Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Deep River's budget, taxes and council decisions. A town of about 4,200 people in Eastern Ontario. Every figure links back to the public record.
Follow Deep River in one tapWhere it goes
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.
+59%running the town office, 2019 to 2025
Deep River spent $1.3M on running the town office in 2019 and $2.0M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time. Only 3 of 30 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$3.1Mowed in unpaid property tax, end of 2025
At the end of 2025, $3.1M of property tax had been billed but not paid. That is 38% of everything billed. None of the 30 similar towns had a higher share. A year earlier it was $931K.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
$5,538per home on long-term debt, 2025
Deep River spent about $5,538 per home on long-term debt in 2025. The typical similar town spent $807. Only 1 of 30 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
$5,777,017liability for asset retirement obligations at December 31, 2023, which the 2023 auditor could not fully support
An audit ends with an opinion on whether the statements are fair. A "qualified" opinion means the auditor was fine with most of it but could not be sure about one part. For 2023, Baker Tilly REO LLP said the Town did not give enough evidence for a new liability it recorded for asset retirement obligations (the future cost of closing landfills and removing asbestos from old buildings). The amount was $5,777,017. For 2024, a different auditor, KPMG, told council the Town had new information about its asbestos costs, and the liability fell by $3.9 million. That change added to the Town's accumulated surplus.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$0.1 millioncash and investments at the end of 2024, down from $1.5 million, according to the Town's auditor
At the end of 2023 the Town held $918,615 in cash and $630,646 in investments. KPMG says that by the end of 2024 cash and investments were about $0.1 million, after $5.8 million was spent on capital assets (roads, pipes, vehicles). KPMG also says the Town has an "accumulated deficit" of $5.9 million that comes mostly from paying for capital projects out of its own funds, and that council approved $4.4 million of new borrowing in 2025 to deal with part of it.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$2,425,500planned transfer to reserves in the 2025 corporate budget line, against $1,122,812 in the 2024 budget
A reserve is savings set aside for later costs. The 2025 budget asked for $9,704,318 from property taxes, 7.7% more than in 2024. The budget book says it would raise the average home's tax bill by about 4.2%. The corporate line for transfers to reserves went from $1,122,812 in the 2024 budget to $2,425,500. The Town explains part of this: extra payments in lieu of tax (PILT) from the federal nuclear site, a new reserves policy, and paying for all capital work from reserves instead of directly from taxes. This is a draft: we found the version council saw on March 19, 2025 but not the adopted one.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$360,689projected closing water and wastewater reserves after 2025, from $1,000,302 estimated at the end of 2024
Water and sewer are paid for by user fees, not property taxes, and any surplus goes to their own reserves. The 2025 budget planned $3,960,306 of water and sewer capital work, including $2,770,305 for work to bring down THM (a by-product of water treatment). Grants were to pay $2,030,926 of the total. The water and wastewater reserves were estimated at $1,000,302 at the end of 2024 and projected at $360,689 after 2025. The Town also says its water price to the nuclear site was set for much more water than the site actually uses.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$369,050counted in the 2025 capital budget as possible funding from neighbouring municipalities
The 2025 capital budget counts on $369,050 from other municipalities toward the arena and the Community Pool, split by population and households: 39.7% from Laurentian Hills and 3.8% from Head, Clara and Maria. The budget says that for the 2024 request "no commitments have been received from our neighbours". The Community Pool is also closed, and the budget says so.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
+10%town property tax, 2024 to 2025
In 2025, Deep River collected $854K more in its own property tax than in 2024. That is a 10% jump, while prices went up about 2.1%. Only 5 of 30 similar towns raised theirs by more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$5.3Min savings at the end of 2025
Towns keep savings (called reserves) to pay for new trucks, roof repairs and surprises. Deep River had $5.3M saved at the end of 2025, up from $2.7M in 2019. That is 42% of one year's spending. Only 6 of 30 similar towns had less, compared with what they spend.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
$2,354,725one-time catch-up PILT payment from AECL, received in 2023
The Town's budget calls Atomic Energy of Canada (AECL) its largest ratepayer. AECL pays payments in lieu of tax (PILT) because it is federal land. A 2021 agreement led to a one-time catch-up payment of $2,354,725 that came in 2023 and was put into capital projects and reserves in 2024. KPMG says total revenues dipped in 2024 because that one-time payment did not repeat, and that the PILT owed by AECL/CNL fell by $559K. The 2025 budget again counts on extra PILT for buildings the site added.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$193,470.10total remuneration and expenses paid to council and others in 2025, against $161,023.17 in 2024
Each March the treasurer reports what was paid to council and to appointed board members. The 2024 report gave a total of $161,023.17 and the 2025 report gave $193,470.10. By our own subtraction (worked out by us) that is $32,446.93 more. The 2025 report explains one part: there were 27 pay periods in 2025 instead of the usual 26, which meant an extra pay period of salaries and benefits. It also lists conference registration and travel for several named conferences. We do not compare members to one another.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
3councillors who declared an interest on item 6.3.1 on January 14, 2026
The Town's public registry shows that on January 14, 2026, three councillors each declared an indirect interest on agenda item 6.3.1, "Second Resolution of Council as employed with CNL". On September 20, 2023, two councillors declared a direct interest on item 6.1.8 because they are CNL employees. Declaring is what the law asks. Canadian Nuclear Laboratories runs the site of the Town's largest ratepayer.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 1 source
$369per home on garbage, dump and recycling, 2025
Deep River spent about $369 per home on garbage, dump and recycling in 2025. The typical similar town spent $202. Only 2 of 30 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
A property tax bill in Deep River pays for three governments. Only part of it goes to the town, and that part is what Deep River council controls.
Local businesses can sponsor this page · How it works →
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 Deep River's council · Council Books is free and paid for by readers: support this work.