La Pêche plans small tax increase

All non-commercial tax rates increase by 1.5 per cent

La Pêche homeowners can expect a one-and-a-half per cent increase in their taxes next year, meaning the median household, $244,100 in value, will pay an average of $25 more in taxes.

The announcement of the tax increase, however, exempts non-residential or commercial taxes, which the municipality will freeze at their current rate.

A break-down of the municipality of La Pêche’s 2021 expenses, totalling $17,696,615, included in the budget document presented to council on Dec. 14. Image courtesy La Pêche

Residents’ tax bills will also increase by another $20 due to a tariff connected to a new fund, which will be created in 2021 to forecast the impact of the implementation of the door-to-door compost collection planned for the end of the year, as well as the increase in the costs of the waste and recycling programs.

The council presented its 2021 budget at a special budget meeting Dec. 14.

“Still guided by the 2019-2023 municipal strategic plan, and considering the economic context linked to the pandemic, the La Pêche municipal council succeeded in preparing a 2021 budget that is both responsible and visionary,” Mayor Guillaume Lamoureux said at the special budget meeting. “I would like to thank council members and the entire municipal team for this rigorous budget exercise carried out in an unprecedented context,” he added, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Major spending items in this year’s budget include: $4.29 million or 24.3 per cent of the budget for public works; $2.8 million or 15.9 per cent for the MRC police service; and $2.69 million or 15.2 per cent for administrative costs.

The budget was presented along with a detailed pdf. document that’s available to the public on the La Pêche municipal website, and included a detailed breakdown of not only the budget expenses and revenue for the municipality, but also the three-year spending plan, which projects a total of $29,353,370 in spending between 2021-2023.

The spending broken down by year includes: $9,189,000 in 2021; $10,713,342 in 2022, and $9,451,028 in 2023. This includes the $6,174,000 to be allocated in 2022 for the building of a new town hall in Sainte-Cécile-de-Masham.

For more details on the 2021 budget, you can consult the downloadable budget presentation document on the La Pêche municipal website at https://bit.ly/3gPd3Bf.