Price's presentation was the first in a planned series of talks to be given by councillors at the WMA's monthly meetings, and those who braved the cold, windy weather were rewarded with a very clear and informative talk about the city's finances.
Approximately 64 percent of controllable municipal expenses relate to salaries and benefits, Price said. The growth in salaries has increased approximately 5 percent, including benefits. The city does not want to reduce services and thinks people using certain services such as the arena should pay for them.
Price also said Westmount has many services that are costly, such as the greenhouse, Public Security, and the winter bike path. He admitted it is hard to take things away from people.
He stated that he knew people were concerned with the financing of the arena, and rightly so. He felt it was important for the city to take its time and do it right and was quite certain the project would come within budget.
The city debt this year will be approximately $38 million (0.6 percent of assessed value of $6 billion). With $12 million (net of grants and fundraising) spent on the arena, the debt will rise to approximately $50 million by the end of 2013 (forecast to be not more than 0.8 percent of assessed value). By way of comparison, the range for Montreal communities (based on 2009 statistics) is Pointe Claire at 1.8 percent, Montreal at 2 percent and Senneville at 0.06 percent. We are in line with Beaconsfield, Dorval and Town of Mont Royal with same-size populations, at 0.6 percent of assessed value.
Price believes the city can handle the debt. Westmount's pay-as-you-go system of debt management will help the city pay it down. He said the debt can be worked down by $2- to $3 million yearly, starting after 2013- 2014.
He considers the main concerns of the city to be infrastructure and pensions.
The city will spend about $5- to $7 million per year on public works from 2012 to 2014, and approximately $1.7- to $2 million per year for Hydro Westmount, again forecast over the next three years. Price believes the city has under invested in Hydro Westmount.
Pensions are costly for the city. Employees can leave work quite early and find jobs. The pension fund has a $15.7-million deficit as per actuarial valuation at Dec. 31, 2009. It has likely declined since then by a few million dollars. The next actuarial valuation will be done in 2013.
Hybrid pension plans have been discussed in some places. In this type of plan the employee is guaranteed a certain level of pension, after which the amount of pension depends on the performance of investments.
Price says he is happy in his position of Commissioner of Finance. He works with very good people, and that includes the Director of Finance.
When asked about the amount of work required of him as councillor, he said the twice monthly meetings are long, from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., and this follows a full day at his own office. He added that his job as councillor also requires about five hours for meetings and the writing and answering of e-mails.
The WMA's next monthly meeting will take place on Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. in the Westmount Room of the Westmount Public Library, 4574 Sherbrooke St. W. The speaker will be Councillor Patrick Martin, who will talk about his Public Works and Westmount Recreation Centre commissions. The public is invited to attend.
