Gatineau, December 4, 2012. – Services for residents remain the priority is the theme defining the 2013 budget that Gatineau Municipal Council members adopted today.

"With this $520,561,000 balanced budget, Gatineau is taking steps to address its obligations and at the same time maintain the quality of services for its residents. The Municipal Council intends to stay the course in terms of its investments in its infrastructures, such as roads, water treatment plants, arenas, libraries and community centres, which are instrumental in providing quality services. In preparing this budget, the Municipal Council was intent on providing Gatineau residents with a set of services and measures that met their expectations," announced Gatineau Mayor Marc Bureau.

The 2013 budget focused on four key issues.

Preserving and improving services for the public

A recent Léger Marketing survey revealed that 84% of Gatineau residents are satisfied with the municipal services they receive. The Municipal Council is determined not to let them down, and in 2013 will invest:

• $1.2 million in improving services, among other things through the heritage policy ($359,500), the management plan for trees and woodlots ($250,000), the cultural policy ($182,000), the outdoors policy ($50,000), and the Cabane en bois rond ($92,379);
• $15.4 million in clearing snow from roads and sidewalks;
• $3.1 million to stay on track in terms of financing 700 affordable housing units by the end of 2013;
• $1.2 million in the Rénovation Québec program for home renovations;
• $1.3 million to continue implementation of the fire safety cover plan, which includes hiring eight firefighters;
• $1.2 million in the police organization plan, mainly to hire additional staff;
• $1.3 million in the social development policy; and
• $1.2 million in support for celebrations, festivals and events.

Increasing investments in infrastructures

The Léger Marketing survey also confirmed that residents would like to see more money invested in municipal infrastructures. Thus, Gatineau will allocate a total of $102 million to its infrastructures in 2013:

• $22.5 million will be used to improve its roads, including:
o $16 million for road repairs;
o $1.5 million for bridge repairs;
o $1 million for speed reduction measures;
o $950,000 for farming roads;
o $500,000 for missing sidewalks;
o $500,000 for road signs; and
o $500,000 to rebuild the Saint-René Est and Labrosse intersection.
• $21.1 million will be invested in water supply and sewer systems.
• $15 million from the federal Gas Tax Fund to modernize the water and wastewater treatment plants in the Buckingham and Hull sectors.
• $10.1 million for maintaining municipal buildings.
• $20 million to continue the development of some 100 different industrial properties.
• $6.2 million for the Programme particulier d'urbanisme (PPU) special urban planning program and the Fonds de développement des communautés community development program. Of this, $4 million will be used to develop the downtown, and $2.2 million for the Fonds de développement des communautés in order to proceed with a number of projects, including community centres and synthetic fields.
• $5 million to purchase and replace vehicles and machinery.

Growing in a manner that is sustainable and protects the environment

Environmental protection and sustainable development initiatives will continue in 2013.

• In the area of public transportation, Gatineau's assessed contribution to the Société de transport de l'Outaouais will reach $49 million in 2013, an increase of $4 million, which includes $1.3 million for the Rapibus.
• $5.7 million will be invested in parks, green spaces and recreational pathways.
• $350,000 will be used for Green Fund projects.
• $300,000 will be invested under the environmental policy.

Thanks to sound residual materials management, Gatineau will be able to reduce its levy by $8.77 per household in 2013, from $137.73 to $128.96.

In addition, a new ecocentre for which Gatineau received a $432,000 from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund will open in the environmental district in 2013.

Planning a realistic and responsible budget

For 2013, the Municipal Council adopted a $520,561,000 balanced budget, up 6% compared to the 2012 budget. The $14 million in investments in capital projects paid in cash account for 2.8%, or close to half of this increase. The main increases are in the following areas:

• the payroll ($6.4 million);
• Gatineau's assessed contribution to the STO ($4 million);
• pension plans ($2 million);
• the fire safety cover plan ($1.3 million);
• service improvements ($1.2 million); and
• the police organization plan ($1.2 million).

The three-year capital program for 2013, 2014 and 2015 provides for investments in the order of $311 million.

For a seventh consecutive year, in accordance with sound financial management practices, Gatineau did not use the anticipated surplus for the 2012 fiscal year to balance its 2013 budget. The surplus is to be used, among other things, to pay for new infrastructures, such as the multiplex and the big library.

Given that the decrease in the levy for residual materials management comes to approximately 0.4%, the average residential property tax increase will be 2.5%.

Of this 2.5%, 1.5% will be allocated to the operating budget. The remaining 1% will go to infrastructures.

"I remain certain that Gatineau, thanks to its sustained demographic and economic growth, will hold its own. In 2013, the Rapibus, a $250 million-plus project, will be up and running, and will change the face of Gatineau. Little by little, the downtown is coming back to life thanks to different projects. One of these is the multiplex, on which construction will begin in 2013, representing an investment of more than $50 million. In short, the spirit of collaboration that drives the municipal administration, elected officials and municipal partners will help Gatineau through the next ten years with the same degree of energy and success that marked its first ten years," concluded Mr. Bureau.

– 30 –