Jasmine Sharma (District 3 – Des Bâtisseurs), Karine Lechasseur (District 4 – De la Seigneurie), and Diane Morin (District 5 – Des Chenaux) have reviewed the actions they have taken over the past year, including their perspectives on the adoption of the 2025 budget for the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion.

While concerned about the tax increases affecting some residents, the councillors believe the current situation was foreseeable. They point out that past decisions have constrained the current council, compelling them to make responsible choices.

Proposals That Bore Fruit

For these three councillors, who strongly believe in involving citizens in decision-making, 2024 marked a significant step forward. Jasmine Sharma highlighted the launch of a process to adopt a policy on public participation and consultation as her greatest achievement.

“We worked tirelessly over the past months to show our colleagues the importance of involving citizens in some of our decisions,” Sharma explained.

“We saw this with the affordable housing project planned at 25 Saint-Michel Street—imposing major changes on the population without prior discussion rarely ends well. It leads to unnecessary tensions. Over the past year, I studied public participation processes in other Quebec cities, met with a researcher in the field, and discussed the topic during a citizen discussion group. I finally presented a proposal to my colleagues, and it was adopted. I’m eager to see what our teams will propose and, most importantly, the positive impact this policy will have on the city’s social climate.”

Despite some of their proposals being rejected by the ruling party, the three councillors are proud to have successfully integrated several citizen-inspired ideas into city projects.

For instance, decarbonization and ecofiscality will be priorities in the new Environmental Policy. To them, this demonstrates that constructive opposition is a valuable asset for healthy democracy in Vaudreuil-Dorion.

An Improved Budget Process

Last year’s budget process led the councillors to suggest improvements and request greater transparency. They were pleased to see progress this year, with documents being provided earlier to council members and more time allocated for discussion and questions. Diane Morin described this year’s budget exercise as the most open she has experienced.

“I particularly appreciated how the process was handled this year,” Morin said. “We had time to discuss with colleagues and city staff and represent the views of the citizens we serve. I want to thank the city teams for their hard work in preparing this budget—it’s a demanding exercise that deserves recognition.”

Morin still hopes for pre-budget consultations to be integrated into the process, a suggestion the council has not yet implemented but one the independent councillors pursued parallel to the official process.

Greater Predictability for Residents

The budget exercise is a crucial stage of the year for municipal councils. Elected officials must balance recurring expenses, new projects, service levels, and residents’ ability to pay.

According to Karine Lechasseur, Vaudreuil-Dorion’s current position is a result of past choices. The decision not to increase taxes in previous years has necessitated more significant adjustments for residential and corporate taxpayers over the past two years. Additionally, several factors have created a challenging context for the city.

The pandemic slowed the city’s rapid growth in recent years, reducing revenues from transfer duties and building permits.

Lechasseur aims to prevent such challenges in the future. She advocates for a commitment from the next municipal council to provide greater predictability by presenting two-year tax rate forecasts and extending budgetary analysis from five years to ten.

“For the past two years, taxes have risen considerably for several reasons, including the previous tax freeze,” Lechasseur explained. “Normally, annual adjustments are necessary to match the growth in recurring expenses. Failing to do so creates a snowball effect, accumulating over time. Since transfer taxes were high, it was difficult to justify tax rate increases, but the result has been steep hikes over the past two budgets. However, based on projections, the new council should be able to stabilize the average rate next year. I want to ensure that such increases do not happen again. I’d also like us to explore ways to offer more predictability for taxpayers, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet as the cost of living continues to rise.”

The independent councillors are satisfied with the efforts to cut non-essential projects, minimizing expenditures, and investing in asset maintenance—another idea stemming from a citizen discussion group.

Finally, the councillors thanked the residents who increasingly participate in their discussion groups, subscribe to their newsletters, attend council meetings, and contact them to offer support and share ideas. They pledged to continue their efforts in 2025 to provide Vaudreuil-Dorion with a constructive and diverse voice.

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