JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West
The average homeowner in Kirkland can expect to pay about $140 more in property taxes this year, according to the municipality’s $76-million budget approved on Dec. 16.
For the owner of an average home valued at $899,508, this means a tax bill of around $5,330, up 2.7 per cent from last year. This includes a $90 water charge, which is unchanged from 2024.
The residential property tax rate has been lowered to 58.25 cents per $100 of property value, which is down by about half a cent from last year.
Kirkland’s annual budget will see a total of $76 million in spending – up by $2.3 million, or 3.1 per cent from last year.
The lion’s share of the budget will go to the Montreal Agglomeration, which is responsible for managing emergency services and public transport among other services provided to Kirkland and the other demerged towns on the island of Montreal. In total, the agglomeration will receive $39.6 million, or 52 per cent, of Kirkland’s total budget.
Other areas of significant spending in the budget are wages and benefits, which account for $16.2 million this year, and contracts for projects and services, which total $9 million.
The town also pointed out that it had made strides in reducing its long-term debt in 2024, which now sits at $17.1 million. For reference, Kirkland’s long-term debt had hovered around $34 million for over a decade prior, until being reduced to $27.8 million in 2023.
The town’s three-year capital expenditures program outlines $44.2 million in spending from 2025 to 2027, with $17.1 million to be spent this year. Significant areas of spending this year include $7.6 million to upgrade the sewers and waterworks; $4.5 million for management of parks, green spaces and bike lanes; and $3.1 million for roadwork.
Detailing the program at the Dec. 16 meeting, Kirkland director general Joe Sanalitro pointed out that $3.4 million of the $4.5 million reserved for park management would go toward resurfacing the town’s tennis and basketball courts. This project would also include refrigeration of these terrains so that they can be transformed into ice rinks during the winter season.
“With climate change, the weather patterns are unpredictable,” Sanalitro explained, adding that the town has been having “a very, very hard time getting outdoor ice for the winter season.” This new feature, he explained, will ensure that Kirkland residents have access to outdoor skating all winter long, no matter the weather.