STUDY OF THE POTENTIAL COSTS AND CONSEQUENCES OF THE EVENTUAL RECONSTITUTION OF FORMER MUNICIPALITIES VILLE DE LONGUEUIL STUDY PRESENTED TO THE MINISTÈRE DES AFFAIRES MUNICIPALES, DU SPORT ET DU LOISIR GOVERNMENT OF QUÉBEC MARCH 2004 “THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF THIS DOCUMENT WAS WRITTEN IN FRENCH.” M O N T R É A L – P A R I S – T O R O N T O TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................................1 1.1 Current city of Longueuil...............................................................................................1 1.2 Reconstitution of former municipalities .........................................................................2 1.3 Current governance and governance in the event of reconstitution ..............................8 2. BACKGROUND.......................................................................................................................10 2.1 Context of the study....................................................................................................10 2.2 Objectives sought by the ministère des Affaires municipales......................................10 3. METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................................11 3.1 Guiding principles .......................................................................................................11 3.2 General framework .....................................................................................................13 3.3 Working assumptions .................................................................................................14 3.4 The limits of the work performed.................................................................................18 3.5 Relations with representatives of the MAMSL and of the Ville ...................................20 4. BRIEF PRESENTATION OF THE CURRENT CITY..........................................................................22 4.1 Population and territory...............................................................................................22 4.2 Financial position........................................................................................................23 5. EXPENDITURE BREAKDOWN ...................................................................................................26 5.1 Sharing of responsibilities prescribed by bill 9 for ville de Longueuil ...........................26 5.2 Expenditure breakdown - before transition and reconstitution costs ...........................29 6. TRANSITION AND RECONSTITUTION COSTS..............................................................................31 6.1 Summary of transition and reconstitution costs...........................................................31 6.2 Referendum costs ......................................................................................................32 6.3 Transition committee costs .........................................................................................32 6.4 Transitional adjustment costs .....................................................................................33 6.5 Annually recurring reconstitution costs .......................................................................34 7. POLITICAL GOVERNANCE .......................................................................................................36 7.1 Current type of governance ........................................................................................36 7.2 Projected situation for the reconstituted municipalities................................................38 8. FINANCIAL AND FISCAL ASPECTS ............................................................................................43 8.1 Tax burdens ...............................................................................................................43 8.2 Fiscal impact ..............................................................................................................43 i Table of Contents… SCHEDULE 1 – REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE ALLOCATION ASSUMPTIONS .......................................47 revenues other than property and non-residential taxes ......................................................47 Expenditure allocation grid ..................................................................................................53 SCHEDULE 2 – CONSEQUENCES AND COSTS FOR RELATED MUNICIPALITIES ...................................57 Reconstituted municipality of Boucherville...........................................................................57 Reconstituted municipality of Brossard................................................................................59 Reconstituted municipality of Greenfield Park .....................................................................61 Reconstituted municipality of Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville....................................................64 Reconstituted municipality of Saint-Hubert ..........................................................................66 Reconstituted municipality of Saint-Lambert........................................................................68 Reconstituted municipality of Lemoyne ...............................................................................70 Reconstituted municipality of Longueuil...............................................................................72 SCHEDULE 3 – ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ....................................................................................74 ii TABLE OF TABLES Table 1-1: Breakdown of population and real estate wealth........................................................................1 Table 1-2: Major budget expenditure accounts under the status quo ..........................................................2 Table 1-3: Breakdown of urban agglomeration and proximity expenditures in the event of reconstruction under bill 9..........................................................................................................................3 Table 1-4: Breakdown of tax burdens to be funded – 2004 – under bill 9....................................................5 Table 1-5: Tax bill for a single-family home and tax impact........................................................................6 Table 1-6: Tax impact at the end of the gradual harmonization measures ..................................................7 Table 1-7: Breakdown of votes on the joint council in the event of reconstitution.......................................9 Table 4-1 : Breakdown of population and Real estate wealth (REW) ........................................................22 Table 4-2: Population of the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (2003)........................................23 Table 4-3: Main budget expenditure accounts ...........................................................................................24 Table 4-4: Net current assets and accumulated surpluses (1)....................................................................24 Table 4-5: Long-term debt..........................................................................................................................25 Table 4-6: Triennial capital expenditures program - 2004-2006...............................................................25 Table 5-1: Urban agglomeration powers for Ville de Longueuil ...............................................................26 Table 5-2: Equipment, infrastructures and activities of collective interest ................................................27 Table 5-3: Powers of the reconstituted municipalities ...............................................................................28 Table 5-4: Breakdown of operating expenditures.......................................................................................30 Table 6-1: Summary of transition and reconstitution costs........................................................................31 Table 6-2: Referendum costs ......................................................................................................................32 Table 6-3: Transition committee costs........................................................................................................33 Table 6-4: Adjustment costs (before amortization).....................................................................................34 Table 6-5: Recurring reconstitution costs ..................................................................................................35 Table 7-1: Number of councillors per sector..............................................................................................36 Table 7-2: Political governance .................................................................................................................37 Table 7-3: Paramunicipal Agencies ...........................................................................................................38 Table 7-4: Composition of municipal councils in the reconstituted municipalities....................................39 Table 7-5: Political representation on the joint council.............................................................................42 Table 8-1: Tax burdens...............................................................................................................................43 Table 8-2: Impact on a typical residence, per sector..................................................................................44