Property owners in Lachute will contribute three per cent more in taxes to the municipal budget in 2024.
According to the budget adopted by council on December 11, 2023, the tax bill of an average residence in urban areas without a swimming pool and having a value of $221,212 will be around $2,785, representing an increase of $78 or 2.88 per cent compared to 2023. The property taxes for an average residence with a swimming pool having a value of $221,212 will be around $2,855 in 2024, which includes an increase of $83 or three per cent.
The tax levy increase for commercial and residential properties in Lachute for 2024 is three per cent. The increase for multi-residential properties with six and more housing units is 2.9 per cent.
The total value of the 2024 Lachute municipal budget is $32.4 million, which is an increase of $2.1 million or seven per cent compared to 2023. The three-year program for fixed asset investment capital projects totals $53.4 million. More than 50 per cent of that program will be financed by grant funding and contributions from development promoters.
The city plans to develop an action plan by the end of 2024 to stimulate the supply of affordable housing in its territory.
There are no cuts planned to municipal services and the budget includes recently announced extended on-duty hours for full-time firefighters at the fire station, and an expanded range of cultural and recreation services.
The city is also continuing its focus on sustainable development. It will remain a component of new municipal projects.
“The municipal council was clear with the objective to be achieved, namely, to present a budget which demonstrates our capacity to limit the economic impact on the population, while continuing to offer quality services. It was a balancing challenge, but the teamwork between the council municipal and all municipal services allowed us to present a budget with an increase in the tax bill limited to three per cent, without cutting services to citizens and maintaining an approach based on sound financial management,” said Mayor Bernard Bigras-Denis.
He acknowledged inflation and higher interest rates were part of the challenge in developing the 2024 budget.
Adoption of the 2024 Lachute municipal budget was moved by Councillor Virginie Filiatrault and seconded by Councillor Christian David before being adopted unanimously by council.
Capital investment plan
The capital investment plan for 2024-2025-2026 in Lachute includes $3,545,000 for maintaining infrastructure in urban areas, $600,000 for improving the road and sidewalk network, and $1,050,000 for repairing water and wastewater infrastructure.
Further investments of $3,800,000 are planned for municipal buildings, including the new library and renovations at the Kevin-Lowe-Pierre-Pagé arena. The plan also contains $415,000 for parks and greenspaces.
Adoption of the capital investment plan was moved by David and seconded by Councillor Gaetan Larose. It was adopted unanimously by council.
For more details, we invite you to consult the presentation of the 2024 budget available in PDF format at lachute.ca/budget.
It is also possible to watch the webcast of the session at any time at www.youtube.com/@villelachute.
