Residential property tax bills in Sherbrooke and the cost of municipal services such as garbage collection will all be going up two per cent in 2009.

The mill rate will increase from $1.04 per 100 evaluation to $1.06. That means, for an average house evaluated at $160,000, the tax bill will increase from $2,047.96 in 2008 to $2,088.90 in 2009 - an increase of $40.94.
And average quadruplex evaluated at $255,000 will see its tax bill rise from $4,175.91 in 2008 to $4,259.20 in 2009 - a hike of $83.29.
The city of Sherbrooke will also maintain variable tax rates introduced last year for non-residential, industrial, and farm properties and will add a new category for vacant lots that are hooked up to municipal services.
Serviced lots will now be charged $1.56 per $100 evaluation, said Mayor Jean Perrault, noting the new measure will encourage owners to develop vacant lots and will increase city tax revenues by some $375,000.
The non-residential property rate will increase from $2.16 per $100 evaluation to $2.20; industrial properties will face a five-cent increase from $2.59 per $100 evaluation to $2.64; while farm properties face a one per cent hike rising from 79 to 80 cents per $100 evaluation.
All rates for municipal services ranging from water and sewage taxes and the garbage removal tax to the cost of emptying septic tanks in rural areas, will also increase two per cent.
Parking in Sherbrooke will go up $1 an hour, except the first hour which will be free. Parking permits will be increased by $5.
Mayor Perrault said the goal is to encourage more people to use public transit. Parking fee hikes will also raise some $325,000 in additional revenues for the city.
Mayor Perrault, who presented the budget at last night’s council meeting, said the balanced budget for 2009 calls for revenues and expenses of $224,963,200, an increase of 4.2 per cent from this year.
Among the big cost increases will be $1 million for the city’s fire protection budget. That reflects the costs of a new risk coverage plan adopted to meet new government standards that forced the city to hire more firefighters. The city will also spend $4 million on two new firetrucks.
The city will boost the public works budget by $2 million to cover the increased costs of road maintenance and repairs, snow removal, as well as salaries of additional workers.
The city will also be increasing its contribution to the cost of financing the Société de Transport de Sherbrooke by 13.6 per cent, which demonstrates council’s commitment to public transit, said Perrault.

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By Rita Legault
Sherbrooke

Tuesday, December 2, 2008