Electoral promises are multiplying, and Coalition Montréal is warning that shoddy control of municipal finances and the budget could result in higher rents.
“Many renters don’t understand that it’s not just landlords who pay taxes,” said Russell Copeman, the Coalition Montréal candidate for CDN-NDG mayor. “When the budget is inflated municipal taxes go up too, and landlords increase rents to help pay for it.”
Several proposals from other parties could result in significant rent increases for residents, explained Marvin Rotrand, the incumbent Snowdon councillor.
According to the municipal council doyen, it’s important to be wary of grand projects with uncertain financing that could end up costing taxpayers tens of billions of dollars as spending increases. The debate should focus on bread and butter issues, not peripheral projects because of the impact on small property owners and on tenants, particularly in the context of increasing property assessments, he explained. “The City needs a fundamental reform plan cutting back overlapping bureaucracy, it needs a best practices review, it needs to enhance economies through better management.”
