Although the 2024 budget is not officially approved yet, Champlain Township council is planning to take advantage of a $61-per-year recycling user fee reduction to cushion an additional property tax increase. The aim is to increase township cash reserves by increasing the 2024 tax rate by 5.5 per cent. For property tax bills, the tax rate will end up being increased by 4.39 per cent, after combining it with the United Counties of Prescott-Russell tax rate increase of 4.25 per cent.

The revised 2024 budget to be presented to council will include $117,698 to be transferred to fire reserves, an increase from the $60,000 amount in the draft budget. This will bring the fire reserve to $253,289.92.

While the draft budget presented in late January originally included a 4.74 per cent increase in the municipal tax rate, a suggestion late in the meeting from West Hawkesbury Councillor Sarah Bigelow to add half a per cent or one per cent to the increase gained approval from most councillors after a brief discussion.

The 4.74 per cent increase would have resulted in a 3.99 per cent increase on property tax bills after combining it with the tax rate from the United Counties of Prescott-Russell (UCPR) tax increase, which was 4.25 per cent. Property taxes are collected in Champlain Township on behalf of the UCPR, the Ministry of Education and of course, for the township itself. About one-third of the taxes collected are remitted to the UCPR. There will be no increase in school taxes for 2024.

“I bring this up every year and it usually gets defeated, but I really feel that we should be putting more into reserves,” said Bigelow, who felt that at some point, something might happen and the township would not be prepared due to insufficient cash reserves.

Champlain Township Treasurer France Thauvette had been reviewing the operational budget and the capital budget with council and said that a five per cent increase would have resulted in a $123.48 annual property tax increase for a property with an average assessment of $229,073. But she pointed out that as the province was taking over responsibility for recycling, residents would no longer pay an annual $61 recycling fee to the municipality. In effect, that would reduce the impact of the increase by about half, translating into an actual increase of $62 instead of $123.48, she explained.

In the end, the budget to be presented to council for approval at its next regular meeting on February 20, 2024 will include a 5.5 per cent increase on the tax rate. This represents an increase of $127.49 on a residential property with an assessment value of $229,073 (property assessments are calculated by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) ). In the end, the increase works out to 4.39 per cent for a residential property valued at the above mentioned amount.

The 5.5 per cent increase for the municipal portion and the 4.25 per cent increase from the counties ends up being a 4.39 per cent increase in the tax rate.

Big-ticket challenges

Each of Champlain Township’s fire departments (Vankleek Hill and L’Orignal) are in need of new pumper trucks, at an estimated cost of $675,000. Pumper trucks must be replaced every 25 years. The current trucks are 21 years old. After ordering the new vehicles, it will take about one year for delivery; Thauvette explained that it is expected that the pumper trucks will be ordered in 2024 for 2025 delivery.

Later in the meeting, Vankleek Hill Councillor Paul Emile Duval asked if the old trucks could be sold. Champlain Director of Fire Services Ghislain Pigeon replied that one truck could be sold for possibly $35,000. Old pumper trucks cannot be used by any municipality in Ontario. He explained that the truck would likely be stripped down to the chassis and repurposed by a purchaser.

Other capital projects required by the fire department are a new compressor for the Vankleek Hill Fire department (not received in 2023), at a value of $79,831. This will be financed from their accumulated surpolus. Purchase of a generator will be paid for with $20,000 from a grant and $45,000 from reserves for a total expenditure of $65,000.

Longueuil Councillor Paul Burroughs asked a question about $50,000 set aside for a master plan for Parks and Recreation.

“I look in front of me and I see nine great leaders. Where is this company coming from that will tell us what our needs are in our parks? That’s my point,” said Burroughs, who also asked about further public consultation.

Parks and Recreation Director Sydney Collard had explained that the master plan would offer expertise, review the entire parks and recreation department and would consult with the public.

Longueuil Councillor André Roy asked if it would be better to wait until the master plan was completed before completing work outlined earlier for the township’s parks and beach.

Collard replied that the Parks and Recreation department did not foresee any of the projects being deemed unnecessary.

Parks and recreation work to be done include the $50,000 master plan, replacing sand and mulching at Desjardins Park ($13,000), new picnic tables for Sacha’s Park ($1,600), $2,000 to be spent at L’Orignal Beach, an additional $3,000 for sand at the beach, $1,200 for blue barrels, $5,000 for improvements to the beach parking lot, $6,000 to improve the backstop at the L’Orignal ball diamond, $4,500 to remove a shed and ad an electrical panel at the former campground site (the L’Orignal Campground was closed in the autumn of 2023), improved parking at $2,000, new dust on the ball diamond ($1,000), patching at both L’Orignal and Vankleek Hill tennis courts ($2,500), trimming at $2,000, adding an accessible washroom at the Vankleek Hill Arena ($24,0000), adding an accessible door ($44,000) and breaking up a portion of the cement floor to add floor drains at the Vankleek Hill Arena ($7,500). The ground will be levelled at the L’Orignal campground and earth will be added.

Champlain Township is planning to spend about $32,000 on the Vankleek Hill Museum building at 95 Main Street East in Vankleek Hill to install new windows, doors and eavestroughing, with provincial funding.

Champlain Township’s insurance premiums have increased by $23,000.

Planning costs are currently higher with no township planner on staff

Since the departure of its full-time senior planner, Champlain Township has been using the services of J. L. Richards. The township has hired a company to recruit a new planner. In the meantime, consulting fee costs have increased from $20,000 to $225,000, but a salary in the amount of $107,050 has been eliminated for 2024. Thauvette says that it could be late in 2024 before a new planner is hired by Champlain Township.

Succession planning for building department

New administrative support in the form of an assistant and a new building inspector will be hired for the township’s building and bylaw department in preparation as part of succession planning and upcoming retirements.

Champlain Township will hold its next regular meeting on February 20 at 6:15 pm in the UCPR council chambers at 59 Court Street in L’Orignal. The meeting is livestreamed on the township’s Youtube channel, or meetings can be viewed after they are posted.