St. Laurent adopts $79.5 million budget

By Joel Goldenberg, October 3rd, 2012

The borough of St. Laurent adopted a $79.5 million budget for the 2013 fiscal year, which includes $58.5 million in budgetary transfers from Montreal, local revenues of $14.5 million and new “fiscal space” of $6.5 million.
In comparison, the 2012 budget was $72.4 million, with $63.3 million received from Montreal and $9.1 million making up local revenues.
For the 2013 budget, $10.87 million will go to general administration and reserve funds, $1.5 million is being devoted to public security, $21.6 million for transport (including roadwork and snow removal), $10.6 million to ensure a clean environment, $1.2 million to health and well-being, $4.5 million to urban development, town planning and management and $29.3 million to leisure and culture.
St. Laurent also gained new “fiscal space” in the form of the central city offering the boroughs what it would normally receive from five cents per $100 property evaluation, to help the boroughs “maintain their level of services.” St. Laurent's share of this amounts to $6.5 million.
“With this fiscal space, St. Laurent has room to manouevre in terms of the services we offer, to secure the growth of our territory, and which is reflected in the continuing increase of our land value,” said St. Laurent mayor Alan DeSousa. “It is therefore important to help this growth along and offer all of our residents, including 2,200 new residents who have arrived here in the last five years, the services they need.”
A borough announcement said the 2013 budget also contains an increase in its revenue target of $1 million as a result of, among other factors, the issuing of building permits, the number of which “are rising constantly in St. Laurent, unlike other major population centres.”
The announcement also said the borough had to increase its budget by 1.8 percent because of the general economic situation and increased costs for energy, services and raw materials, to maintain the same quality of services. The borough pointed out that this is less than the general greater Montreal area consumer price index of 2.3 percent for the first half of 2012 and 2.8 percent for 2011.
Also included in the budget is the first expenses for 2013, for the new St. Laurent library, amounting to $3.7 million, with Montreal's portion of that being currently discussed.
The three-year capital program for 2013-15, recently adopted, includes $4.6 million for the completion of the borough's second library, $43.2 million for the new sports complex and $5.8 million for the development of parks in the Bois Franc and Nouveau St. Laurent districts. The gross amount of the three-year program is $71 million, including a loan of $21.6 million charged to local taxpayers.n