A city that adapts and keeps moving forward

Adapting

Good day,

Here are the highlights of Gatineau's 2020 Budget.

The budget that we are adopting today is rigorous and daring. It enables us to pursue the vision developed by the Municipal Council early in its mandate, while at the same time adapting our actions to the challenges facing us.

This year, we will be investing strategically in an ambitious urban outdoors development plan and in the first few months' operations of the new Donalda-Charron library in the Plateau. Adapting to climate change is also a big part of our actions. And finally, we are increasing our efforts in regard to paving specifically and our infrastructures in general.

For years, we have been working on diversifying revenues in order to ease the pressure on property taxes, and this year municipalities achieved a historic win: the Government of Quebec agreed to share the revenues associated with one TVQ point. That money will gradually increase year after year, and is already slated to bring in around $8 M annually to Gatineau within five years. This is a huge step in the right direction.

I want to acknowledge all those in the municipal administration and among the elected officials who contributed, directly or indirectly, to the budget exercise. We are continuing to build the Gatineau of our dreams, a city that is ready to face the challenges of its day, and that can live up to its residents' expectations.

The Mayor
Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin

• Budget highlights
• Summary of revenues and expenditures
• Examples of achievements by sector in 2019
• Mayor's speech
• 2020 Budget (in French only)
• Explanation of your municipal tax account
• Où vont mes taxes? (in French only)

Budget highlights

A $ 651.8 M balanced budget

On December 10, Gatineau Municipal Council adopted the budget for 2020, a $651.8 M balanced budget. That represents $28.5 M more than in 2019. This year's tax increases fall under two categories:

The tax increase is once again the smallest since 2005.

It represents a $28.5 M or 4.6% increase in expenditures over 2019.

• A 1.6% increase for municipal operations, and a 0.5% increase in the dedicated infrastructure tax, in accordance with the recommendations of the Comité d'analyse approfondie du budget adopted on December 11, 2018.
• A total increase of 2.1%, which equates to $60 for a $238,200 median residence.

Change in the dedicated infrastructure tax

So far, the dedicated tax has enabled Gatineau to invest close to $149 million in infrastructures, with another $41 million to be added in 2020.

Sound and rigorous management of the debt

Thanks to sound and rigorous management of the debt over the past few years, it has been possible to steadily reduce the debt servicing portion of the total budget to 9.9% in 2020.

Revenue diversification

A gradual revenue diversification plan is in place to reduce the burden on taxpayers.

• In 2018, duties on transfers of immovables for transactions in excess of $1 M increased, generating revenues estimated at $2 M annually.
• In 2019, the property tax rate on serviced vacant lands was adjusted to 200% of the residential rate, to generate $3.5 M in revenues.
• In 2020, sharing the growth in TVQ under the 2020-2024 partnership between the Province of Quebec and its municipalities will bring in $2.35 M. There will be a further approximately $400,000 annually under the Fonds de développement des territoires.

New 2020-2024 provincial-municipal partnership

The new partnership tops up the revenue sharing measures and gives all municipalities more financial autonomy. This agreement acknowledges the key roles that municipalities and regional county municipalities play in the province's development as local governments.

Thanks to that agreement, Gatineau will benefit from the following revenue sharing measures:

• The TVQ's growth will mean an additional $2.35 M for Gatineau in 2020;
  • This amount represents the equivalent of the increase in revenues generated by one TVQ point. Thus, municipalities receive 1/10 of the difference in TVQ collected by the government compared to the baseline year.
• The increase in the Fonds de développement des territoires (FDT) envelope will generate approximately an additional $400,000 annually;
• Continuation of the tax benefits under the 2016-2019 tax partnership:
  • reimbursement of 50% of the TVQ paid; and
  • maintenance at the same rate of payment in lieu of taxes for provincial public buildings.

Enhanced services to residents

In order to meet the community's needs, Gatineau is investing:

• $530,000 for the first eight months of operations of the Donalda-Charron library, currently being built in the Plateau neighbourhood;
• $253,000 to increase the spring sweeping budget in order to enhance service levels and complete operations within six weeks instead of eight;
• $28,160 for a bike path grooming pilot project for the winter cycling network in 2019-2020;
  $63,840 for the urban outdoors action plan; and
• $125,000 to set up the Office de consultation publique de Gatineau.

2020-2022 investment plan – Maintenance component

Total investments for the next three years come to $465.9 M, including $197.8 M in 2020 for:

The investment programs for paving, for correcting the situation with water discoloration, and for work due to heavy rains will continue:

• road repairs will receive $27.4 M, an increase of $1.5 M;
• the 2017-2018 program for correcting the situation with water discoloration, to which a total of $53 M was allocated, will receive $2 M; and
• the rainwater management program, which will require a total investment of $34.3 M (2019-2024), will receive $4.4 M.

The following budget envelopes were topped up to better meet needs:

• Accès-Logis: raised to $4.3 M annually (2020 to 2022), representing an additional $853,000/year; and
• new sidewalks: an additional $720,000 over two years (2021-2022).

Participation in the ruisseau Wabassee project for a total of $56.3 M, with a 40% subsidy

The project involves works aimed at improving municipal infrastructures in response to major weather events, such as heavy rains, throughout the ruisseau Wabassee basin in the Lac-Beauchamp district: development of retention basins, stabilization of the banks, mitigation of erosion and correction of berms and culverts. This major project will strengthen the capacity of municipal infrastructures and reduce the likelihood of problems down the road, namely in regard to flooding.

Funds have been added to the 2020-2022 investment plan for:

• the preparation of a master plan for the development of vacant lots in sectors ravaged by floodwaters, and to provide options and measures for adapting flood risk areas, for a total of $1.4 M;
• corrections to reversed connections, at $1 M annually;
• upgrading of pedestrian crossing signals, for a total of $1 M over three years; and
• reforestation of vacant sites, at $230,000 annually.

Summary of 2020 revenues and expenditures

Examples of achievements by sector in 2019

Aylmer sector:

• construction of the Parc des Cèdres pavilion (underway);
• repairs to municipal water supply and sewer systems, and the roadway along chemin Vanier (underway); and
• replacement of the play structure for 2 to 5 year-olds, and the two spring riders in the existing sandy area – parc Lakeview.

Hull sector:

• upgrading of the water treatment plant in the Hull sector;
  construction of the Donalda-Charron library (underway); and
• repairs to municipal water supply and sewer systems, and the roadway along rue Kent.

Gatineau sector:

• road repairs along boulevard Saint-René;
• replacement of the ruisseau Wabassee culvert under rue Notre-Dame; and
• four-rink complex and layered parking - Boulevard de la Cité (underway).

Buckingham and Masson-Angers sectors:

• landscaping, urban furniture and pathways in parc Laframboise;
• work on the BMX track curves in parc Gilles-Maisonnneuve; and
• fencing – dog park on rue Mccallum.