Due to a garret, in Arrondissement de Mercier – Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, that was deemed dangerous, the Borough put up a security perimeter in the street, around the building. It then issued a bill of over $12,500 to the citizen, for public domain occupancy fees, hours worked by municipal employees (salaries and benefits), professional fees for the hiring of a private engineer by the Borough and other administrative fees.
We asked the Borough to specify the regulations and policies on the basis of which these amounts had been billed to the citizen.
During our investigation, the Borough informed us that according to its usual procedures, the costs for public domain occupancy should have been significantly less than the amounts that had been charged. The Borough notified the Service des finances accordingly and asked that a corrected bill be issued.
While we were pursuing our inquiries to validate the other amounts billed, we were informed that the City had filed legal suit in recovery of the initial amount of more than $12,500. The Court of law having being seized with the file, our office had to withdraw.
