Montreal-area mayors unveil new funding schemes for drinking water, downtown core

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderreunveiled two new agreements with the15 cities of the Montreal agglomeration Fridayconcerningdrinking water bills anddowntown core development.

Coderre made the announcement Friday at a news conference accompanied by the mayors of seven of the 15 cities in the agglomeration, which was formed in 2005 after thedemergerof manyMontreal suburbs.

Starting next year,billing forwater will be based on the actualvolume consumed by each city instead of property assessments.

That agreement was meant to bring a more equitable distribution of drinking water costs among the cities.

Westmount Mayor Peter Trent, who serves as the president of the agglomeration council, said the new agreement also has an obvious and importantenvironmental dimension, too.

"Charging for water among municipalities based on volume will serve as a motivation to reduce our consumption,"Trent said.

Rates based on consumption arethe norm across North America, headded.

Funding for downtown development

Also starting in 2017, annual contributions from thecities to maintain and developinfrastructure indowntown Montrealwill be fixed at $8 millionstarting in2017and indexed annually.

"This agreement represents a strong political gesture by all the cities on the Island of Montreal confirming the importance of Montreal's downtown," Coderre said.

Both Trent and Coderre said thetwoissues had been sources of tension between the city and its suburbs for years, and the agreements allow them to now move forward.

Trent called the agreements a "watershed moment."

"We've proved, once and for all, that the mayors of the reconstituted cities can come up with a solution that is fair, equitable and could indeed lead to other agreements on otherissues that have been bothering us for some years."