Westmount asks to 'ring off' from 3-1-1

A resolution tabled last evening at Westmount city hall maintains that 3-1-1, which Montreal implemented last December for non-emergency-type calls, is "not a matter of collective interest" that was included in provincial legislation establishing the Montreal Agglomeration.

Westmount's position is that 3-1-1 replaced a previous information service operated by Access Montreal, which is a "local" responsibility available only to boroughs in the City of Montreal, and that the reconstituted cities, including Westmount, had specifically said they did not want to be part of 3-1-1.

According to Councillor Guy Charette, who chairs Westmount city council's finance and administration committee, anyone from Westmount who calls 3-1-1 now is told to "call Westmount and work it out for yourself," even though 3-1-1 service is supposed to provide general coverage for the island of Montreal.

"So why should we pay for it?" he said. "This is a way for us to publicize the matter. It's not something that's required, an order in council, per se. But we did wish to bring it to the (municipal affairs) minister's attention that it's an expense that's totally unwarranted on our part."

Mayor Karin Marks added, "I don't think it's a service that our own residents need or want, either. They know if they have any questions they can call Westmount city hall and they'll get well-served.

"If you are a Montrealer and you want to find out what date your taxes are due, you can call 3-1-1 and you can get an answer," Marks said in interview following the meeting. "That's what you get in Montreal.

"Our residents know if they have questions about Westmount or about anything, even if it's an Agglo question, they're going to call our phone number and our personnel will give them an answer."

Marks said the demerged cities are paying 20 per cent of the cost to operate 3-1-1, and that there had been suggestions when the service was launched that the demerged cities would be given the option to participate or not.

Although the Municipal Affairs Ministry has been trying to fix the problem, Westmount and the other demerged cities have an unresolved dispute with the City of Montreal over the latter's practice of taking some local municipal expenses and reassigning them as responsibilities of the island-wide Agglomeration.

"When it was first announced by (Montreal city councillor) Marcel Tremblay, he said that if any of the demerged cities want to participate, they will be given the option to do so," said Marks. "That was no longer the case when all of a sudden the bills were put on the Agglo."

According to Marks, the City of Montreal justifies billing the demerged cities, since non-Montrealers can call up for information about services in Montreal. "Theoretically what they say is that if any of your residents want to know what time the insectarium is open, they can call 3-1-1 and find out," she said.

"But quite honestly, I don't think our residents feel the need to have a 3-1-1 service for something like that. They can open the telephone book and phone the insectarium. It's really not necessary. We're saying we should not be forced to pay for this. It's not a service for our residents."