Citizens of LaSalle, taxpayers, it's up to you to judge !

The Mayor Manon Barbe refuses to answer two simple questions put to her since July 2007. What is the amount of taxes collected by Montreal from the taxpayers of LaSalle and what is the budget given by Montreal in return to LaSalle ?

On July 3, 2007, at the Council meeting, I asked that it be published in the Messager or in the Accent journal, the amount of money the City of Montreal collected from LaSalle since 2002 in comparison to the money returned to LaSalle’s budget ? Why ? So that the LaSalle tax payers decide whether they are better off since the merger to Montreal or whether they were lured by Mrs. Barbe and her team to stay merged in 2004 when they had the possibility to de-merge. Was it only to save their salaries ? Manon Barbe earns approximately $100,000.00, plus each $15,000.00 for each commission she is named to preside. A salary she would never have seen if she was only the Mayor of LaSalle.

Therefore I asked in July to be published for each of the last six (6) years the amount of taxes collected by Montreal in comparison to the total budget given back to LaSalle. On August 6 and 20, in September, in October, at the Council meetings I asked again and again when these figures will be published ? Each time, Mrs. Barbe spontaneously accepted to publish them. Yet to date she did not respect her promise.

On November 5, 2007 for the fifth time, I made the same request as nothing was yet published. Stirring into the eyes of the Director General sitting in front of her, she was desperately waiting for an answer from him, to give it to me in return. She repeated bluntly what he was telling her to say, that is: “these figures will not be published.” She added that they could be found through Internet as if it would be a consolation for me. Soon after she corrected herself, as the D.G. stated, to her surprise, that the amounts were not available through Internet. She repeated the words the D.G. was suggesting: “that if I wanted them, I should make an application through the Access to Information Law”.

Citizens of LaSalle, you be the judge. Isn’t it a tactic to delay the release of this information ? Why wouldn’t the D.G. publish these figures which, if well recorded, should take lest than 2 minutes to find ? Citizens of LaSalle, ask yourself who is running LaSalle ? The City Councilors or the Municipal civil servants ? Then also ask yourself why do we need municipal politicians at the cost of $500,000.00 salaries plus commissions, when the D .G. answers questions instead of them. Shouldn't we expect them to have all the answers?

Promises – Promises: Does this word mean anything to Mrs. Barbe ? It doesn’t seem so. I asked her whether the word “promise” is only for slogans used during the Campaign to be re-elected but not meant to be respected after been elected ? She boasted, as did Mr. Blackhurst previously, saying: “Don’t worry in two (2) years from now we will be re-elected, as the citizens of LaSalle would have forgotten these special taxes of 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010. What do you think ?

Remember, we are the only Borough merged to Montreal with such a heavy burden, such a high surtax charge, as mentioned Mr. Frank Zampino on T.V. last year stating: “Twenty (.20) cents of every $100.00 of evaluation is too high of a burden for the tax payers to pay over and above their regular municipal taxes. Four (.04) cents of every $100.00 should have been more than enough of a surtax”.

With salaries that our Municipal LaSalle politicians make shouldn’t we expect them to have all the answers ? When will we be starting to be better off mergered to Montreal ? It’s up to you to judge. To be followed.

Oksana Kaluzny