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by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date.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 Hastings Highlands'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.
Questions · 8 so far
Things worth asking about
We read Hastings Highlands' financial reports and meeting minutes, and compared its numbers with 28 similar Ontario towns. These are the things that stood out.
What these are, and what they are not. A question here means a number or practice is unusual, or harder to see than it should be. It does not mean anyone did anything wrong. Most unusual numbers turn out to have ordinary explanations, and every question lists some. The only way to know is to ask.
Worth asking
Worth asking
There may well be a good reason. It is still worth asking what it is.
$2,020,857plus HST, awarded April 15, 2026 for Road 62 design and contract administration; the other proposal was $1,233,510 plus HST
Hastings Highlands Road 62 (the former Provincial Highway 62) is to be rebuilt over 28.8 kilometres, with $25 million of provincial funding announced on March 16, 2026. Before that money was announced, council voted on December 17, 2025 to set aside its usual rule that professional work over $100,000 goes through a fully open competition, and to invite only a short list of engineering firms. Staff invited five firms. Two sent proposals. On April 15, 2026 council awarded the design and contract administration work to the higher-priced firm, Ainley Graham & Associates Limited, at $2,020,857 plus HST, with an extra 10% set aside for changes. The other firm, D. M. Wills Associates Limited, offered $1,233,510 plus HST. The town’s scoring gave the first firm 86 out of 100 and the second 59, and price counted for only 20 of the 100 points. The Mayor declared an interest in the item (a close relative works for one of the companies that bid) and left the room while it was decided.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 6 sources
$5,372,000estimated landfill closing and monitoring cost recorded at the end of 2025, against $911,522 in the waste disposal reserve
A landfill has to be covered, watched and kept safe for decades after it closes. Since 2023, accounting rules make a town write that future cost down as money it owes. Hastings Highlands runs nine waste sites (six open, three closed). Its audited 2025 statements record $5,372,000 for closing and watching the landfills, plus $1,065,986 for other things like a building with asbestos and old gravel pits and fuel tanks, a total of $6,437,986. The landfill part was $2,584,500 at the start of 2024 and $5,230,100 at the end of it, after the town revised its estimates that year. The waste disposal savings account (reserve) held $911,522 at the end of 2025. The town’s own report on its 2025 budget says it did not include a landfill closing cost of $2,438,500 in the budget, and the 2025 asset plan leaves landfill closing costs out on purpose. The 2026 budget adds $15,000 to the closing reserve. The documents we read do not say why the estimates changed in 2024, or how the town plans to pay.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
An integrity commissioner is the person who looks into complaints that a council member broke the code of conduct. In Hastings Highlands the same lawyer has held that job since 2018 and also acts as the town’s legal counsel. In a letter dated January 23, 2025, Ontario’s Ombudsman wrote to council after a member of the public complained. The letter says the arrangement “is inconsistent with best practices” and “strongly” encourages the town to keep the two roles separate. Council accepted the letter as correspondence “for information” at its February 19, 2025 meeting. We searched the 17 regular council agendas (by our count) from March 19, 2025 to September 16, 2026 and found no report, motion or other response, and the town’s own Integrity Commissioner page still names the same law firm in 2026. The firm’s 2025 annual report says it disagrees with the Ombudsman’s view. The Ombudsman’s letter records that municipal staff said the commissioner takes steps to avoid matters on which he has already advised the town.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$4.4 milliona year gap, from $6.6 million needed to about $2.2 million set aside, in the town’s 2025 asset plan
An asset management plan lists what a town owns (roads, bridges, culverts, buildings, trucks) and what it will cost to replace each piece as it wears out. The town’s 2025 plan values what it owns at $160.3 million. It says the town needs to put $6.6 million a year toward replacing these things and now puts in about $2.2 million, a gap of $4.4 million a year. Of three ways to close the gap, the plan says the town chose the one that reaches full funding in 15 years with tax increases of “approximately 2.7% annually”. The town’s approved budgets raised the amount collected through municipal property tax by 5.95% in 2025 and 4.88% in 2026, but those figures also include growth and other costs, so they cannot be compared with the 2.7% directly. The town has published all of these numbers. What residents have not been shown is a plan that links them.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
A council member who has a money interest in a matter, directly or through a family member, must say so, leave the room and not vote. Hastings Highlands keeps a public list of these declarations. It has 28 entries from January 18, 2023 to September 16, 2026, 25 of them by council members. The Mayor made four, each about a relative: March 1, 2023 (a transfer of part of a road to the town from land owned by a relative), May 3, 2023 (a rezoning application for a relative), June 28, 2023 (a road transfer and development agreement with a relative) and April 15, 2026 (the Highway 62 design contract, because a relative works for a bidder). In the one 2026 case we could check, the minutes show the Mayor left the room for the vote. The list shows the rules were followed. It does not show what the town decided in the 2023 matters or on what terms.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
In 2019, Hastings Highlands had $2.5M more in cash and money owed to it than it owed to others. By 2025 it was −$1.1M. About 175% of that change ($6.4M) is a new accounting rule from 2023: towns must now record the future cost of closing things like a landfill. That is not new spending or borrowing. Even leaving that out, only 20 of 28 similar towns are in a weaker position.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 6 sources
Hastings Highlands spent about $526 per home on garbage, dump and recycling in 2025. The typical similar town spent $197. None of the 28 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 5 sources
$2,020,857plus HST, awarded April 15, 2026 for Road 62 design and contract administration; the other proposal was $1,233,510 plus HST
Hastings Highlands Road 62 (the former Provincial Highway 62) is to be rebuilt over 28.8 kilometres, with $25 million of provincial funding announced on March 16, 2026. Before that money was announced, council voted on December 17, 2025 to set aside its usual rule that professional work over $100,000 goes through a fully open competition, and to invite only a short list of engineering firms. Staff invited five firms. Two sent proposals. On April 15, 2026 council awarded the design and contract administration work to the higher-priced firm, Ainley Graham & Associates Limited, at $2,020,857 plus HST, with an extra 10% set aside for changes. The other firm, D. M. Wills Associates Limited, offered $1,233,510 plus HST. The town’s scoring gave the first firm 86 out of 100 and the second 59, and price counted for only 20 of the 100 points. The Mayor declared an interest in the item (a close relative works for one of the companies that bid) and left the room while it was decided.
Why it matters
This is one of the largest contracts in the town’s records for the period, and the other proposal was about 39% lower in price. Skipping an open competition is allowed by the town’s own policy, and the town gave its reasons, but residents can still ask how the choice between quality and price was made and what the extra 10% is for. The Mayor did what the law asks by declaring the interest and leaving.
It could be because…
The town’s stated reasons are real: a large rural highway needs engineers with proven experience on this kind of work, and time matters to secure the provincial money.
The work is mostly contract administration during construction ($993,300 of the price), where the experience of the team matters more than a low fee.
Only two of the five invited firms replied, which can happen when firms are busy or the job is large.
The lawyers who advise the town reviewed the plan and the award recommendation and raised no concerns, according to the reports.
Questions you could ask
Why were five firms invited and not an open call that any qualified firm could answer, and who chose the five?
How much weight did price carry in the final choice, given that it was worth 20 of 100 points and the other proposal was about $787,000 lower before tax?
What is the extra 10% ($202,086) for, when the report says the request for proposal already included a 10% allowance for contract administration?
Will the design contract be paid from the $25 million provincial grant, and if not, from which budget?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Hastings Highlands?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The Operations Manager asked council to waive “the applicable procurement provisions” under section 2.3 of the Procurement Policy. The report says professional services over $100,000 “typically require a fully open competitive process (Section 10.3)”, and gives these reasons: the specialized nature of the work, the need for timely design, the advantage of firms with experience in rural arterial roads, and preparing the town for senior-government funding. It adds that the town’s legal team reviewed and recommended this approach.
Council passed the waiver on December 17, 2025 (Resolution 258-2025, moved by the Deputy Mayor, “Carried”). The draft minutes do not list individual votes.
The invitational request for proposal (HH-2026-01) was sent to five engineering firms on January 16, 2026 and closed March 13, 2026. Two proposals came in: Ainley Graham & Associates Limited at $2,020,857 + HST and D. M. Wills Associates Limited at $1,233,510 + HST. Scores: 86/100 and 59/100. Scoring: project understanding 15 points, team and experience 25, work plan 25, proposal quality 15, pricing 20. Staff recommended the first firm, “approve an additional 10% project contingency”, and noted that “there is currently no municipal contribution budgeted for the project”.
The price breakdown (before HST) is project management $158,000, preliminary investigations $201,882, phase 1 design $314,795, phase 2 design $352,880 and construction contract administration $993,300, for $2,020,857. With HST the cost is $2,283,568.41, and the town expects to bear about $2,060,000 after tax rebates. The report also says $25 million of provincial funding was announced on March 16, 2026 and a transfer payment agreement has been signed with the Ministry of Transportation.
The draft minutes record that the Mayor “declared a direct pecuniary interest” in the item because a close relative works for one of the companies submitting bids, and “left Council Chambers at 9:07 a.m.” Council awarded the contract (Resolution 89-2026, “Carried”) and the Mayor returned at 9:19 a.m. The draft minutes do not say which company the relative works for and do not list individual votes. The same declaration is in the town’s public registry.
Staff report on RFP HH-2026-01: "design and contract administration services for the reconstruction of approximately 28.8 kilometres of Hastings Highlands Road 62".
$5,372,000estimated landfill closing and monitoring cost recorded at the end of 2025, against $911,522 in the waste disposal reserve
A landfill has to be covered, watched and kept safe for decades after it closes. Since 2023, accounting rules make a town write that future cost down as money it owes. Hastings Highlands runs nine waste sites (six open, three closed). Its audited 2025 statements record $5,372,000 for closing and watching the landfills, plus $1,065,986 for other things like a building with asbestos and old gravel pits and fuel tanks, a total of $6,437,986. The landfill part was $2,584,500 at the start of 2024 and $5,230,100 at the end of it, after the town revised its estimates that year. The waste disposal savings account (reserve) held $911,522 at the end of 2025. The town’s own report on its 2025 budget says it did not include a landfill closing cost of $2,438,500 in the budget, and the 2025 asset plan leaves landfill closing costs out on purpose. The 2026 budget adds $15,000 to the closing reserve. The documents we read do not say why the estimates changed in 2024, or how the town plans to pay.
Why it matters
Closing costs arrive whether or not they are saved for. If the plan is to pay them from future taxes or grants, residents can ask for that to be said. The town’s statements also show that this one change is the main reason Hastings Highlands moved from savings in the bank to “net debt” (see that question).
It could be because…
The $5,372,000 is a long-run estimate made in today’s money plus inflation, for work spread over the next 25 years after each site closes. Six sites are expected to close between 2026 and 2128.
Ontario Regulation 284/09 lets a town leave landfill closing costs out of its yearly budget while it reports to council that it has done so, and the town has done that report each year.
Part of the cost can be met by grants, by fees at the dump, or by borrowing when the work is due.
Some of the increase in 2024 was a new, better estimate, not new spending.
Questions you could ask
What caused the landfill estimates to double in 2024, who prepared the new estimates, and are they posted?
Which site is expected to close in 2026, and what will closing it cost?
Does the town plan to raise the landfill closure reserve above its $15,000 a year, and by what year does it want to have saved how much?
Where is the separate financial plan for landfill closing that the asset plan refers to?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Hastings Highlands?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
“The Municipality owns and operates nine landfill sites.” For the three closed sites there are “between 17 and 25 years of remaining monitoring costs”. “For the six operational sites, the sites are projected to close between 2026 and 2128.” The landfill obligation was $5,230,100 at the start of 2025 and $5,372,000 at the end, with $160,600 of yearly growth (accretion) and $18,700 of work done. The total obligation, including asbestos ($22,000) and other ($1,043,986), is $6,437,986. Estimates use a 4.5% discount rate and 3% inflation over the years to closing plus 25 years.
In 2024 the landfill obligation went from $2,584,500 to $5,230,100. The note lists “Revaluation of liability for revised estimates”: $1,358,600 added to the cost of the landfill assets and $1,255,800 for closed sites (charged to the year’s result), plus $110,700 of accretion and $79,500 of work done. The statements do not say what caused the revised estimates.
Reserves at the end of 2025 include “Waste disposal” of $911,522 (2024: $901,885). The town’s corporate reserves report at the end of 2024 shows it was made up of $529,246.95 in the Reserve for Landfill Closure Expense and $372,637.69 in the Reserve for Landfill Capital.
Consolidated Financial Statements, 2025; Q4 2024 Quarterly Report · 2025 statements note 9, page 18 of the PDF; the 2024 reserves report is page 13 of the Q4 2024 report (https://media-001-ca.cdn.govstack.com/hastingshighlands-002-ca/media/uhjnlqy0/2024-q4-quarterly-treasury-report.pdf)
In its report on the 2025 budget, the town says: “The 2025 projected liability for landfill closure and post-closure expenses not included in the 2025 budget is: $2,438,500”. In February 2026 council was asked to confirm its awareness that “future closure and post-closure landfill, future employee benefits and amortization are not included” in the 2026 budget. The 2026 draft budget adds a $15,000 transfer to the landfill closure reserve (the same as 2025).
The 2025 asset management plan says it “excludes” the costs for “the total closure and post-closure liabilities for the 9 landfill sites”, and that these are “addressed through separate financial plans and environmental management strategies”. It says the town’s previous plan had included them. We did not find those separate plans in the documents we read.
An integrity commissioner is the person who looks into complaints that a council member broke the code of conduct. In Hastings Highlands the same lawyer has held that job since 2018 and also acts as the town’s legal counsel. In a letter dated January 23, 2025, Ontario’s Ombudsman wrote to council after a member of the public complained. The letter says the arrangement “is inconsistent with best practices” and “strongly” encourages the town to keep the two roles separate. Council accepted the letter as correspondence “for information” at its February 19, 2025 meeting. We searched the 17 regular council agendas (by our count) from March 19, 2025 to September 16, 2026 and found no report, motion or other response, and the town’s own Integrity Commissioner page still names the same law firm in 2026. The firm’s 2025 annual report says it disagrees with the Ombudsman’s view. The Ombudsman’s letter records that municipal staff said the commissioner takes steps to avoid matters on which he has already advised the town.
Why it matters
A commissioner who also advises the town’s council and staff may be asked to judge a complaint about a matter the same firm has advised on, or may seem less independent to people who want to complain. The Ombudsman’s guide is advice, not law, and the firm points that out, but residents can ask how the town weighed it.
It could be because…
Small towns have few local options for a qualified commissioner and may value one lawyer who knows the town’s rules.
The firm says it assesses each complaint for conflicts and declines where it has already given relevant legal advice.
The Ombudsman’s guidance is a recommendation, not a requirement of the Municipal Act.
The costs are low: the Integrity Commissioner’s invoices were $2,578.10 for complaints in 2024 and nothing for 2025.
Questions you could ask
Did council discuss the Ombudsman’s January 23, 2025 letter, and if so what did it decide?
Would the town consider appointing a commissioner who is not also its legal counsel, for example through the county or a shared arrangement with other towns?
How does the town check, when a complaint arrives, that the commissioner has not already advised the town on the same matter?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Hastings Highlands?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
Letter from the Ontario Ombudsman to the Council of Hastings Highlands, January 23, 2025: the town “appointed its Integrity Commissioner in 2018” and “has also retained this same individual to act as legal counsel for the Municipality”. The letter says “The Municipality’s current approach… is inconsistent with best practices, and led to a complaint to my Office”, and “I strongly encourage Hastings Highlands to take steps to ensure that the role of integrity commissioner and the role of legal counsel to the Municipality are kept separate and independent”. It also records that “Municipal staff told us that the Integrity Commissioner takes steps to avoid reviewing matters where he has previously provided legal advice.”
The draft minutes of the February 19, 2025 meeting list “Ombudsman Ontario re: Best Practices Regarding Integrity Commissioners” under correspondence, which council accepted “for information purposes”. No debate or motion is recorded.
The Integrity Commissioner’s 2025 annual report: “2025 also saw a few of our clients receive letters from the Ontario Ombudsman that were critical of our firm’s dual role of Integrity Commissioner and municipal solicitor”, and “We disagree that fulfilling both roles creates a general conflict.” For 2025 the report lists no requests for advice, no complaints, and costs of $0.
The same law firm gave the town’s planner legal advice by email on October 14 and November 10, 2025 about a road and land transfer project, and the emails are in the December 17, 2025 agenda.
The Integrity Commissioner reports show: 2023, six requests for advice, one complaint and a report dated May 30, 2023 that found no breach by the councillor complained about (costs: advice $1,695.57, complaints $2,344.75); 2024, no requests for advice, two complaints dismissed without a full investigation (complaints cost $2,578.10); 2025, none.
Hastings Highlands spent about $152 per home on council in 2025. The typical similar town spent $76. Only 1 of 28 similar towns spent more.
Why it matters
Spending more than neighbours is not wrong by itself. It might buy better service. But it is the first place to look for costs that could be lower, such as contracts that were not competitively bid.
It could be because…
Geography: more roads, more snow, a bigger area or a landfill of its own.
Accounting: some towns record the same cost in a different category.
A one-time cost in this year.
Questions you could ask
Why was the council line $462,053 in 2022 and $438,819 in 2023, against about $270,000 in 2021 and $305,000 in 2024?
Employer costs and benefits were $62,957 in 2025, 32% of the honoraria. Has council looked at what the group benefits plan costs, and at how its seven-member size and pay compare with similar towns?
Will the next council review Bylaw 2023-081 early in its term?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Hastings Highlands?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
Council per home: Hastings Highlands $152; typical similar town $76; ranked 2nd highest of 29.
In 2025 the Province’s return shows $304,635 on the council line: $257,722 salaries and benefits, $46,760 materials and $153 contracted services. That is $152 per home (2,005 homes) against $76 for the typical similar town, and only 1 of 28 similar towns spent more. The line was $270,063 in 2021, $462,053 in 2022, $438,819 in 2023 and $305,457 in 2024.
Council’s 2025 statement of pay and expenses: seven members, honoraria $194,765.14, mileage $2,754.87, conferences and professional development $10,605.62, and employer costs and benefits $62,957.30, total $271,082.93. Honoraria plus employer costs and benefits come to $257,722.44, the same as the $257,722 of salaries on the Province’s council line. In 2024 the total was $262,745.15. The Mayor’s honorarium was $39,111.88 and each councillor’s $25,456.12 (the Deputy Mayor’s $28,372.66). Employer costs and benefits ranged from $4,093.87 to $13,737.05 per member.
Council Remuneration Bylaw 2023-081 (July 19, 2023) sets yearly pay at $36,722.56 for the Mayor, $26,639.50 for the Deputy Mayor and $23,901.00 for each of five councillors, a total of $182,867.06, raised each January 1 by the same cost-of-living percentage as non-union staff. Members may join the town’s group benefits plan “at the discretion of each Council member”, and the town pays the whole monthly premium.
The council line in the budget was $354,290 for 2025 (actual, unaudited: $304,635.36) and is $456,125 for 2026, up $101,835 (28.74%). The town’s draft budget deck explains the increase as $6,835 for wages and benefits, $60,000 for “2026 Election Expenses (Reserve Funded)” and $35,000 for “25 Year Anniversary Celebrations (Reserve Funded)”.
$4.4 milliona year gap, from $6.6 million needed to about $2.2 million set aside, in the town’s 2025 asset plan
An asset management plan lists what a town owns (roads, bridges, culverts, buildings, trucks) and what it will cost to replace each piece as it wears out. The town’s 2025 plan values what it owns at $160.3 million. It says the town needs to put $6.6 million a year toward replacing these things and now puts in about $2.2 million, a gap of $4.4 million a year. Of three ways to close the gap, the plan says the town chose the one that reaches full funding in 15 years with tax increases of “approximately 2.7% annually”. The town’s approved budgets raised the amount collected through municipal property tax by 5.95% in 2025 and 4.88% in 2026, but those figures also include growth and other costs, so they cannot be compared with the 2.7% directly. The town has published all of these numbers. What residents have not been shown is a plan that links them.
Why it matters
Roads and bridges wear out whether or not money is saved for them. Putting the cost off hands it to later taxpayers, often as one large bill. The plan lists a $6.8 million backlog of things already past their expected life.
It could be because…
Grants can pay for large parts of the work. The town has announced $25 million in provincial money for Road 62, and it receives yearly federal and provincial formula funding.
The plan is a snapshot built on estimated replacement costs, not a bill due this year, and says it should be updated as better condition data comes in.
The town’s budget for road capital funding is rising: the Roads Asset Management Capital Funding Program is $880,000 in 2026, up from $710,000 in 2025.
Residents told the town in the plan’s survey that moderate tax levels matter to them (75% said so).
Questions you could ask
Did council vote to adopt Scenario 1 (full funding in 15 years), and what tax increase for roads and bridges has the town planned for 2027 and later?
How much of the 5.95% and 4.88% increases in the municipal levy went to capital and reserves, and how much to higher operating costs?
How much of the $4.4 million gap does the town expect grants such as the Road 62 money to cover?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Hastings Highlands?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
“The overall replacement cost of the asset categories included in this AMP totals $160.3 million.” “The Municipality’s average annual capital requirement totals $6.6 million… the Municipality is committing approximately $2.2 million towards capital projects or reserves per year. As a result, there is currently an annual funding gap of $4.4 million.” The target reinvestment rate is 4.1% against an actual 1.4%. A backlog of $6.8 million is assets still in use beyond their expected life.
2025 Asset Management Plan · section 1.3, page 7 of the PDF; section 3.2.2, page 28; section 3.2.6, page 33
The plan compared three paths: full funding in 15 years with tax increases of about 2.7% a year, 75% funding with about 1.8%, and 50% funding with about 0.7%. “The Municipality of Hastings Highlands selected Scenario 1 as their preferred path forward”, the plan says.
Municipal taxation in the approved budgets: $8,912,334 (2024), $9,442,658 (2025, up 5.95%) and $9,903,335 (2026, up 4.88%). The Roads Asset Management Capital Funding Program is $710,000 in 2025 and $880,000 in 2026 (up 23.94%). The 2026 budget moves $1,570,000 to reserves (2025: $1,470,000).
2025 and 2026 Approved Operating Budget Summaries · 2026 summary: page 1 (municipal taxation) and page 2 (roads asset management); 2025 summary (https://www.hastingshighlands.ca/media/tcchw255/approved-2025-operating-budget_summary.pdf): page 1; reserve transfers from the 2026 FIR summary (https://media-001-ca.cdn.govstack.com/hastingshighlands-002-ca/media/0pvffleb/2026-approved-operating-budget-fir-summary.pdf), page 1
For context, the town’s cash was $5,613,253 at the end of 2025, long-term debt $106,192 and the $1,000,000 line of credit had no balance. Total reserves were $5,557,827.
A council member who has a money interest in a matter, directly or through a family member, must say so, leave the room and not vote. Hastings Highlands keeps a public list of these declarations. It has 28 entries from January 18, 2023 to September 16, 2026, 25 of them by council members. The Mayor made four, each about a relative: March 1, 2023 (a transfer of part of a road to the town from land owned by a relative), May 3, 2023 (a rezoning application for a relative), June 28, 2023 (a road transfer and development agreement with a relative) and April 15, 2026 (the Highway 62 design contract, because a relative works for a bidder). In the one 2026 case we could check, the minutes show the Mayor left the room for the vote. The list shows the rules were followed. It does not show what the town decided in the 2023 matters or on what terms.
Why it matters
Declaring an interest and stepping out is exactly what the law asks, and the public list makes it visible. Because the town’s decisions about roads and land can be worth a lot, residents can fairly ask what the decisions were and whether staff and council double-check them when family is involved.
It could be because…
In a small rural municipality, relatives of council members commonly own land or work for local firms, so declarations come up often.
The Mayor declared each time, which is what the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act requires.
A road transfer to the town can benefit the town (a road it can maintain or hold for the public) as well as the owner.
Questions you could ask
What did council decide in the March 1, May 3 and June 28, 2023 items, and are the road transfer and development agreements public?
When a member declares an interest in a procurement, does the town ask the bidders about links to council before awarding?
Does the town remind members each year that they can ask the Integrity Commissioner for advice before a vote?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Hastings Highlands?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
Public registry entries for the Mayor: March 1, 2023, Regular Meeting of Council, Planning, item 15 a) vi), a road transfer, indirect (“The transfer of part of Hillsview Rd to the Municipality is from the land owned by my brother”); May 3, 2023, item 15 a) i), “Amend Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw”, direct (“This re-zoning application is for my son”); June 28, 2023, item 14 c) ix), “Transfer of Road and Development Agreement”, indirect (“Agreement is with my son”); April 15, 2026, item 15 b), “RFP for HH Road 62”, direct (a relative works for a company submitting bids). The list has 28 entries in all.
The draft minutes of April 15, 2026 record the declaration and that the Mayor “left Council Chambers at 9:07 a.m.” and returned at 9:19 a.m., after the vote on the Highway 62 design contract.
In 2019, Hastings Highlands had $2.5M more in cash and money owed to it than it owed to others. By 2025 it was −$1.1M. About 175% of that change ($6.4M) is a new accounting rule from 2023: towns must now record the future cost of closing things like a landfill. That is not new spending or borrowing. Even leaving that out, only 20 of 28 similar towns are in a weaker position.
Hastings Highlands went from having money in the bank to owing more than it has. What changed?
−$2.0M$0$2.0M$4.0M$6.0M
−$1.1M
2019202020212022202320242025
Show as a table
Year
Net financial position
2019
$2.5M
2020
$1.8M
2021
$2.7M
2022
$4.3M
2023
$2.8M
2024
−$1.3M
2025
−$1.1M
Why it matters
This number is one of the clearest signs of whether a town is living within its means. The accounting-rule part is a bill that will come due when the landfill closes, not money already spent. The rest is real borrowing and spending of savings.
It could be because…
A new accounting rule (asset retirement obligations, from 2023) added a large future cost to the books all at once.
Borrowing for a planned project, such as sewage lagoons, which is paid back over many years.
Questions you could ask
How does the town plan to pay the $6.4 million of closing costs now on its books, and over what years?
Without these closing costs, is the town’s position improving each year, and what is the plan to keep it from falling again?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Hastings Highlands?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
Net financial assets in the audited statements: $2,737,033 (2021), $4,302,042 (2022), $2,832,926 (2023), then net debt of $(1,316,619) in 2024 and $(1,149,002) in 2025. The statements are signed with a clean opinion (“present fairly”).
Consolidated Financial Statements, 2022, 2023 and 2025 · 2025 statements: statement of financial position, page 6 of the PDF; auditor’s report, pages 4 and 5. 2023 statements (media/ovpolhqx/hastings-highlands-2023-fs-final.pdf): page 6 and page 8. 2022 statements (media/vhwpjafd/municipality-of-hastings-highlands-2022-financial-statements.pdf): page 8
The $4,092,345 drop in 2024 is laid out in the statement of change in net debt: an annual deficit of $(966,369); $3,686,250 spent on capital assets against $2,545,850 of amortization; and $2,200,813 of landfill and other closing costs added to the cost of assets. The $1,255,800 revaluation of closed landfill sites was charged to the year, which is part of that deficit.
The asset retirement obligation (future closing costs for landfills, a building with asbestos, gravel pits and fuel tanks) was $2,805,830 at the start of 2024, $6,274,086 at the end of 2024 and $6,437,986 at the end of 2025. Net debt at the end of 2025 is $(1,149,002); the closing costs alone are larger than that. Without them net financial assets would be $5,288,984 (our arithmetic: $(1,149,002) + $6,437,986). The same year the town held $5,613,253 in cash and had $106,192 of long-term debt and no balance on its line of credit.
Hastings Highlands spent about $526 per home on garbage, dump and recycling in 2025. The typical similar town spent $197. None of the 28 similar towns spent more.
Why it matters
Spending more than neighbours is not wrong by itself. It might buy better service. But it is the first place to look for costs that could be lower, such as contracts that were not competitively bid.
It could be because…
Geography: more roads, more snow, a bigger area or a landfill of its own.
Accounting: some towns record the same cost in a different category.
A one-time cost in this year.
Questions you could ask
After the move of recycling to producers, what does the town expect garbage, dump and recycling to cost per home in 2027?
Has council ever costed running fewer than nine sites, and what would closing a site save?
What share of the 2026 waste disposal budget of $928,745 is staff, engineering and monitoring, trucking and equipment?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Hastings Highlands?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
Garbage, dump and recycling per home: Hastings Highlands $526; typical similar town $197; ranked 1st highest of 29.
The town runs nine waste sites and says: “We do not offer curbside collection, so you’ll need to dispose of your waste at one of the nine sites.” Six sites are open and three are closed but still being monitored.
In the Province’s return for 2025, waste disposal cost $734,259 and waste diversion (recycling) $320,234, together $1,054,493, or $526 per home against $197 for the typical similar town. The waste disposal line includes $160,600 of yearly growth in the future landfill closing cost (accretion), which is an accounting charge and not cash paid that year. Leaving it out, the cost is $893,893, or $446 per home (our arithmetic).
The town’s explanation of recycling: since the Province moved blue box costs to producers, Hastings Highlands “transitioned on January 1, 2024” and, during the transition, ran its own depots and hauling while the producers’ organization paid it. For 2026 and later the producers’ organization offers a standard agreement paying “$20,000 per month which equates to $240,000 annually to cover the residential depot operation costs”. The town’s 2026 budget cuts recycling spending from $330,000 to $134,000 (“Adjustment for Full Producer Responsibility”) and expects $205,000 less in recycling revenue. Waste diversion funding received was $469,657 in 2025 and $519,562 in 2024.
The approved 2026 budget for waste disposal is $928,745, up from $854,220 (8.72%), and for recycling $134,000, down from $330,000. In 2024 the environmental services cost in the audited statements was $3,008,801 (2025: $1,198,811), because the year included a $1,255,800 one-time increase in the estimated cost of closing already-closed landfills.
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