Montreal mayor-elect Valrie Plante says Coderre left 'huge' budget shortfall

Mayor-elect Valrie Plante says the previous Coderre administration left behind a nasty surprise at city hall an unexpected $358-million budget shortfall.

"We're still dealing with the shock. This is not the type of news we were expecting, especially when my predecessor said the city was in good financial health," Plante told reporters after she toured a startup company in Montreal's Mile End neighbourhood Thursday.

Plante noted that in September theCoderre administration projecteda $31-million deficitfor2017.

She said her team met the city's director general, Alain Marcoux, yesterday, and he told them that there was a $358-million shortfall.

"It is huge, and it's going to take a bit of time to find out what happened and also how to find the money," Plante said.

'Old trick', new opposition says

Lionel Perez, who was voted interim leader of what's left of Denis Coderre's team Thursday, saidPlante is playing with the facts.

Perez called the $358 million "preliminary numbers,"based on demands that various city departments are making for next year's budget.

"Ouradministrationwould have, in fact, obviouslyprovided a balanced budget," Perez said.

"Being elected means you have to govern. To govern is to make choices.Now they have an opportunityto make choices without blaming the old administration," Perez told reporters at the party's headquarters in Villeray.

"That's an easy trick that everybody does," he continued.

That would include Coderre, who lamented an unexpected $100-million budget shortfall after he was first elected in 2013.

Plantevows shortfall won't affect taxes

Plante said that the shortfall would not affect her promise on keeping property taxes down.

"We're not going to raise taxes above the inflation rate.This is very important to us, and I want all Montrealers to know," she said.

As for whether that shortfall would affect the rest of her campaign promises, Plante said,"I'm surrounded by a very competent team, and so we will find ways to come up with a good budget."

She noted some of her big promises rely mostly on funding from other levels of governmentand that many of her promises focus on changing the culture at city hall to make itmore transparent, which won't cost very much.

"I feel like we're going to be able to move forward with many of our promises," Plante said.

"But at this point there's an emergency, and it's to find that money."