During the initial phase of the planning for the wastewater system in the Centre-Village, the Municipality created, in 2007, a first borrowing by-law* to finance the professional services for the plans and specifications of the system. Since that time, a total of seven borrowing by-laws have been created.
As a result, users do not pay the same unit cost for their wastewater and water services. Furthermore, adding more users who are within the urban perimeter, but not currently connected is practically impossible due to the very high unit costs that they would have to pay.
After analysis, the Council decided to unify the seven borrowing by-laws of the Centre-Village and the two borrowing by-laws for the Chemin Mill sector based on a user/pay principle, and in order to charge users of the system in an equitable manner. As well, this decision will allow new users within the village perimeter to connect to the network at a reasonable cost.
Advantages to unifying the borrowing by-laws
- Establishes a long-term group savings (the more units connected, the lower the unit costs)
- Allows residents within the village perimeter, not connected at this time, to connect at a reasonable cost
- Permits residents to be charged equitably for the same service received
- Reduces the annual unit cost of operating the systems
- Allows for an increase in the assessed value on the assessment roll which will have a long-term positive impact on the services offered to citizens and on the annual tax rate.
A six-month process
This process is expected to take approximately six months due to the need to adopt a draft by-law (via a Notice of Motion) each time a by-law is amended.
These amendments must then be adopted at a subsequent Council meeting and a 30 days public notice must be published. Once these steps are completed, the Municipality must obtain approval from the Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation (MAMH).
Two steps are required in this process. The first step establishes the same wording and the same maps served in each by-law. In order for this to be the case, the map was revised to include the Mill area and any remaining urbanized areas that may be added to the network in the future.
The second and last step is the unification of all the by-laws into two by-laws, one for the wastewater service and one for the drinking water service. This modification will also have to be done by the adoption of a notice of motion, the adoption of the by-law, the 30 days notice and the authorization of the MAMH.
Since this is a complex process with many components, the Municipality has prepared this Q&A to help you better understand.
In its estimates, the Municipality has taken into account the addition of potential additional units in the urbanization perimeter. Therefore, it has created two possible scenarios:
Please note: To find out which area you are in, you must look at your tax bill and look for the by-law number(s) listed after "Dette/debt eaux usées CV" and "Dette/debt eau potable CV". For the amount paid by all taxpayers, your tax bill will show "Village Centre Debt/Debt - ensemble".
Short Term (prior to the addition of the possible extra units within the urbanization boundary):
- Built-up area (by-laws 823-12, 835-12): estimated increase of $50/unit
- Unbuilt area (by-laws 824-12, 825-12): estimated decrease of $50/unit
- Mill Sector (by-law 589-03): estimated decrease of $195/unit (however, payments will be phased in over a longer period of time, until 2036 or 2046, as appropriate)
- All taxpayers: estimated increase of $10/year for the special tax for the Center-Village. However, the Municipality estimates that with the arrival of the planned constructions, the general tax will be reduced because of the increases they will generate in the taxable values of the evaluation roll.
Long term (after the addition of possible units in the urbanization perimeter and the expansion of the plants):
- Built-up area (by-laws 823-12, 835-12): = estimated decrease of 110$ / unit
- Unbuilt area (by-laws 824-12, 825-12): estimated decrease of $221/ unit
- Mill Sector (by-law 589-03): estimated decrease of $256/unit (however, payments will be spread over a longer period of time, until 2036 or 2046, depending on the case)
- All taxpayers: estimated increase of $21/year for the special tax for the centre-village. However, the Municipality estimates that with the arrival of the 1,500 new constructions planned, the general tax will be reduced because of the increases they will generate in the taxable values of the evaluation roll.
Yes, the analysis includes preliminary cost estimates related to the expansion and extension of pipelines associated with the arrival of potential units within the Centre-Village urbanization perimeter in the coming years.
The amount assumed by all taxpayers includes municipal, governmental and other non-taxable buildings serving the entire population.
The rate for the built-up area will indeed increase in the short term.
However, the Municipality estimates that in the long term, all residents will benefit from a reduction in the amount to be paid, due to the increase in the number of units to be cost-shared, and the increase in the assessed value of the assessment roll which will potentially reduce the tax rate.
All public notices are posted on our website. You can access them directly from the home page or by clicking here.
*A borrowing by-law must be authorized by the Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation and allow for significant expenditures. It must include, among other things, a detailed description of the expenses, the taxation terms and conditions and the sector concerned.
