Sources and method

Where this comes from

Everything on these pages comes from public documents. Here they are, with how we used them, so anyone can check our work.

Documents

1. Ontario Financial Information Return (FIR)

   Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing · retrieved 2026-10-01

   The numbers behind the money and compare pages: 2019 to 2025 for Greater Napanee, and 2025 for 38 similar towns. Figures are what the municipality reported to the Province for each year, prepared on the same basis as its audited financial statements.

2. Town of Greater Napanee, council remuneration and expense statements

   Town of Greater Napanee · retrieved 2026-10-01

   What each council member was paid, and spent on benefits and expenses, 2023 to 2025. One statement a year; the link is the latest, and the council page links each year.

3. Town of Greater Napanee, budget documents

   Town of Greater Napanee · retrieved 2026-10-01

   The town’s published budgets. Used to check its plans against what it reported.

4. Draft 2025 financial statements and KPMG audit findings report

   Town of Greater Napanee (auditor: KPMG LLP) · retrieved 2026-10-01

   Part of the September 22, 2026 council package (332 pages): the auditor’s draft report, the 2025 draft statements, segment notes and reserves.

5. 2024 consolidated financial statements

   Town of Greater Napanee (auditor: KPMG LLP) · retrieved 2026-10-01

   Audited statements for 2024, clean opinion dated March 6, 2026.

6. 2023 consolidated financial statements

   Town of Greater Napanee (auditor: KPMG LLP) · retrieved 2026-10-01

   Audited statements for 2023, clean opinion dated October 14, 2025.

7. Loan application for the wastewater plant (staff report SR-1282-2026)

   Town of Greater Napanee · retrieved 2026-10-01

   Part of the April 14, 2026 council package: the $24,500,000 financing request, project funding slide and yearly payment estimate (pages 129 to 135).

8. Draft 2025 Utilities Budget presentation

   Town of Greater Napanee · retrieved 2026-10-01

   November 6, 2024 special council meeting: water and sewer rates, reserves and the plant upgrade (37 pages).

9. Forensic Review of the Trackless Procurement

   KPMG Forensic Inc. for the town’s lawyers · retrieved 2026-10-01

   October 31, 2024 review of how the town bought a sidewalk machine in 2022 (58 PDF pages).

10. Procurement Process Review

    KPMG Forensic Inc. for the town’s lawyers · retrieved 2026-10-01

    November 11, 2024 review of gaps in the town’s buying process (30 PDF pages, headed “DRAFT”).

11. Procurement By-law No. 2025-0084

    Town of Greater Napanee · retrieved 2026-10-01

    The purchasing rules in force since January 1, 2026 (28 pages; the PDF is a scan).

12. Council agenda package, February 24, 2026

    Town of Greater Napanee (CivicWeb) · retrieved 2026-10-01

    Includes the 2025 council pay statement and the report on appointing the auditor for 2025 and 2026.

13. Council agenda package, April 28, 2026

    Town of Greater Napanee (CivicWeb) · retrieved 2026-10-01

    Includes the sale of the former CN spur line lands and the new Solid Waste and Labour Relations reserves.

14. Council agenda package, November 25, 2025

    Town of Greater Napanee (CivicWeb) · retrieved 2026-10-01

    Includes the Waste Management contract change for the Blue Box transition and the proposed 2026 water and sewer rates.

15. Council agenda package, July 14, 2026

    Town of Greater Napanee (CivicWeb) · retrieved 2026-10-01

    Includes the council remuneration review and the count of council and closed meetings by year.

16. Council agenda package, July 28, 2026

    Town of Greater Napanee (CivicWeb) · retrieved 2026-10-01

    Includes the July 14 minutes and a list of payments made between June 18 and July 21, 2026.

17. Staff Conflict of Interest Policy HR-2025-02

    Town of Greater Napanee · retrieved 2026-10-01

    Approved June 11, 2025; revised September 8, 2026.

18. 2026 Budget Highlights

    Town of Greater Napanee · retrieved 2026-10-01

    One-page summary of the 2026 proposed levy.

19. Statistics Canada, Consumer Price Index, annual average (table 18-10-0005-01)

    Statistics Canada · retrieved 2026-10-01

    How much prices went up each year, so cost growth can be compared with inflation.

How the numbers are worked out

Day-to-day spending

Total expenses as reported, minus amortization ("wear and tear"), which is an accounting cost rather than cash spent that year. Costs are shown in the service where they were recorded, before the town spreads its office overhead across services, so the cost of running the office stays visible.

Per home

An amount divided by the number of households the town reported to the Province for that year.

Similar towns

Ontario lower-tier municipalities with 60% to 160% of this population that had filed their 2025 return, in 2025. This gives 38 towns. "Typical" means the median: half of similar towns are above it and half below. The size limits are a judgement call; moving them a little adds or drops a few towns, so treat small differences in rank as noise. Per-home figures use the household counts each town reports to the Province. Towns do not all count the same way: some include seasonal homes, so per-home comparisons are a guide, not exact.

Faster than prices

Growth is compared with Canada's Consumer Price Index over the same years.

When a question is raised automatically

When a cost grew at least 25 percentage points faster than prices and faster than 80% of similar towns; when a measure of money health is worse than 80% of similar towns; or when a one-year tax increase is higher than 80% of similar towns and well above inflation. "Needs an answer" means worse than 90% of similar towns. When there are fewer than 20 similar towns, automatic questions go no higher than "Worth asking", because one rank moves a lot in a small group.

What this cannot see

These records show totals by category, not individual payments. They cannot show whether a particular contract was fair, whether a purchase was split to avoid tendering, or who was paid. That needs the town's list of payments (its cheque register or accounts payable list), which residents can ask for under Ontario's freedom-of-information law (MFIPPA). That is the next thing we plan to add.