By a vote of 40-24, the Plante administration used its majority on city council to pass its maiden budget — complete with its unpopular tax increases.
"An important step for future generations and for our city was just taken today: major investments in transportation, in housing, in economic development, in infrastructure," Plante tweeted following the vote.
The property tax increases amount to an average of 3.3 per cent for homeowners. That figure includes the first water tax increase in five years.
The increases were a major target for criticism, with many pointing out that mayor Valerie Plante had campaigned on promises to cut taxes and spending.
Citizens and business owners, led by well-known bar owner Peter Sergakis, protested outside City Hall this morning before moving inside for question period. They took turns grilling the mayor during the public question period, asking her why she abandoned her tax pledge, and accusing her of leading a worse administration that the one which came before.
Opposition councillors, meantime, also laid into Plante over the increases.
"There’s a fine line between courage and stupidity, and with this budget that line has been crossed,” said Ensemble Montréal's Alan DeSousa.
Plante, meanwhile, continued to insist that the former Coderre administration was to blame for the tax increases — days after she was sworn in, she insisted her predecessors left her with a $358 million budget shortfall which gave her "limited flexibility."
"I'm not surprised by the fact that of course it's never a good news to hear that you're going to pay more, nobody wants to hear that," Plante said. "We had no flexibility around the budget, we had to make difficult decisions. But I'm not going to do like the other administration and just shovel the problems to the next generation."
Councillors with Ensemble Montréal — the former Team Coderre — insisted the shortfall was made up, and that the truth will be revealed by the auditor-general.