The budget was $24,915,000 and the average tax rate was increased by 3.5%, which were adopted on December 12 by the city council of Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot. The elected representatives took advantage of the extraordinary meeting to also adopt the three-year capital plan 2025-2027.

After a rigorous and complex fiscal year, particularly in the context of the new 2025-2027 property assessment role coming into effect on January 1, the board presented a budget with an average tax increase of 3.5%.

The tax rates were adjusted to offset the average increase of 42% in property assessment. For example, for a residence with an average value of $670,000, the increase in the tax account in 2025 will be $183.

The impact of the rate adjustment on the tax account may differ from one owner to another, depending on the variation in the value of their property relative to the average. This variation in value is not uniform across the city and depends, among other things, on sales of properties in different sectors. Rates have been revised to reflect actual costs of municipal services.

As a result of the major upgrades to the Water Board, compensation for drinking water treatment and distribution will be increased from $233 to $287 per residence. An increase in compensation for wastewater treatment is also necessary to support infrastructure maintenance.

The actual cost analysis also revealed that the surplus water tax is not tied to the actual cost of producing one cubic metre of water. Stable for more than 15 years, this tax will increase to $2.136 per m3 above the authorized 250 m3. The increase is intended to bridge the gap between actual and billed costs, but also to remind all of us that tap water is not free and that efforts will be needed to protect this precious resource.

Under the Quebec Strategy for Saving Drinking Water, some government subsidies could be dependent on the ability of Perrotdamois to meet provincial drinking water reduction targets.

Diversify sources of income

Faced with a constant increase in spending, funding sources that are still not diversified in the municipal world and almost no subsidies for financially healthy cities, the City of Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot, as well as several other cities, has adopted a regulation that will now allow it to levy a charge on new construction and residential developments. These fees are a means of expanding municipal taxation and generating new revenues without further drawing from the pockets of already established residents.

However, as this measure did not have an immediate effect, the City made a decision to use some reserves to pay non-recurring expenses and to reduce the impact of the increased water board share and other tax account expenditures.

In terms of spending, the Ville de Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot plans to devote 31% of its budget to the payment of various contributions, including the Sûreté du Québec, the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal and the MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges.

As in the case of several towns in Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot saw its bill for services from the Sûreté du Québec increase significantly to $2.5 million, almost $300,000 more than in 2024. 

As for other expenditure, 27% of the total budget will be allocated to salaries, 18% to departmental expenditure, 10% to interest, financing and debt, 9% to snow removal contracts and various collections, and finally 4% to miscellaneous expenditure.

Three-year capital plan

The three-year capital program (QSP) is a set of projects and investments that the City plans to undertake over the next three years. It should be noted that this is not an authorization to spend and that the projects included in this authorization could be carried over.

Nevertheless, for the years 2025 to 2027, the City plans investments of $37,043,902, including $8,717,100 in 2025. According to the ITP, $8.3 million would be spent in 2025 on various municipal infrastructure projects and $3.6 million of this amount will be used for the rehabilitation of aerated ponds. 

“In 2025, you will see little tangible results because most of our projects and grants will be dedicated to our municipal infrastructure. Their maintenance is essential and we do not want to delay these investments, because the longer you wait, the more expensive it is. We have therefore decided to prioritize the infrastructure and urgent work to be done,” said Mayor Danie Deschênes.

Difficult choices

In an effort to reduce the financial burden on citizens, the city council was faced with choices.  For example, in the face of a steady decline in traffic since the pandemic, the City made the heartbreaking decision to end boat rental services and close the Centre nautique located at the Parc historique de la Pointe-du-Moulin.

Danie Deschênes said, “We will come back in the spring with a more focused proposal within the neighbourhoods. Something similar to the Neighbours’ Festival that is being held in other cities.”

The usual snow park at Parc des Eperviers will not be artificially snowcapped for the 2025 winter season. For its part, the Grande Tablée party will not be renewed for the summer of 2025.