Gatineau registers $6.2 million surplus

Gatineau announced, May 10, a $6.2 million surplus from the 2015 financial exercise. The amount represents roughly 1% of the city’s budget.

The surplus was largely generated by lower fuel costs, higher than expected revenues from the land-transfer tax, and from real estate taxes.

For the 2015 budget, council had approved a 2.9% tax increase. In 2016, the city adopted a 1.9% increase in taxes for municipal operations for 2016.

Discussions on using the $2.2 million balance will be addressed during budget talks next fall.

Currently, $3 million will fund  investment and development projects and $952,000 will complement the $2.3 million budget for celebrations surrounding Canada’s 150th anniversary in 2017. This will be confirmed during the next council meeting.

The extra funds could go to further reduce the municipal debt which has decreased by $5 million between 2014 and 2015. The debt stood at roughly $570.5 million in 2015. Close to $68 million of the city’s budget is used to service the debt. Funds could also be saved for a rainy day since no city is allowed to present a deficit.