Planned spending that year was almost 9% higher for a total of $39,706,300 or $600 per resident.
It’s not possible to compare the revenue side of the leger because neither Montreal nor its boroughs publish revenue breakdowns.
Publishing breakdowns of revenues to allow citizens to compare budgets with actual spending was recommended in a 2011 study by the C.D. Howe Institute called “Holding Canada’s Cities to Account.”
That study also recommended that Montreal integrate its operating and capital budgets and present multi-year budgets. The city received a B grade due to these shortfalls.
Only three municipalities in the country got As: Surrey, British Columbia; Markham, Ontario and London, Ontario.
