$2,651,972.06low tender for the Black Creek Bridge, accepted April 20, 2026
On April 20, 2026 Council accepted the low tender of $2,651,972.06 (including HST) to replace the Black Creek Bridge on Marthaville Road. The same day it told staff to build the 2026 budget on a $300,000.00 increase in the local levy (the part of the tax bill that stays with the Township), with borrowing for the bridge of up to $750,000.00. On June 1, 2026 it directed $398,858.00 of 2026 provincial infrastructure funding (OCIF) and $92,519.00 of federal funding (CCBF) to the bridge. We worked out that, if the whole $300,000.00 levy increase went to the bridge, those four amounts add up to $1,541,377.00, which would leave about $1.1 million of the tender price (worked out by us) without a named source in the documents we read. Separately, a bank offered a $2,500,000.00 operating line of credit on April 20, and the September 8, 2026 agenda lists a short-term borrowing by-law with the bank. The Township's credit facility at the end of 2025 was $700,000 and unused. The 2026 budget itself is not posted, so we cannot see how the rest is covered.
$1,112,040drainage receivable that was understated in the 2024 statements
The 2025 statements restate 2024. The Township found that money to be received from property owners and other municipalities for drainage work (a drainage receivable) had been counted as part of accumulated surplus (the Township's total savings and assets) instead of as money owed to it. The note says the drainage receivable was understated by $1,112,040 and that 2024's annual surplus was overstated by $129,074. The 2024 surplus first reported was $591,734, restated to $462,659. The auditor added an emphasis paragraph saying the adjustments are appropriate. The statements do not say how the error arose or how the Township will prevent it again.
$689,553drainage receivable at December 31, 2025, all in the 91 to 120 day column
At the end of 2025 the Township was owed $689,553 for drainage work, and all of it is in the 91 to 120 day column of the Township's ageing table. A year earlier the same row showed $1,112,040, also all in that column. The cash flow statement shows a change of $422,487 in the drainage receivable in 2025. The statements do not say when the rest will be paid.
$1,622,248total reserves at the end of 2025, the same as the end of 2024
A reserve is money council sets aside for a future need. The Township's reserves were $1,622,248 at the end of 2025. They were also $1,622,248 at the end of 2024 restated, with every one of the four reserves unchanged. At the end of 2023 they were $1,617,248, so only the insurance reserve moved, by $5,000 in 2024. The Township's own policy note says reserve funds are interest bearing, and it earned $133,889 of interest on investments in 2025. In 2025 it spent $1,303,172 on tangible capital assets such as roads and buildings.