OUR BOROUGH - A SHIP FULL OF LEAKS...

Local tax‏
From: Michael Labelle
Sent: July 15, 2010 7:08:19 PM
To: Bertrand Ward (bward@ville.montreal.qc.ca)

Dear Mr. Ward,

This is a question I've been meaning to ask for a while and since you are the political "numbers guy" at the borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro, you are probably best suited to answer it.

Why do we need to impose an additional local tax on the citizens of Pierrefonds-Roxboro?

In my mind this means we are not getting enough funding from downtown.

Am I missing something here?

Another question I have, and you must surely know the answer, can you tell me what the total municipal payroll was for Pierrefonds in 2001? Firefighters excluded...

Regards,

Michael Labelle

To: michael.labelle
CC: bward@ville.montreal.qc.ca
Subject: Local Tax
From: jchan@ville.montreal.qc.ca
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:23:25 -0400


Dear Mr Labelle,

You wanted to know why we imposed an additional local tax to our citizens. To simplify the answer here are the reasons:

(a) We have added more equipments and night shifts' employees for our snow removal operations at an additional cost of $600,000.

(b)We renewed the garbage and recycle contracts in 2009 with an annual cost increase of $1.1 million for 5 years. Part of the increase costs was subsidized by Montreal,
resulting in an annual increase of $700,000.

(c)DDO did not renew their inter-municipal contract for library services. This resulted in a decrease of $210,000 in revenues.

These increase costs and decrease in revenues came at a time when Montreal was cutting costs to the tune of $100 million annually for 4 years through its ``RASOP`` program.

You also wanted to know the total municipal payroll in 2001, excluding the firefighters.

The net payroll amounted to $ 10,266,340.

Best regards,

JACQUES CHAN, directeur d'arrondissement
Arrondissement de Pierrefonds-Roxboro
Tél.: 514-624-1402
Téléc. 514-624-1415
jchan@ville.montreal.qc.ca

RE: Local Tax - additional questions‏
From: Michael Labelle
Sent: July 20, 2010 11:03:04 AM
To: jchan@ville.montreal.qc.ca
Cc: Bertrand Ward (bward@ville.montreal.qc.ca)

Dear Mr. Chan,

Thank-you for a prompt reply to the questions asked to Mr. Ward.

Based on those answers, can you please respond to the following:

Local tax

It seems that your answer confirms that there is a budget shortfall in the alllocation Pierrefonds-Roxboro receives from downtown.

Can you please tell me how much annual tax revenue is currently being sent downtown to the central administration?

Simply put is how much tax revenue are we sending downtown and how much are we getting back?

It concerns me to read that we needed to impose a local tax to cover $600,000 for additional snow removal operations. As you know very well, we are one of the few boroughs that is taking on new development and adding new streets. If we are not getting adequate funding to cover the costs of upkeep for these roads - why bother?

We are, in effect, subsidizing development for the central administration.

Payroll

The number you provided for 2001 was comparable with the $12 million dollar figure I had but that included firefighters.

I have attached at table of comparable statistics across the boroughs with budget data for 2010.
As we can see payroll in Pierrefonds-Roxboro now sits at $18 million dollars. A 50% increase since 2001 if you include firefighters and an 80% increase if you don't. Am I missing something here? And how do we account for this increase?

You will also notice that at 57.83% the borough has one highest payroll to total budget ratios of all the boroughs. How do we explain this?

I thank you in advance for answering my questions.

Michael Labelle

SPEND MONEY ON THE KIDS MONIQUE

I attended the Pierrefonds-Roxboro special borough council meeting last night. Our Mairesse, Monique Worth, claims I never write to her so I fired off this by e-mail to her today.

The following is my personal opinion and observations;

Dear Monique,

While we can congratulate the borough for the first installation of a synthetic 11 a side soccer field, we also need to recognise that a lot more needs to be done to improve sporting facilities in the borough.

My comments to you at last night’s borough council meeting is that if I had $7,000 to spend, I would much rather seen it going directly to the promotion of the sport and supporting youth in our community than political grandstanding under the pretext of inaugurating a soccer field.

You may consider this a major accomplishment for Pierrefonds-Roxboro worth celebrating but the fact is the borough lags far behind its immediate neighbours, Dollard des Ormeaux and Kirkland in the quality of its recreational facilities. They have been far more effective at obtaining funding through the provincial and federal initiatives available.

If my memory serves me well, the borough dragged it’s heals in delivering an artificial turf to our soccer association under the pretext of the cost. But at the same time you were able to secure funding for the Heritage sur le Lac residential project from the central administration for the construction of an artificial lake and invest local funds to build a park around it all of which the local press has assigned a price tag of over $3.5 million dollars. You also passed a local loan by-law that saw us foot the entire bill for the construction of a community center in the east at a price tag of over $4.5 million dollars.

It seems the competitive pressure of an upcoming municipal election was the required catalyst to get your administration moving last year and spring into action. Hopefully PSA Club President Mr. Fern da Silva will take advantage of your opening ceremony to ask the question “what next”?

We cannot afford to keep on building new homes in Pierrefonds-Roxboro and not invest in our recreational infrastructure. My immediate suggestion to you is that you impose a moratorium on the millions of dollars spent each year to renovate older residential streets through the installation of curbs and storm drains and redirect these funds to upgrading the park system. I would also suggest that you redirect the funds, as modest as they may be, you currently donate to outside charities to our youth sports programs and also find additional funds to support them.

Enjoy your little celebration and congratulate yourself for what you consider a job well done. In the mean time remember you have one of the highest youth populations in the City of Montreal and our youth need to be kept busy. The borough site maps I consulted last night indicate no new major sports facilities comparable to Grier Park planned despite having identified the need while I was still a City Councillor over 10 years ago. We have succeeded in converting an existing 11 a side field to a synthetic surface but have added no new capacity for the sport.

Again hopefully the members of the PSA Executive present at your inauguration ceremony will ask some hard questions as to what is planned going forward for the sport and what they can expect from your administration. Last night you stated you were prepared to look at increasing funding to our sports organization, you may want to take the opportunity to elaborate on that.

And as I written at the beginning, I would much rather have seen $7,000 going directly to the sport as opposed to a ceremony.

Michael Labelle

WHERE ARE THE BIKE PATHS?

This is a picture of L'Anse à L'Orme Road taken off the web. It shows the road before a bike path was installed along it last year. Installation of a bike path consisted of repaving the shoulders on each side but leaving the roadway in its existing shape. The path is a boon for those who ride bikes as it least no longer requires them to share the rutted road with cars and trucks.

Alas the picture can also be superimposed on Gouin Boulevard in the West of Pierrefonds as the road is in a pathetic state there. The gravel shoulder is severely degraded in many spots often forcing riders nearly into the middle of the road to avoid bumps and pot holes. Not the ideal world for cyclists and totally unsafe for young riders.

In an ideal world bike paths are not just lines in the road or the picture of a bike painted on asphalt but dedicated venues for bike and pedestrian use only. They can be paved or gravel as in this picture
--->.

Gravel paths are great for recreational use and young families as they discourage "speed riders" and roller bladers from using them. They are cheap to install and maintain. In the winter they can be converted into walking or cross country ski trails.

There is enormous potential for improving the dedicated bike path network on the West Island. There are several interesting trail systems already in place and it would a noble project to attempt to get them to be linked up. Kirkland has a beautiful trail system installed along the hydro lines north of the TransCanada Highway. Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue has installed a fine system linking the western part of the City to its older counterpart.

Pierrefonds has the potential to be a key player to help link the Kirkland and Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue systems and in doing so provide safe access to Cap Saint-Jacques Park.

We could start with a system of gravel paths acting as linear parks to encourage biking and hiking. More ambitious plans could allow for the inclusion of "hors-piste" routes for those who enjoy cross country biking.

Improving the recreational infrastructure on the West Island is a benefit to us all.

What a coincidence - a great article appeared in the Gazette today (June 29th, 2010)

Here's an excerpt:

Cycle

Rather than trying to negotiate city streets, take your kids to a bike path that meanders through nature. Not only are there fewer cars and more things to see, cycling in nature parks and along easy trails offers plenty of opportunity to stop and look for bugs, frogs, rocks and other outdoor treasures.

For older kids, find mountain bike trails that cross varied terrain and have some challenging climbs and fun descents. For trails in your area, see www.trails.mtbr.com.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Fitness+Cure+that+nature+deficit+disorder/3214487/story.html#ixzz0sH3LqwRI

ACCESSABILITY IS A PRIORITY FOR THE CITY OF MONTREAL - MORE TREMBLAY B.S.

So where are the sidewalks?

Our illustrious borough Mairesse got her self a photo op and some positive press when the she inaugurated the borough's second universally accessible playground in the Heritage on the Lake residential project.

For those who don't know the Borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro, Heritage on the Lake was supposed to be a flagship residential project built on vacant farmland in the western tip of the old city of Pierrefonds, home to some of the most beautiful remaining green spaces on the Island of Montreal.

Unfortunately, the only "Heritage" displayed in the project is a tradition of random zoning changes to accommodate developers whims and a lack of backbone when it comes to demanding the most basic elements when it comes to modern urban planning practices, out of fear that the fund raising well will run dry if our City's "corporate citizens" are not placated. The project has been modified several times and is about to be modified again as the borough quietly passes more zoning changes related to the project in a blanket bylaw to "harmonize" zoning in the borough.

One of the elements that was supposed to be required in all new projects in this "New Pierrefonds" was that all electrical and cable distribution was to be underground - no more ugly poles to pollute the landscape. Another element was that projects include sidewalks to make streets more pedestrian friendly. The City of Montreal even adapted a Charter of Pedestrian Rights with much fanfare in 2006 which was lauded as "global vision to make Montreal a city that is more humane and more safe".

In 2002 Me Worth quietly allowed the underground cabling distribution requirement to be revoked. She allowed for zoning changes to take place so the "Heritage" route along Gouin Boulevard now has homes backing on to it. And despite the adoption of a Pedestrian Charter, sidewalks are few and far between in the project.

Not so easy to get to the park!
Me Worth can spare us the drivel as to her commitment to universal access as the project violates the fundamental right of a handicapped or any other person as a matter of fact to navigate their neighbourhood safely and not have to share their trajectory with cars and trucks. When asked about the absence of sidewalks in another project in 2006 Me Worth replied that the "rural" nature of the project made sidewalks unnecessary.

Personally I was livid when I learned the Borough and the Central City had kicked in over $3.6 million into the project for an artificial lake and a park. In that context you would think she would have gone to her "corporate citizens' and said "here is what we are prepared to invest in the project - now here is what we want you to do". But of course not, that would have required brains and backbone, qualities that are in short supply when it comes to elected officials in the borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro.

Underground cablying, offset sidewalks and bike paths would have been a nice touch for a high quality "flagship" residential project. Alas, when asked as to what the planned sidewalk coverage was for Heritage on the Lake, our Urban Planner and we use that term lightely declared "20%". Commitment to accessibility - not!

If you can't do it right

Then don't do it at all!

MONTREAL OVER STAFFED AND INEFFICIENT

La Presse is reporting this morning how the number of jobs paying over $100,000 a year has skyrocketed in the City of Montreal since 2003.

Tremblay's slogan in 2001 was "It's going to work". Well it hasn't been working. Creating 19 little fiefdoms called boroughs has layered on more bureaucratic fat that we have to pay for.

There are a lot of behind the scenes operations that could be centralised in attempt to achieve economies of scale. And don't believe smaller is better when it comes to operations and administration. When we were a city, Pierrefonds had a $400,000 a year payroll for its purchasing department. It is hard to modernise and streamline staff when you are stuck dealing with a set system. Having 19 boroughs using a centralised purchasing system and staff would save us a lot of money and when it comes to local autonomy and control, residents would never notice.

PROVINCIAL MUNICIPAL CODE OF ETHICS ON THE TABLE

Our provincial government is tabling Bill 109 which will force municipalities in Quebec to adopt a code of ethics.

"Bill 109, the Municipal Ethics and Good Conduct Act, addresses the issues of conflict of interest, favouritism, embezzlement, breach of trust and other misconduct, gifts, benefits and the use of municipal resources." (Gazette)

Sanctions in the case of misconduct include a reprimand or a suspension for 180 days. In the case of where a politician is to be removed from office the police must be called in.

To avoid witch hunts, Laurent Lessard, our Minister of Urban Affairs wants documented cases with signed affidavits.

The joke in all this risks being enforcement process.

Our City installed an ethics hot line as election campaign window dressing last fall. The Montreal Auditor General's office is responsible for handling complaints sent to it. But what we're learning is that the Auditor General's office is severely underfunded and understaffed.

My own personal experience with dealing with the Minister of Urban Affairs leaves much to be desired. Either a complaint is valid or it isn't. In my case, complaints have been submitted in writing, signed by me and with supporting documents acquired via access to information requests.

Anyway, we'll have wait patiently to see if my complaints get handled before the bill is passed but I suspect there is a deliberate delay. I can understand the position of the Minister when it comes to the powers of investigation and that government bodies are not police forces.

Hopefully we'll end up with something where the rules are clear and the resolution process is expedient and not a long and laborious one designed to discourage people.

Personally, if I don't get an answer before the bill is passed then so be it. But at least then we'll be able to call in the police.

For the record, my complaints have involved the use of municipal resources and expense claims. Neither of which amount to large amounts of public money.

But first off, the amount of money should never be a criteria. Once you have crossed the line, you have crossed the line, especially when the rules are clear.

Secondly, the main issue has become the total arrogance and denial from those accused regarding my complaints.

If I am being subjected to a law suit today much of the blame can be assigned to public officials who failed to answer my questions and complaints within the delays they are supposed to.

WHAT'S LAND YOU CAN'T BUILD ON WORTH MONIQUE?

So who's hand is in the honey jar?
I'm confused??

I don't get over to Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough council meetings as much as I used to but tonight I decided to take advantage of the fact that I was nearby to attend a public consultation regarding a zoning change taking place off of 5th Avenue in Roxboro.

The lot in question is the last remaining remnant of the great Hershey Rosen Rapides du Cheval Blanc land flip project where back in 2002 he succeeded in getting an unconditional offer to purchase a piece of land from the City of Montreal before he owned it, bought the land for less than $700,000, subdivided it and then flipped back environmentally "sensitive" land to the City of Montreal for 2.8 million dollars less than two years later. Monique Worth benefited from the project as she was able to buy a condo from Rosen's construction partner and flip less than six months later for a $50,000 profit.

Rose's plans presented to what was then the City of Pierrefonds had the lot in question to be accessed from Pierrefonds and a multi story (8-12) tower was to be built. A lot of speculation was involved with the site as there was talk that a second train station was going to be built nearby. Alas the proposed access road was in a flood zone and the site now finds itself land locked from the Pierrefonds end and from what I can see can only be accessed from Roxboro.

The borough is playing heroics claiming that by initiating a zoning change it is helping to preserve the site as the owner will be discouraged to build. This is where things don't make sense.

First there is a City of Montreal's evaluator's report stating the land cannot be built on and assigns a value of $650,000 to the land which is still way above it less than $200,000 municipal evaluation. Secondly there now appears to be secret evaluators report produced for the owner that confirms the site can accommodate an 8 story building.

The notion that the Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough council is working to protect the common folk and that this zoning change is a good thing for them leave me quite skeptical.

Then there is the issue that Worth claims that the City of Montreal is currently negotiating with the promoter to purchase the land - kind of seems weird to do some spot zoning while a possible deal is on the negotiation table.

Finally we were told that the owner will not put up a legal fight despite the fact that if the site is in fact truly capable of supporting an 8 story building the zoning change greatly diminishes the value of his property. What we have is a disguised expropration and the courts don't tend to look on the practice favourably.

I don't think we are getting the truth here and I would dearly love to see the report that supports the owner's position. But of course we can't because according to the borough it belongs to the property owner. Which means the City evaluator who produced the report committed an administrative error.

It just leaves me all very confused. A copy of the evaluators report below...