Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Augusta's budget, taxes and council decisions. A rural township in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, with a mayor, a deputy mayor and three 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.
+153%parks, arena and library, 2019 to 2024
Augusta spent $258K on parks, arena and library in 2019 and $654K in 2024. Prices only went up about 18% in that time. Only 0 of 81 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$2.2Min savings at the end of 2024
Towns keep savings (called reserves) to pay for new trucks, roof repairs and surprises. Augusta had $2.2M saved at the end of 2024, down from $5.2M in 2019. That is 32% of one year's spending. Only 4 of 81 similar towns had less, compared with what they spend.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
$2,217,136land held for resale at December 31, 2025, unchanged from 2024
In 2024 the Township bought land to resell and paid for it with a mortgage. The 2025 statements show the land at the same value, $2,217,136, so the balance did not change in 2025. The mortgage balance was $2,082,276 at the end of 2025. The statements do not say which land it is, what it will be sold for, or when.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$5,129,629municipal debt at December 31, 2025, up from $4,912,581
Debt is money the Township has borrowed and must repay with interest. It rose from $4,912,581 to $5,129,629 in 2025, after a new $425,000 loan for a snow plow truck. Interest on this debt was $195,541 in 2025 and $126,959 in 2024. The statements show the Township owes more than its cash and money owed to it, which is why they report "net debt" of $2,482,452. That figure was lower than the year before ($3,161,135).
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$2,476,271owed for landfill monitoring and asbestos removal at December 31, 2025
The Township closed two landfill sites in 2015 and must keep monitoring them until 2047. It also expects to pay to remove asbestos from municipal buildings. The statements count all of this as a debt called an "asset retirement obligation": $2,476,271 at the end of 2025. The note says "These costs are to be recovered from future taxation revenue and reserves." The reserve fund for the landfill holds $4,244.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$7,104,534taxation revenue in 2025, against $6,164,290 in 2024 and a budget of $6,942,926
The 2025 statements show "Taxation" revenue of $7,104,534, against $6,164,290 in 2024 and a budget of $6,942,926. The rise is $940,244, or 15.3% (worked out by us). Grants were nearly flat ($1,049,134 against $1,056,744) and investment income fell. The segment schedule shows taxation allocated to general government rising from $355,562 to $643,525, and to planning and development from $329,782 to $585,942.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$411,901operating surplus for 2025, moved to the working capital reserve
Council approved a 2025 budget that spent $9,098,464 and took in $8,548,858. The audited result was spending of $8,672,203 and revenue of $8,673,727, a surplus of $1,524 before other items. The Township's own reconciliation shows an operating surplus of $411,901, which it moved to its working capital reserve. Spending came in under budget in several places, among them planning and development ($483,671 against $739,242) and "Material and services" ($1,667,811 against $2,019,939).
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$194,636left in the roads construction reserve at December 31, 2025, down from $411,489
Reserves are money Council sets aside for later use. The "Roads construction" reserve fell from $411,489 to $194,636 in 2025 and the "Modernization projects" reserve from $105,580 to $34,257. The "Asset management" reserve rose from $143,120 to $316,140 and the working capital reserve rose by $312,025 (worked out by us). Total reserves and reserve funds were $2,432,854. Roads were carried at a cost of $24,404,623, with $16,954,349 of that already written off as worn out (accumulated amortization).
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
95 pagesin the 2026 Budget Workbook, nearly all page images with almost no readable text
The Township's Budget and Finance page says "PDF of the approved 2025 Budget" and the same for 2024, 2023 and 2022. When we followed each link on October 5, 2026, the "2025 Budget" link opened the 2025 tax rates by-law, and the 2024, 2023 and 2022 links opened the audited financial statements for those years. The only budget document on the page is the "2026 Budget Workbook" dated February 27, 2026, headed "draft" on the page. It is 95 pages and almost all of it is page images, so a computer, or a person using a screen reader, cannot read the numbers.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
June 23, 2025the date of the latest council meeting listed on the Agendas and Minutes page
Council meets on the second and fourth Monday of each month, with one meeting in July, August and December. The Township's Agendas and Minutes page, read on October 5, 2026, lists council meetings from January 13, 2025 to June 23, 2025. The page tabs run 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2022. We found no listing for later 2025 or for 2026. The page says past agendas and minutes "are available upon request".
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
+73%running the town office, 2019 to 2024
Augusta spent $833K on running the town office in 2019 and $1.4M in 2024. Prices only went up about 18% in that time. Only 15 of 81 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
−$3.2Mnet financial position, 2024
In 2019, Augusta had $1.7M more in cash and money owed to it than it owed to others. By 2024 it was −$3.2M. About 53% of that change ($2.6M) is a new accounting rule from 2023: towns must now record the future cost of closing things like a landfill. That is not new spending or borrowing. Even leaving that out, only 13 of 81 similar towns are in a weaker position.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
2024 tax year · Augusta, Ontario
Enter your home's assessed value to see roughly what you pay in property tax each year, who gets it, and what Augusta'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 Augusta.
a year in property tax, at 2024 rates
Augusta council sets only its own share. County or region sets its share, the Province sets the school rate.
An estimate. It uses the residential tax rate, and splits Augusta'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.
Council meetings are open to the public, and councillors answer to you. How to reach Augusta's council · Council Books is free and paid for by readers: support this work.