Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Conmee's budget, taxes and council decisions. A small rural township west of Thunder Bay, in the Thunder Bay District, 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.
$301Kin savings at the end of 2025
Towns keep savings (called reserves) to pay for new trucks, roof repairs and surprises. Conmee had $301K saved at the end of 2025, down from $508K in 2019. That is 19% of one year's spending. Only 3 of 30 similar towns had less, compared with what they spend.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
$197Kowed in unpaid property tax, end of 2025
At the end of 2025, $197K of property tax had been billed but not paid. That is 16% of everything billed. Only 6 of 30 similar towns had a higher share. A year earlier it was $214K.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
$859,395of "other revenue" in 2025, against $117,243 in 2024
A surplus is what is left when a year's revenue is more than its spending. The audited 2025 statements show an annual surplus of $918,198, against $301,059 in the budget column and $225,891 in 2024. "Other revenue" was $859,395 in 2025 and $117,243 in 2024. At December 31, 2025 the Township was owed $869,490 in trade receivables (bills sent but not yet paid), up from $31,069 a year earlier. Its net financial assets (what it holds or is owed, minus what it owes) moved from net debt of $802,293 to net financial assets of $113,230. If the $869,490 were left out, the Township would be back in net debt (worked out by us: $113,230 minus $869,490 is a negative $756,260). The Township explains part of the gap with its budget note: the budget by-law balanced at nil, and the $301,059 in the statements is made up of reserve transfers and debt repayments added back. We did not find a published explanation of what the other revenue was.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$301,121in reserve funds at the end of 2025, while the reserve bank account held $108,416
A reserve fund is money Council sets aside for a stated purpose, like a fire truck or road repairs. At the end of 2025 the statements list $301,121 in reserve funds, up from $9,564 a year earlier. The Township's "Reserve fund bank account" held $108,416. The difference is $192,705 (worked out by us). The operating bank account was overdrawn by $17,484, and the Township's $300,000 line of credit was not used.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$625,414a year short of what the Township's own asset plan says is needed
In July 2026 Council adopted its 2025 Asset Management Plan. An asset management plan counts a town's roads, bridges, buildings, vehicles and equipment, and works out what it costs to keep them going. This plan puts their replacement cost at about $17.4 million and says the Township needs about $777,683 a year to keep them in shape. It puts what the Township sets aside at about $152 thousand, which leaves a gap of $625,414 a year. The plan says that at today's level the Township funds 19.6% of the long-term need, and that fully funding it would take a tax increase of 51.2%. It recommends phasing that in over 15 years with a 2.8% tax increase each year. Council's own report says the plan commits Council to nothing now and that the money questions will be decided in the yearly budget.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
About 5 yearsof service life left on the Enders Road Bridge, per the engineer, with no cost estimate yet
A consulting engineer told Council in 2025 that the Enders Road Bridge has about five years of service life left. In October 2025 a proposal for a preliminary assessment at about $20,000 was not supported by Council. As a result, as the April 28, 2026 staff report says, the Township has no project-specific technical information, no cost estimate and no timeline, and does not expect construction in 2026. The July 2026 asset plan says inspections found the bridge needs replacing and that the Township is looking at a culvert or a modular bridge. At the end of 2025 the Township held restricted infrastructure funding of $279,797 (Canada Community-Building Fund) and $79,089 (Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund).
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$282,925carried on the books at the end of 2025 for retiring assets such as landfill closure, against a landfill reserve of $24,624
The Township says the Hume Road landfill stopped taking waste in the 1990s. A closure plan was written in 1999 but the site was never formally closed, so the Township "continues to carry a regulatory obligation". In April 2026 Council hired an engineering firm for $26,600 plus HST to write an updated closure plan. Three firms were invited and one sent a complete proposal. The Township says the new plan will include a cost estimate for the physical closing. A separate report says the Sovereign Road landfill has about 7,482 cubic metres of space left, around eight years at the current rate, and that a 2025 survey found a small area of waste outside the approved footprint. The statements carry an asset retirement obligation of $282,925 for closing and cleaning up assets, including a landfill, and a landfill reserve of $24,624.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
December 8, 2025date of the auditor's report on the 2024 statements
The auditor's report on the 2024 statements is dated December 8, 2025, almost a year after the year ended. The 2025 report is dated June 23, 2026, which is much closer to the usual timing. The budget by-law for 2024 was adopted on July 23, 2024 and the one for 2025 on May 13, 2025. We did not find the Township's own reason for either timing.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$242,456drop in the restated 2024 accumulated surplus from the new retirement-cost rule
In 2025 the Township adopted a new accounting rule that makes it record the future cost of closing landfills and gravel pits and removing asbestos. That cut the 2024 accumulated surplus (the Township's total of past surpluses) by $242,456 as restated. MNP LLP, the auditor, says it also helped the Township adopt the rule, which it calls a "self-review threat" to its independence, and lists safeguards. The audit report to Council says the rule was adopted January 1, 2024. The statements say January 1, 2025. The auditor found no significant deficiencies in internal control.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
A property tax bill in Conmee pays for the town and schools. Only part of it goes to the town, and that part is what Conmee council controls.
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