By Fred Langan

Taxes are rising an average of 4.1% in the Town of Brome Lake. Mayor Richard Burcombe held a news conference by Zoom on Monday, December 20th detailing the Town’s 2022 financial position. Rising income leaves the Town with a healthy surplus. Business and commercial taxes remain frozen, as they have been for seven years.

But taxes will go up on a sliding scale, depending on what a property is worth.

The big increase in taxes comes on properties with a value of more than $600,000, up more than seven percent. Properties worth more than a million will see an 8.9% increase, and taxes on waterfront properties worth more than $1-million will jump 12%.

“Seventy percent of the properties in the Town are worth less than five-hundred thousand dollars,” said Mayor Burcombe. 

Major spending plans for 2022 include work on the dam and millpond in the centre of the village at $3-million, as well as sewage and water treatment for 72 mobile homes in West Brome at a cost of $3.4-million. The West Brome plan was described as a major environmental initiative by Caroline Cusson, Treasurer of the Town of Brome Lake.

Also, on the environment front, Director-General Gilbert Arel said the Town is looking at future purchases of hybrid and electric vehicles, saying the Quebec government has a fund to encourage vehicle electrification.