By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

Skyrocketing property tax values have made piecing together the 2025 budget a challenge in Waterloo, Mayor Jean-Marie Lachapelle has acknowledged. Cumulative property values in the town of about 5,000 people have shot up from $581 million to $915 million with the release of the new tax role earlier this year, and the value of the average residential property has risen by 61 per cent, from $238,300 to $386,900.

“There’s a lot of work to do, and it’s a year of a new role,” Lachapelle said. “We needed to reduce the tax rate and go with everyone’s economic situation. The average person will have an increase of about 1.9 per cent in their tax rate; some will have less and some will have more. It’s important not to penalize people who have seen their property value go way up.”

Residential properties, multi-unit properties, agricultural land and forested land will share the same tax rate of 56.82 cents per $100 of assessed value, a decrease of about one-third from last year. Industrial and commercial property tax rates will also decrease. The only planned tax rate increases are for vacant land.

While the residential water fee has risen by $4, from $145 to $149, sewage, waste management and town recreation services fees have all gone down slightly; residents will pay a combined $44 less in service fees. Industrial service fees will remain the same except for the recycling fee, which has been removed for this year. The average homeowner’s combined bill for taxes and service fees will rise by an estimated $57, according to a town presentation. The average homeowner with a property value of more than $600,000 will pay an estimated $211 more.

The three-year infrastructure plan lays out six priorities for the municipality – respecting citizens’ capacity to pay, assuring the continued functioning of town infrastructure, improving the road network, maintaining the quality of services, reducing recourse to debt and developing the town’s active transit (walking and biking) network.

Major work on Rue Western, Rue Saint-Joseph and Boul. Industriel and the construction of a bike path along Chemin de l’Horizon are in the town’s plans for 2025, along with repairs to the roof of the Maison de Culture, the headquarters of the rowing club and the Jacques-Chagnon Arena, and replacing the town’s splash pad with a more water-efficient model. Upgrades to the water infrastructure are also planned, following a report by the Fondation Rivières using environment ministry data that indicated the municipality’s water network is vulnerable to sewage overflows, and a city-commissioned report that showed the town’s water network could accommodate five to 11 years of population growth at the most. Lachapelle plans to have the town’s water and sewage networks separated, which requires major roadwork.  “When we have [separate water and sewage] networks, and we get heavy rain, excess water goes into the river. When we have the one network, there is overflow and not all the sewage makes it to the water treatment plant,” he said. Further upgrades to the town’s pumping stations are planned in 2026.