TBL property values rise in latest assessment
The value of property in the Town of Brome Lake has gone up, the council said at its regular meeting Tuesday night, Oct. 2. The latest assessment shows an increase of 9.34 per cent. The value of properties in the town has increased from $1.39 billion to $1.52 billion, Mayor Richard Burcombe said.
“The council has taken note of this data and it is something we will take into account in the coming weeks as we prepare the 2019 budget estimates,” Burcombe wrote in a press release. Historically, the town has lowered the tax rate when property values have increased, he added.
Specific information on each property will be posted on the town’s website beginning Monday, Oct. 18. Taxpayers who disagree with the evaluation may request a review by April 30, 2019.
The Knowlton Literary Festival board of directors has named Ben Mcauley as the festival’s official photographer. The 13-year-old said he’s a little nervous about it.
“People expect really good photos,” he said, in an interview. “It’s a bit strange. I didn’t expect it.” But he’s making a name for himself. “Before, I was known as the bookstore owners’ son,” he said.
The Literary Festival’s Philip Lanthier said the board is confident Ben will do the job well.
“We’re pleased and excited Ben will join us,” he said. “We like to involve youth.”
Ben said he has been making films for two years, and taking workshops with Arts Alive. He found out he had a knack for taking photos when he went to the Biodome in Montreal. He then started taking pictures around the neighborhood. And he decided to invest in a better camera. He had been using the family’s camera. His is a Canon 26I.
He has begun to notice the difference in lighting during different times of the day, like at sunset or early morning, when shadows are long, he said. “Never in mid day.” He likes up-close shots of things like mushrooms, and he is beginning to work on portraits with his friends. But he hasn’t worked on landscapes yet.
Asked if he has taken photography lessons, Ben said he met a local who has been a photographer for most of her life. She has been giving him tips on Facebook, he said. “I send her pictures and ask her what I can do to take better pictures.”
She will be Ben’s co-photographer at the Literary Festival.
Ben said he has thought about making a living as a photographer, and he wants to do some directing and filmmaking.
The Literary Festival will be his first paid job as a photographer, he said, but he did earn $24 in a competition at the Brome Fair.
Ben seems to have always had an artistic and enterprising mind. Having hung around the bookstore he learned he could make money by writing. He wrote books when he was young and sold them in the store so he could by Legos, he said.