Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Assiginack's budget, taxes and council decisions. A township on Manitoulin Island, around the village of Manitowaning, with a mayor and four councillors. Every figure links back to the public record.
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Questions worth asking
Each one is a question, not an accusation. Every one lists ordinary reasons it could be true, and the documents it comes from.
$3,638per home on long-term debt, 2024
Assiginack spent about $3,638 per home on long-term debt in 2024. The typical similar town spent $778. Only 4 of 49 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
$281,249.03rise in the municipal tax levy in the 2026 budget (8.5%, worked out by us), against a 6.9% rise in the rate
The levy is the part of the budget that property taxes must pay. The budget's tax rate page says the 2026 rates reflect "a 6.9% increase in the municipal tax rate over 2025 rates". The corporate summary says the 2026 "Corporate Net Levy" is $3,580,025.13. The 2025 budget put the municipal tax levy at $3,298,776.10. The difference is $281,249.03, or 8.5 percent (worked out by us, treating the two lines as the same thing, which the budget does not say outright). The budget does not say why the levy rises faster than the rate.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$400,000road work in the 2026 budget to be offset by reserves
Transportation services are budgeted at $1,827,039 for 2026, against $1,434,911 in the 2025 budget, which is 127 percent. The reason is a bigger road surface treatment programme. The Township explains it: "We have begun to do a larger chunk of Surface Treatment once every three years, with the cost spread over the three years. This is year 3 and we have budgeted $600,000, with $400,000 to be offset by reserves to complete this work." The "Resurfacing & Patching" line goes from $230,000 to $645,000. The net levy for transportation stays at $1,418,539, against $1,418,911 for the 2025 budget. The Township held $5,642,596 in reserves and reserve funds at the end of 2025.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$6,616,951cash at the end of 2025, with a $274,187 capital lease at 6.24% outstanding
At the end of 2025 the Township held $6,616,951 in cash and owed $1,491,895 on bank loans. During 2025 it acquired automotive equipment costing $288,995 on a capital lease from CAT Financial at 6.24 percent, with a balance of $274,187 at year end. The budget says the Township pays itself back: a new plow truck was "received last spring" and "Reserve repayments start this year for the new truck and will continue over 5 years". The Township earned $139,043 of investment income in 2025, about 2 percent of its cash (worked out by us).
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$501,097taxes receivable at the end of 2025, up from $305,559
Taxes receivable are property taxes billed but not yet paid. They were $501,097 at the end of 2025, up from $305,559, a rise of 64 percent. The unpaid tax itself went from $325,078 to $494,534. That is about 15 percent of the $3,299,864 the Township raised from taxes after school boards in 2025, against about 11 percent of $3,027,114 a year before (worked out by us). The allowance for taxes it may never collect stayed at $50,000. The statements do not say why more is owing.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
+67%parks, arena and library, 2019 to 2024
Assiginack spent $285K on parks, arena and library in 2019 and $478K in 2024. Prices only went up about 18% in that time. Only 7 of 49 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$(20,152)annual deficit in 2025, against a budgeted surplus of $724,563
The statements show total revenue of $5,607,630 (above the $5,470,614 budgeted) and total spending of $5,627,782 (against a budget of $4,746,051). The result is a deficit of $20,152, after a deficit of $191,620 in 2024. Net assets (what the Township owns in money terms less what it owes) fell by $397,546, to $3,059,197. The Township explains most of the gap: its budget leaves out amortization (the yearly cost of assets wearing out) and counts capital purchases as spending. Amortization was $778,576. Without it, spending was $4,849,206, which is $103,155 over the budget figure (worked out by us).
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$74,000approximate yearly repayment for the removal of the Norisle, from the 2026 budget notes
The 2026 capital notes say: "Norisle Removal Repayments - The costs for the removal of the Norisle are to be repaid to the bank at a cost of approximately $74,000/year." Recreation capital spending in the 2026 budget is $400,249.33, against $386,649.33 for the 2025 budget. The notes also list loan repayments for the arena expansion "done a number of years ago" and say projects are still underway at the arena and fairgrounds under an ICIP grant. The pages we read do not give the total cost of the removal, the loan's end date, or which of the Township's bank loans it is.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$1,183,091revenue from the Province of Ontario in 2025, 21% of total revenue (worked out by us)
The Province of Ontario provided $1,183,091 of the Township's $5,607,630 revenue in 2025, which is 21 percent (worked out by us), up from $871,103 in 2024. The 2026 budget notes say the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund allocation, printed as "Ontario Community Reinvestment Fund" in the budget table, rises by $86,500 over 2025, to $853,200. This is a general grant the Province sets each year.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$424per home on garbage, dump and recycling, 2024
Assiginack spent about $424 per home on garbage, dump and recycling in 2024. The typical similar town spent $274. Only 6 of 49 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
2024 tax year · Assiginack, Ontario
Enter your home's assessed value to see roughly what you pay in property tax each year, who gets it, and what Assiginack's share pays for.
Ontario still uses property values from January 1, 2016 for tax, so your assessed value is probably well below what your home would sell for today.
It is on your property assessment notice from MPAC, and on your tax bill. We filled in the typical value in Assiginack.
a year in property tax, at 2024 rates
Assiginack council sets only its own share. the Province sets the school rate.
An estimate. It uses the residential tax rate, and splits Assiginack's share by what each service cost in 2024 after its own fees and grants (for example, water bills pay for much of a water system). Real bills also depend on your property class, local charges and any rebates.
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Each number links to the public document it came from. Check it yourself.
We ask questions. Every one lists ordinary reasons a number could look odd.
Towns are only compared with places of a similar size and kind, from the same yearly reports.
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