Finance & Taxation · Bylaw 62.2-2023

Ormstown's 9-1-1 tax: $0.52 a month per telephone number from 2024, indexed every January

Bylaw 62.2-2023, in force since December 2023, sets the municipal 9-1-1 tax at $0.52 a month per number from January 1, 2024, indexed yearly from 2025. It sets no fines.

The Ormstown Observer · Bylaws & Regulations Explainer

Key takeaway

From January 1, 2024, a tax of $0.52 a month is imposed on the supply of a telephone service, per telephone number (art. 2).
For a multiline service other than a Centrex service, the tax is charged per outgoing access line (ligne d'accès de départ) (art. 2).
From 2025, the amount is indexed each January 1; the result is the amount the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing publishes in the Gazette officielle du Québec (art. 3).
It amends Bylaw 62-2009 décrétant l'imposition d'une taxe aux fins du financement des centres d'urgence 9-1-1 (art. 2 and 3).

Why this bylaw exists

Under the Loi sur la sécurité civile, every local municipality except a northern village must secure the services of a 9-1-1 emergency centre; the municipal 9-1-1 tax is one source of funding (preamble).

A provincial amendment to the Règlement encadrant la taxe municipale pour le 9-1-1, in force September 28, 2023, raised the tax from $0.46 to $0.52 a month per telephone number from January 1, 2024. The preamble says any change to it requires municipalities to adjust their bylaw under section 244.70 of the Loi sur la fiscalité municipale, and that under section 244.69 such a bylaw need not be preceded by a notice of motion and a draft bylaw (preamble).

The cover page gives these dates: adopted November 6, 2023; Minister's notice published December 16, 2023; entry into force December 19, 2023. Article 4 says the bylaw takes effect on the date the Minister's notice is published. It carried unanimously by members present.

How the amount is indexed

Each January 1 from 2025, the tax is indexed by the annual change in Quebec's average all-items consumer price index, without alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, smokers' articles and recreational cannabis, for the 12 months ending June 30 of the previous year. It is rounded to the nearest cent; a fraction of $0.005 or more rounds up (art. 3).

What this means for residents

From January 1, 2024, the tax is $0.52 a month per telephone number (art. 2). From 2025, the amount for each year is the one the Minister publishes in the Gazette officielle du Québec; the bylaw prints only the 2024 amount (art. 3).

Sources

This explainer summarizes the bylaw in plain language. The French text is the official version; check it, or ask the municipality, before relying on any detail.

This bylaw explainer is presented as a courtesy of The Ormstown Observer in the interest of promoting a better understanding of the rules and regulations that govern the community. The content presented in Bylaw Explainers is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, legal opinion, or a substitute for professional legal counsel.