If you want to live in a big city or municipality in Ontario but don't want to pay a lot in property taxes, Chatham-Kent (CK) would be your best option.
BMA Management Consulting recently finished its yearly report comparing communities across the province. The report dives into taxes, residential fees, and more.
Over 100 communities took part, including 31 with a population of at least 100,000. The large population group is where CK falls, since its population is just over 113,000.
When it came to property taxes, the report determined the tax bill for a single-storey home if it were built in each community. CK came in at $3,904, the lowest amongst the 31 large communities.
Windsor came in second at $3,968, while Greater Sudbury came third at $4,077.
Among all 128 communities that took part in the study, CK ranked 57th.
CK Mayor Darrin Canniff told CK News Today that this backs up his belief that the municipality has always been one of the cheaper places to live among major communities.
"This was an independent study. We had nothing to do with how it was accumulated. They do the comparison," he said.
CK also fared well in other categories. This includes residential costs, specifically a combination of property taxes and water/wastewater costs, which saw the municipality finish in the 25th percentile.
"One of every four [communities] would be lower and three of every four [communities] would be higher," explained Canniff.
The report highlighted some areas Canniff wants improved. This includes the age of the municipality's infrastructure.
"How many new buildings do we have? Not many," added Canniff.
For him, replacing old buildings and sewers would save a lot of money down the road as upkeep costs would be kept at a minimum.
