Summary#
This is a proposed amendment to Montréal’s existing Règlement sur les dépenses mixtes (RCG 06-054), which sets how shared administrative expenses are divided between local and agglomeration responsibilities. Montréal city council unanimously set its position in favour of adopting the amendment; the agglomeration council makes the final decision at a later meeting. City staff say the goal is to update the units counted in the calculation and prevent internal reorganizations from shifting costs between the two levels of responsibility.
- The amendment would update the support units and related budget exclusions used to calculate the share of general administrative expenses charged to the agglomeration.
- It would make a one-time adjustment to the 2025 figures used to calculate the 2026 rate. The adjusted 2026 rate would be 10.00511%.
- The 2025 revisions would be used only to calculate the 2026 rate; they would not change the 2025 results.
What it means for you#
- Residents and taxpayers: This changes how some shared administrative costs are allocated between local and agglomeration responsibilities. The materials do not identify a direct change to a tax rate, service, or individual bill.
- City administration: The units and budget exclusions specified in the expense-sharing calculation would be updated.
Money#
No estimate of added public spending or savings is given; the materials describe a change in how expenses are allocated.
- City staff report that internal reorganizations caused a $1,479,800 budget transfer from local to agglomeration responsibilities.
- For the 2026 calculation, the revised 2025 rate is 10.26896%, rather than 10.33163%. The 2025 agglomeration expenses used in the calculation are revised to $2,026.8 million, rather than $2,028.2 million.
- Staff say these adjustments are meant to neutralize the effect of the reorganizations on the 2026 rate.
What is unclear#
- The actual text of the amending bylaw is not included, so the specific support units and budget exclusions being changed cannot be verified.
- The materials do not show how the revised allocation affects individual municipalities’ budgets or explain any resulting tax effects.
Case for#
- City staff say the same support activities will continue, and that updating the calculation can prevent internal organizational changes from shifting costs between local and agglomeration responsibilities.
- A possible argument for using a one-time adjustment is that it aims to keep those reorganizations from affecting the 2026 expense-sharing rate.
Case against#
- The materials do not list the specific units or exclusions being changed, making it difficult to assess the calculation itself.
- The adjustment uses revised 2025 figures to set the 2026 rate. Although staff say it does not change 2025 results, the materials do not show the detailed calculation behind the final rate.