La Broquerie $10.7M budget passes first reading
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The Rural Municipality of La Broquerie’s $10.7 million 2026 budget passed its first reading last week.
Annual property taxes will be increasing by $32 for rural ratepayers with an average home value of $326,000. Residents in L.U.D.s will pay $44 more with the average home value of $289,000.
Rural commercial properties valued at $602,000 will pay $45 more in taxes, while L.U.D properties with an average value at $647,000 will see a $60 jump.
The mill rate slightly rose for both rural and L.U.D. ratepayers, but well under the provincial 2025 inflation rate of 2.7 percent. The rural mill rate will rise to 14.22 in 2026 from 14.107 in 2025, a 0.8 percent increase. L.U.D. mill rates grew by 1.2 percent, increasing from 14.310 in 2025 to 14.478 in 2026.
Last year’s rural home values averaged at $324,000 while the L.U.D. averaged $285,000.
Reeve Ivan Normandeau credited increased development and a larger tax base for keeping the mill rate increase low.
“Even with whatever’s going on in life, with inflation and everything else, we’re able to keep the taxes almost the same as as last year,” he said, noting council wanted to keep taxes conservative due to it being an election year.
La Broquerie budgeted $2.1 million in capital spending for 2026. Paving Loewen Boulevard received the biggest portion, with $500,000 in spending dedicated for the project. Marchand Park is slated for $120,000 in upgrades. The RM will also be spending $250,000 on dugout expansions, $25,000 on historic building restoration and $111,000 on equipment replacements. All capital spending is either from its reserves or general fund, with no funding coming from borrowing.
Paving Loewen Boulevard is a top priority as La Broquerie continues to grow, said Normandeau.
“We’re hoping to get this done this year, which will benefit ratepayers and ease traffic, hopefully, on Highway 52,” he said.
The RM will be contributing $400,000 in pre-construction costs for the Red-Seine-Rat wastewater project, a co-op of Southeast municipalities building a $235-million plant near Niverville.
The budget includes borrowing $15 million over 20 years to cover its contribution for the project.
The province said in a March 17 news release it will be funding $67,500 in outdoor skating rink upgrades for La Broquerie through its From the Ground Up grant program.