Average Châteauguay tax bill up by 5.8%

Châteauguay residents will have to pay an average of $208 more in their 2023 tax bill, according to the City’s budget, which was adopted on December 15.

For a single-family dwelling with an average value of $324,341, the bill will go from $3,564 to $3,771. This represents a 5.8% increase. Finance director and treasurer Cynthia Dionne said this is due to the Municipality’s own 7% rise in expenses.

Concretely, the property tax increases by 3%, which represents about 75 $ for owners of an average value home.

According to Dionne, the City decided not to set this rate at the inflation level (6.9%) to limit the impact.
Furthermore, residences with a swimming pool will have to pay $10 more than last year.
The tax rate for industrial and non-residential buildings increases by 3.9%.

Expenses

The Municipality anticipates its total expenses to be $117 million in 2023. Its MRC de Roussillon bill will go up by 36% for garbage collection, recycling, brown bins and bulky item collection, which is an increase of approximately $1.5 million. For citizens, the bill for these services will hike by approximately $100.

The City is also expecting an increase in other costs, such as fuel prices (25%), towing costs (16%), professional fees (8%) and clothing for the Fire Department (24%), among others.

Châteauguay's drinking water and wastewater treatment system will need several updates, in the range of an additional $1 million in 2023. This, for the purchase of water treatment products, maintenance contracts and the rental of a pump to increase drinking water quantities, explained deputy mayor François Le Borgne during the special municipal council meeting. He also mentioned that Mayor Eric Allard couldn’t attend the meeting due to an unforeseen event.

$3.1M from surplus

The Municipality's revenues are estimated at $114 million for next year, including 56% coming from property taxes and 23% from service fees. To balance its budget, the City will draw – as it did in 2021 and 2022 – $3.1 million from its surplus. 

The surplus stands at $35 million, including $12 million already allocated for certain projects and to pay the debt.

Upcoming projects

As part of the 3-year capital spending plan, "we will improve the quality of our streets, our parks and ensure that we meet the demand for drinking water and wastewater treatment," Le Borgne said.

For example, in 2023, the City plans to repair Gendron street; to carry out the second phase of repairs on chemin de la Haute-Rivière; to upgrade Philippe-Bonneau park, and to set up infrastructure for the industrial park.

The realignment of Industriel and St-Francis boulevards (an expense of about $20 million) could lead to the sale of two lots for the development of high-density buildings that could generate $2 to $4 million per year on a 5-to-10 year return.

Land sales in the industrial park will generate between $33 and $37 million for the City.

Citizens can pay their tax bill in four instalments, the deadlines of which have been set for February 16, May 18, July 6 and November 2.