Beaconsfield again increasing its lawsuit against Montreal over agglomeration payments

The City of Beaconsfield, a Montreal West Island suburb, is ramping up its fight against the City of Montreal administration by once again increasing the amount in a lawsuit over agglomeration payments.

“We’re now up to $15 million plus interest,” Beaconsfield mayor Georges Bourelle told Global News.

The original lawsuit in 2020 was for just over $2 million. Bourelle says these amounts represent Beaconsfield’s overpayment to the City of Montreal for shared services such as police, fire and public transit.

“Since 2020 we’ve accumulated every year what it represents to Beaconsfield,” he explained.

In 2008 the 15 demerged municipalities signed an agreement with Montreal on a formula for each city’s share of expenses.  Bourelle alleges that the City of Montreal has not respected the agreement and now payments by the demerged cities are increasing while Montreal’s has dropped.

This means, according to his calculation, Montreal’s increase will be just over 2.5 per cent this year while suburban municipalities will end up paying an average of eight per cent more. Beaconsfield alone will be nearly 12 per cent. Bourelle says the average home in Beaconsfield should expect an increase of almost $500.

Furthermore, mayors of demerged cities claim, Montreal residents are paying much less for services.

“If they are paying $100 for that basket of services, a resident in the demerged municipalities is paying $165,” said Beny Masella, mayor for the town of Montreal West and president of the Association of Suburban Municipalities (ASM).

City of Dorval mayor Marc Doret stresses that he and fellow suburban mayors do understand the importance of sharing the expenses.

“But it has to be equitable for everybody and right now it’s more equitable for the city of Montreal than it is for the demerged cities, and that’s what we’re concerned about,” he pointed out.

Masella argues that after years of fighting with the city he has almost lost hope of having any meaningful dialogue with Montreal, but that the ASM hasn’t decided what to do next.

“I don’t know that answer but I can tell you that all options are on the table,” he stressed.

Some other elected officials, however, say a lawsuit is not needed and argue that the City of Montreal should take the time to look at Beaconsfield’s calculations

“It’s not a question of fairness or unfairness,” argued Alan DeSousa, Montreal opposition borough mayor for Montreal’s Saint-Laurent borough. “We need to get an answer. Is the application of the formula right and accordingly, if it is right, the appropriate steps have to be taken.”

Mayors of demerged cities hope the lawsuit will push the city to negotiate something they consider fair.

A City of Montreal spokesperson did not respond to Global News’ request for comment by deadline.