• Mayor's speech
• Heading into a New Decade
• Highlights
• Summary of revenues and expenditures

Budget 2012 (in French only)

Programme triennal d'immobilisations 2012-2013-2014 (in French only)

Heading into a New Decade

On December 6, 2011, the Municipal Council adopted Gatineau's budget for 2012. With its 10th anniversary approaching on January 1, 2012, this new $491,303,000 budget was adopted around the theme of Heading Into a New Decade. It was structured around four specific objectives: To continue investing in infrastructures Sustainable and environmentally sound development To maintain and improve services for the public To keep property taxes at a reasonable level These objectives will lead to a series of measures that we intend to carry out over the coming year. Marc Bureau, Mayor of Gatineau

Highlights

The Municipal Council has set a priority on the following issues:

Continuing to invest in infrastructures

• $1.5 million in the life cycle reserve for the maintenance of new equipment.
• $25.7 million for road improvements, including $15.5 million for paving, $1 million for speed reduction measures, and $675,000 for road signs.
• $10.7 million towards water supply and sewer systems.
• $15 million in stable financing through the gasoline tax to upgrade water and wastewater treatment plants. In 2012, Gatineau will begin several projects, including modernizing the water treatment plant in the Buckingham sector.
• $10.1 million for building maintenance, including $5.3 million for Maison du Citoyen, $1 million for roof repairs, $500,000 for Pierre-Papin, $400,000 for universal access, $400,000 for community centre maintenance, $300,000 for preventive maintenance of municipal buildings, and $550,000 for arena maintenance.
• $350,000 for a regular maintenance program for light standards.
• $5 million to purchase and replacement of vehicles and machinery.

Sustainable and environmentally sound development  

• Maintaining the annual investment of $3.5 million for parks and green spaces.
• $1.1 million in repairs to the outdoor pool in parc Bisson.
• $700,000 for recreational pathways.
• $200,000 for the implementation of the greenhouse gas reduction plan, $100,000 of which will come from the Green Fund.
• $3.7 million increase in the assessed contribution to the $45.1 million total for public transit, $2.3 million of which is for the Rapibus.

Maintaining and improving services for the public

• Maintaining the current $15 million budget for snow clearance on streets and sidewalks.
• Injecting $62,000 to reduce speeding in neighbourhoods.
• Maintaining the financing for 700 social housing units by the end of 2013 by injecting $3.1 million in 2012.
• Investing $1.1 million in the Rénovation Québec program, to which Quebec and Ottawa contribute equivalent amounts.
• Continuing the deployment of the fire safety cover plan, including the injection of $1.3 million in the operating budget, some of which is to hire eight firefighters.
• $1.5 million towards the police organization plan, essentially for hiring additional resources.
• $385,000 allocation to the Gatineau airport.
• $816,000 to continue implementing the social development policy.
• $356,000 dedicated to the cultural and heritage development policies.
• $50,000 towards the outdoors policy.
• $193,000 for outdoor skating rinks.
• $139,000 more for Winterlude, for a total of $480,000 in 2012.
• $152,000 towards the celebrations, festivals and events support program.
• $50,000 through the Green Fund to introduce a cloth diaper subsidy program.

Keeping property taxes at a reasonable level

• $491,303,000 balanced budget.
• The three-year capital program for 2012, 2013 and 2014 provides investments in the order of $247.5 million, $82.7 of which is for 2012.
• No surplus needed to balance the budget.
• For the 2012 fiscal year, thanks to the decrease in the residual materials management levy, which represents an average decrease of 0.7% (from $152.83 to $137.73), the average property tax increase will be 2.2%, of which only 1.2% will go to the operating budget, while the remaining 1% will be used to create the dedicated infrastructure fund.

Summary of revenues

Summary of expenditures