By Trevor Greenway
Local Journalism Initiative

Taxes are going up 3.8 per cent for La Pêche residents in 2025. 

The municipality passed a “course correcting” budget Dec. 16, and while Mayor Guillaume Lamoureux and his council were eyeing a potential five per cent increase, they were happy to land at just under four per cent. 

“I’m satisfied,” Lamoureux told the Low Down following the Dec. 16 budget meeting – the first public meeting held in La Pêche’s new town hall since it opened on Nov. 18. “It’s always a difficult exercise. The last years have been challenging, but, ultimately, it’s a compromise.”

La Pêche’s 2025 budget comes in at $23,424,512. What median homeowners will notice on their tax bill next year is an increase of $104.77, according to the municipality’s financial documents. 

La Pêche residents were up in arms in November when they received their triennial property assessments in the mail, which skyrocketed 65 per cent for the average homeowner. Lamoureux said the municipality is scaling back on some planned projects next year to keep taxes as low as possible, especially for those whose home values increased significantly. 

“I think that I’m most proud of the fact that we’re able to, again, course correct – reconsider things that we have done in the last few years and reassess them, realign ourselves and re-evaluate our priorities,” he said.

Projects like the new municipal garage and depot, planned road works and a new fire hall in Masham were some of the projects that may be scaled back or pushed down the road when the municipality is in better financial shape, according to Lamoureux.

Referring to a new fire hall and municipal garage, Lamoureux said, “Both of these projects are typically highly subsidized. We’ll do this when the time is right and when the funding is available. But that’s an example of something that we’re pushing down the road.”

Among the biggest jumps are animal control, which has gone up nearly 30 per cent, from $63,000 to $83,000 in 2025. Administration is also up by 8.7 per cent, from $3.6 million to just over $4 million next year. La Pêche will also increase its Transcollines budget to just over $400,000, an increase of around three per cent for the public transportation service. 

The municipality’s current debt load is just over $11 million