Citizens of LaSalle, Be Vigilant

Wake up early Tuesday, November 21, 2006, for the special council meeting which will be held at 8h00 a.m. at the Borough. The Barbe administration wants to adopt a by-law to impose a special local tax of 8.1 millions to the property owners of LaSalle which will reflect on a raise for the tenants.

In the Messenger of November 11, 2006, there was a tiny notice to announce this special council meeting on Tuesday November 21, 2006 at 8:00 A.M. Was it voluntary to make it so tiny ? Because the Barbe administration did not want to attract the attention of the property owners to avoid to face them. How could that administration schedule a Council meeting at 8:00 A.M., on a working day, on such an important tax raise, if it wasn't for the fact that the Barbe administration didn't want you and me to be present and contest such tax ! Is it honest ?

This local tax is not a real estate tax, which will be billed to us in January 2007 by Montreal Tremblay's administration. Why this special tax ? Because the administration claims they need $650 000 to upgrade the borough buildings, 1.5 M$ to patch the pot holes and 6 M$ for snow removal, garbage collection and for the employee salaries. (Yet in 2006, the LaSalle employees received 1.3 M$ increase). Mayor Tremblay suggested a "freeze" of employees and councillors salaries. Why is the Barbe administration defying the Mayor of Montreal and imposing a special local tax of 8.1 M$ where 6M$ goes to the employees ? Most of the other boroughs are dipping in their surplus budget in order not to impose such a heavy burden on the property owners and tenants alike. LaSalle had almost 13M$ surplus in 2001 when I was elected. This surplus came from the snow budget. Year after year, we had less and less snow, therefore there wa r the years, it accumulated up to 13 M$ in 2001. When I left in October 2005, an amount of money which was not used for snow, which was not spent and over, LaSalle still had almost 10 M$ surplus. Where is this surplus ? Where is the "transparency" promised by the Councillors ? Why is the Barbe administration not dipping into the surplus like the other boroughs do ?

I am deploring the manner the Barbe administration is treating the citizens of LaSalle by holding a Council Meeting at 8h00 a.m., on a working day, November 21, 2006, which borders the threshold of contempt of the Citizens of LaSalle! A petition is circulating against this special tax in order to open a "consulting referendum" on the question. I invite you to sign it. If that special tax is imposed on property owners, it will reflect in the tenants rent.

Oksana Kaluzny, Ex Councillor of LaSalle