Focusing on debt repayment: Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt's 2008 budget contains an $81.5 allocation towards bringing down the $522.3 million accumulated debt load presently carried by Ville de Laval.
Where will your tax dollars go?
> Stéphane St-Amour & John Fasciano
Out of every dollar collected by the city in taxes next year, 20.7 cents will be allocated to debt repayment (12.5 cents) and interest costs (8.2 cents).
Specifically, the city intends to bring down the accumulated debt load, estimated at $522.3 million, by $81.5 million. On the other hand, it will cost in 2008 $43.5 million in interest, a drop of $600,000 from what the municipal administration will have paid for 2007.
Security and transportation
Once the debt service (20.7 cents) is accounted for, of the remaining 79.3 cents of the tax dollar 17.8 cents will be used for police services, fire protection and public security, with another 13 cents earmarked for public transit.
In total, these four services (debt, police, fire, public transit) will eat up more than half of your tax dollar (51.5%) in 2008.
Other expenditures
AC:]:In descending order of share of the tax dollar, these are the other projected expenditures for 2008: general administration (9.6 cents), water and sewer management (7.3 cents), recreational activities (5.6 cents), collection, treatment and disposal of garbage and protection of the environment (5.5 cents), road maintenance (5.1 cents), real estate and miscellaneous expenses (4.3 cents), snow removal (4.2 cents), cultural activities (3.3 cents), planning and development, and urban and economic development (2.5 cents), and housing and emergency social assistance (1.1 cents).
Photo:Budget 1
(Photo">
Martin Alarie)
"It's the highest level of capital investment in the city's history."
- Laval mayor Gilles Vaillancourt
Météo: Laval, 22 mai 2008 / 12°C
/ Faible averse de pluie
/ Vents: 9 Km/h / Humidité relative: 67 % 
Steven Guilbeault - 
