Not the full picture. Built from public records, which leave things out.Read by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date. Check the sources, and tell us if you spot a mistake. What this site can't tell you Read by hand. We read Elliot Lake's own documents for this site in October 2026; the Sources page lists which ones. The comparisons with other places still come from the Province's yearly reports.
A clear, checkable guide to Elliot Lake's budget, taxes and council decisions. A city in northern Ontario, on the North Shore of Lake Huron, with a mayor and six councillors elected at large. Every figure links back to the public record.
2 years2023 and 2024 audit opinions both qualified for the same reason
An auditor's opinion is the outside accountant's verdict on whether the statements can be trusted. A "qualified" opinion means the auditor is saying "mostly yes, except for one thing". For both 2023 and 2024, BDO Canada LLP says the City has not finished checking its capital assets (roads, buildings, pipes) for legal duties to clean up or take them out of service when they end. This is called an asset retirement obligation. A new accounting rule required it from January 1, 2023. The auditor says that without this work it is not possible to say how much it would change expenses, the yearly surplus, assets and the accumulated surplus. The auditor also notes that the City kept using the older landfill accounting rule, which was no longer in effect when the new rule applied.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 2 sources
February 25, 2026date of the auditor's report on the 2024 statements
The auditor's report on the 2024 statements is dated February 25, 2026. That is almost fifteen months after the year ended on December 31, 2024 (worked out by us). The 2023 report was dated October 28, 2024, almost ten months after its year end (worked out by us). On October 5, 2026 the City's budget and finances page lists the 2024 statements as the newest. We did not find 2025 statements there.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 3 sources
$885,862fall in the landfill liability in 2024, to $3,147,296
The City sets money aside on paper for closing the landfill and watching it for 25 years afterward. The liability (what the City owes for that future work, in today's money) was $4,033,158 at the end of 2023 and $3,147,296 at the end of 2024. In the same year the notes say the total future spending, before discounting to today's money, went up from $3,184,776 to $3,374,971, and the years left before the landfill is full went from 27 to 22. The discount rate stayed at 3.27%. The statements do not say why the liability dropped. The auditor's report also says the City kept following the older landfill rule, which is part of the qualification (see the first question).
Found by reading the city's own documents · 4 sources
$15,116,722surplus in 2024, against a budgeted $8,715,239
A surplus is what is left when a year's revenue is more than its spending. The 2024 budget planned a surplus of $8,715,239 in the statements' accounting. The audited result was $15,116,722. Part of the gap is explained by the City: the budget is built on a different basis from the statements (it counts the full cost of capital projects and money moved from reserves). Revenue was also above budget in a few places: Ontario grants were $11,426,596 against $9,603,604, and a line called "Other" was $2,700,069 against $664,056. The segment schedule puts $2,689,854 of that "Other" in recreation and cultural services. The statements do not say what it is.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 3 sources
$12,240,953capital reserve at December 31, 2024, down from $20,470,280
A reserve is money the council sets aside for a purpose. The "capital expenses" reserve (for building and replacing things) went from $20,470,280 at the end of 2023 to $12,240,953 at the end of 2024, a fall of $8,229,327 (worked out by us). Cash and cash equivalents fell from $23,804,882 to $13,070,086. The City bought $24,417,971 of capital assets in 2024 against a budget of $19,242,577, and reports a further $2,737,260 of contracts still to be paid. Net financial assets (what the City has in the bank and investments after its debts, a rough cushion) fell from $23,189,025 to $18,006,083 against a budget of $14,798,287. The 2026 operating budget moves $4,674,022 into capital, up from $2,878,615.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 5 sources
0.00%change in the City's portion of the levy for 2026, at $10,025,114
The levy is the amount raised from property taxes. The 2026 operating budget shows the City's portion of the levy at $10,025,114, the same as 2025 (0.00%). Meanwhile the boards and agencies the City pays (the OPP, the Algoma health unit, the district services board for ambulance, housing and social assistance, and the library) rise from $6,395,990 to $6,897,904 (3.06%). The OPP contract alone goes from $2,877,835 to $3,194,397. Two things make room: the provincial Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund grant rises from $8,685,600 to $9,489,300, and the City's own operating cost, as the budget summary prints it, falls from $6,326,105 to $4,109,650 (-13.50%). In the same table the amount moved to capital rises from $2,878,615 to $4,674,022, and debt payments from $820,394 to $1,241,442. The City's own operating cost falls by $2,216,455 and capital and debt rise by $2,216,455 together (both worked out by us).
Found by reading the city's own documents · 3 sources
$1,241,442Rogers Arena debt payment in the 2026 budget, up from $613,559
The 2026 operating budget has a "DEBT PAYMENT" line for the Rogers Arena of $1,241,442, up from $613,559 in 2025. At December 31, 2024 the City's whole long-term debt was $1,111,105, with $175,355 of principal due in 2025 and $98,500 a year after that. So these payments look larger than the debt in the 2024 statements would explain. The capital budget sheet we read lists a "Rogers Aerna Interior/Exterior Retrofit" at 11,600,000.00. That sheet is headed "Year 2025 Budget", and we could not tell from the text which funding column the project is in. We did not find, in the documents we read, the size, term or rate of the borrowing, or the City's council report approving it.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 3 sources
In 2024, Elliot Lake collected $1.8M more in its own property tax than in 2023. That is a 12% jump, while prices went up about 2.4%. None of the 10 similar places raised theirs by more. Almost all of it came from a higher tax rate (up 9% for homes); the value of homes on the tax roll grew only 0.8%.
Found automatically from the city's financial reports · 4 sources
$500,000insurance claims in the 2026 budget, matched by $500,000 of insurance recoveries
In the 2026 operating budget, General Government has "INSURANCE CLAIMS" of $500,000 (against $78,962 in the 2025 budget) and "INSURANCE RECOVERIES" of $(500,000) (against $(75,000)). They cancel out. The same section has "LEGAL" of $250,000 in both years and "INSURANCE PREMIUMS" of $946,353 (against $897,017). The 2024 statements say the City has been named in litigation matters whose outcome cannot be determined and for which no amount is set aside. The budget pages do not say what the claims are.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 2 sources
2024 tax year · Elliot Lake, Ontario
Your tax bill, worked out.
Enter your home's assessed value to see roughly what you pay in property tax each year, who gets it, and what Elliot Lake'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 Elliot Lake.
An estimate. It uses the residential tax rate, and splits Elliot Lake'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.
How Elliot Lake's share of the bill compares with similar places
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