Chateauguay will hold information meeting on evaluations

The City of Chateauguay in mid-February will hold an information meeting on the new evaluation roll that came into force in 2020. Translation Dan Rosenburg Mayor Pierre-Paul Routhier made the announcement at the Chateauguay public council meeting of January 20. People from the Evimbec firm, which had proceeded with producing the roll, will be present. The City from its standpoint is also drawing up tables of the fluctuations of values of some buildings in certain sectors at which citizens are pointing fingers, the Mayor specified. The municipality has received about 100 phone calls on the subject. The new role is provoking much anger and questions from Chateauguay residents. Several are having trouble explaining why the value of their property has greatly increased, which is translated by an increase of a few hundred dollars in their tax bill. A significant number do not understand either why their house has been devaluated by several tens of thousands of dollars. They benefit from a drop in tax bills but are worried to see the value of their patrimony melt. Some of them can be neighbours. In the City Hall sector, the evaluation of a house has diminished by $47,000 (35% less) while a neighbour’s home has increased by $56,300 (51% more). In an interview with Le Soleil, Évimbec indicated that the real-estate sales in the neighbourhood constituted the main factor to establish the value of a property. The value of  6,829 properties remained stable or declined in the new Chateauguay 2020-2021 roll and the value of 8,580 properties increased. The points of reference are July 1, 2014 and July 1, 2018. Sorry ’’Because of some variations, there is no more equity that we know of. It’s certain that there is a major impact on many citizens. I am sorry,’’ expressed Mayor Pierre-Paul Routhier at a public assembly. He indicated that, globally, the City had deducted 2% more in real-estate tax. ‘’That gives me a lot of grief because we don’t have more margin to maneuver. It’s under the 2.3% inflation mark and the salary increases of 2.5%,’’ Routhier noted. Roll prolonged The Mayor pointed the finger at the extension of the roll over a period of four years instead of the usual three years. ‘’In four years, the values were able to vary more,’’ he let it be known. He said that he was looking to find out why the roll has been prolonged in this way. The council that directs Routhier approved of this act in October of 2018. At the time, the Mayor had indicated that according to some engineeers and the Evimbec firm, ‘’there was no disparity justifying us to redo the roll.’’ ’’Hot’’ market The present evaluation roll will be in force for 2020 and 2021. The Mayor fears new variations to the roll could follow. ‘’Two years go by quickly,’’ he pointed out. ‘’Are we going to have some bigger modifications than the ones we have now? The real-estate market is very hot now. Houses are selling more dearly than the price demands,’’ he added.