The municipal council of Blainville elected last November presented its new permanent commissions as well as their mandates and composition.
“Beyond the appointments of elected officials who will sit on the commissions, considerable reflection has been done on our governance and the decision-making process that we want to be both effective and aligned with the orientations and priorities that we have presented to the Blainvilloises and Blainvillois during the election campaign. Our priorities will thus be supported by the administrative apparatus and municipal services thanks to this governance structure. The commissions will be workplaces that will receive mandates directly from the municipal council and that will implement projects in line with our commitments with game plans, deadlines, follow-ups, and ultimately, the achievement of objectives,” explained Mayor Liza Poulin.
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The commissions will be overseen by the commission for administration, planning and development. In addition to the main commission which will meet on a weekly basis, the other commissions will hold monthly sessions. Each of the commissions will be supported by municipal directors and employees. Their main mandate will be to present the progress of files and make recommendations to the Board in their sectors of activity.
Budget
In a special meeting, the municipal council also adopted the city’s operating budget for 2022.
This balanced budget includes a revenue and expenditure forecast of $113.5 million. It also provides for measures to mitigate the impact of the new 2022-2023-2024 assessment roll, which increases the average value of properties by 18.48%. Yhese valuations are established by an independent firm, based on the sales market.
“We are lowering tax rates and pricing to achieve a slight variation of $54 in the tax bill for owners of a house with an average value of $439,400. Without these measures, these same owners would have seen their tax bill increase by $478. As often as our public finances allow us, we will act to preserve this ability to pay by the residents. This is our commitment,” said Mayor Liza Poulin.
Highlights of the 2022 budget
All residential tax rates are revised downwards, which makes it possible to reduce the total of these rates from 0.685 to 0.613 cents per 100 dollars of assessment.
“In addition, the total amount of the tariff is reduced from $444 to $335 since the water tariff is now integrated into the residential rate. For owners who do not have a swimming pool, the total amount of the pricing is reduced to $315,” explained the councillor for the district of Alençon, Stéphane Bertrand.
For owners of commercial and industrial buildings and buildings with six or more dwellings, the municipal administration has also decided to lower the tax rates to limit the impact of the new assessment roll.
Regarding public debt, it remains stable “With a ratio of debt to our property wealth which stood at 8.5 billion dollars as of December 31, 2021, we obtain a ratio of 1.88% which is a slight decline despite significant investments that have been made such as the new workshops,” added the adviser.
2022-2023-2024 capital plan
In addition to the budget, the municipal council also adopted the 2022-2023-2024 capital plan which provides for projects with a total value of $19.6 million, but whose cost is reduced to $13.5 million thanks to government grants.
“For the WATER component, investments of $11 million have been granted, including $8.5 million for the construction of a 2nd Ayotte reservoir which will allow the City to build up a water reserve in the event of a fire. and to supply water to residents during peak hours of consumption,” said Henri-Dunant District Councilor Jean-François Pinard.
In the SAFETY component, the Poulin administration is investing $1.15 million, in particular to replace vehicles and equipment.
In the QUALITY OF LIFE FOR CITIZENS component, a budget envelope of $1.3 million has been set aside for improvements to municipal buildings and to begin developing the concept plan for Place de la Savoie in the Chambéry district.
“The parks and green spaces development program, in the amount of $3.6 million, will, among other things, replace the usual bins at the Equestrian Park with semi-buried bins to introduce organic materials, recyclable materials and waste. It will be a great addition to make our public activities more eco-responsible. Also, trails will be developed in the ravines of Fontainebleau, which includes revegetation and planting of trees, once the stabilization work currently underway is completed,” said Councilor Jean-François Pinard.
Finally, $2.6 million will be allocated to road repairs.
Improvement projects in some parks will be announced in the coming weeks.
Environment, forestry, citizen services, youth and others
Mayor Liza Poulin listed other projects that will help improve the quality of life of the population and that will be carried out thanks to the 2022 budget:
- Major projects such as a new environmental policy including citizen consultation;
- The hiring, in 2022, of a new resource who will report to the Direction générale to ensure an ecological transition in all municipal services;
- A winter space at the Equestrian Park and the themed weekends Rendez-vous sous zero in February;
- The urban forestry plan with investments totaling $1.1 million for 2022;
- A first economic development policy in collaboration with the business community;
- New funds injected into the financial assistance program for entrepreneurship and the revision of admission criteria to help SMEs in the context of the pandemic;
- Establishment of two new commissions to optimize the service provided to citizens and to consult our organizations and associations;
- The realization of the youth commission’s action plan and the involvement of young people in various city projects;
- And finally Improved maintenance of outdoor skating rinks and analysis of options to allow citizens to skate despite bad weather.
“This budget and new governance mark the beginning of our mandate. The year 2022 will be important in terms of consultations, major reflections, and start-ups under the themes of the environment, youth, inclusiveness and services to the population. The budget will also make it possible to launch initiatives that will contribute to the implementation of these themes. We are proud of this very first budget from our new administration,” concluded Liza Poulin.