Residential property taxes in Hudson will increase by about 3.5 per cent next year, according to the municipality’s $16.9-million budget for 2024 adopted Dec. 11.
It is expected that the owner of a single-family home valued at $600,000 with water and sewer services will pay $4,985 in municipal taxes. The figure represents an increase of $166, or 3.33 per cent, compared with this year. The house with the same valuation that is not on the sewer network will pay $4,386 in taxes next year, a 3.8-per-cent hike, or $161 more than in 2023.
According to information outlined at the special budget meeting last week, the basic residential tax rate for 2023 will be set at 64.20 cents per $100 of property valuation, a 3.8-per-cent increase compared with the 2023 rate of 61.85 cents. Most property assessments for tax purposes will be the same as this year, as the three-year valuation roll, which was updated in 2022, will be used again in 2024. Only homeowners who have done extensive renovations and have had their homes re-evaluated will see a change in the assessed value of their properties.
“It’s fair,” said Hudson Mayor Chloe Hutchison in an interview last week, referring to the tax hike. “That is what we were aiming for, something that was manageable.
“We are cognizant of the fact people have their own expenses,” Hutchison added, referring the overall general inflationary climate.
To offer taxpayers an additional yardstick to measure what the increases will mean, a single-family home valued at $450,000 with water and sewer services will pay $3,889 in municipal taxes in 2024. The figure represents an increase of $121, or 3.2 per cent, compared with this year. The same house that is not on the sewer network will pay $3,529 in taxes next year, a 3.54-per-cent hike, or $121 more than in 2023.
Meanwhile, a home valued at $1 million with water and sewer services will pay $4,985 in municipal taxes in 2024. The figure represents a 3.33 per cent increase, compared with this year. The same house that is not on the sewer network will pay $4,625 in taxes next year, a 3.6-per-cent hike compared with 2023.
Overall, residential property values in Hudson now total $1.55 billion, compared with the 2023 figure of $1.53 billion.
The town will increase its overall spending next year by $587,604, or 3.6 per cent, compared with the budgeted amount for 2023, with the biggest percentage increases coming in salaries paid to town employees, which will climb 30.4 per cent, to hit $5.15 million. Other notable increases include public security costs that will jump 15.6 per cent, reaching $2.65 million; transportation charges will see a hike of 14.3 per cent, hitting $2.4 million; while interest payments will see a 13.5-per-cent uptick, accounting for $2.29 million.
Other top expenditures in the 2024 budget include $1.93 million for the Sûreté du Québec, which represents a 5.5-per-cent increase compared with 2023; $899,100 for snow removal, a 36.1-per-cent jump compared with this year; $543,100 for waste collection, which represents a 41.2-per-cent hike compared with 2023; and just under $1.26 million for the town’s contribution to agencies that include the MRC Vaudreuil-Soulanges, the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal and the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain.
The town also adopted its three-year capital expenditures plan Dec. 11. It outlined a total of just over $7 million in spending in 2024, almost $8 million in 2025 and $5.8 million in 2026. Included in the plan for next year is $3.1 million for roads, parks and green spaces; $1.6 million for projects and equipment; and another $1.2 million for upgrades to the water infrastructure.