After a tax levy increase of just 3.5 per cent in 2023, municipal taxpayers in East Hawkesbury will pay five per cent more in municipal property taxes in 2024. The township’s 2024 budget was approved by council on December 11, 2023. According to Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and Treasurer Luc Lalonde, this will mean for a residential property with the average East Hawkesbury assessment value of $210,000, the property taxes will increase by $51.54 in 2024. “It’s going to affect the residents, that’s for sure. It’s going to affect everybody,” Mayor Robert Kirby said. “I’m not happy about it, it’s just the way things are I guess,” he added. Kirby said East Hawkesbury is facing a challenge increasing its tax revenue because most of the municipality is agricultural and residential, with very little commercial and industrial property. The final 2024 township budget projects $2,637,094 in tax revenue this year. The 2023 budget projected $2,481,333 in tax revenue, which was $155,761 less. The total value of East Hawkesbury’s 2024 budget is $5,359,446, an increase of $215,421 from 2023. Other revenue for East Hawkesbury in 2024 will include $313,700 in Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) funding from the provincial government. Revenue from garbage collection will be unchanged from 2023 at $220,220, which equals $180 per property. The garbage collection fees are added to property tax bills in East Hawkesbury. A combined $139,852 will be collected from residents of Chute-à-Blondeau, St-Eugène, and Sainte-Anne-de Prescott for sewage treatment. Due to provincial changes to household recycling collection, the charge of $58.03 per household for recycling services will no longer be added to tax bills in East Hawkesbury.