JOHN JANTAK
The 1510 West

Homeowners in Kirkland will see their tax bills increase an average of 6.5 per cent this year after council adopted its $73.76-million budget for 2024 in December.

For the owners of an average residence assessed at $810,982, they will receive a tax bill of $5,189 this year, which is an increase of $311 compared with 2023, and includes a $90 fee for water.

The residential property tax rate for 2024 has been set at $0.6288 per $100 of valuation, a decrease from the 2023 rate of $0.6628.

“The overall tax increase is in line with what the city was projecting to do,” Mayor Michel Gibson told The 1510 West. “If you look at our history over the last 10 years, the average increase per year was 2.3 per cent.”

Kirkland will spend about $2.5 million more this year compared with 2023, according to the $73.76-million budget, which represents an increase of 3.52 per cent.

A 2.2-per-cent wage increase included in the latest collective agreements with the city’s blue- and white-collar workers and the hiring of staff in the public security and urban forestry departments were factored into this year’s budget, Gibson said.

The city’s contribution to the Montreal Agglomeration rose by 3 per cent this year to just over $38 million — up from the $36.9 million it contributed last year. Fees paid to the agglomeration represents 52 per cent of Kirkland’s total budget for 2024.

“What can we say,” Gibson said, referring to the agglo charges. “We don’t have any control over the budget which is set up by the agglo. It’s completely under the control of Montreal, unfortunately, and these expenses are still going higher. It seems they don’t know how to control their own budget. We don’t have a say.”

“The agglomeration is something that should be eliminated completely and we should look at a more democratic way of being able to share expenses,” Gibson added. “We still have a long way to go in this area.”

Kirkland will spend $16.84 million for various projects in 2024 as part of its triennial capital works program. The amount includes $8 million for road repairs, $2.6 million for sewers and aqueducts, $5.4 million for the development of parks, green spaces and bicycle trails, $641,000 for it municipal vehicle replacement program and $207,000 for the repairs of buildings and street lights.

The various projects planned for the city’s parks include work at Paiement Park; an overhaul of Heritage Park, which will include adding a splash pad; and three new tennis courts at Holleufer Park.