Council BooksHead, Clara and MariaOntarioSign inSubscribe
Not the full picture. Built from public records, which leave things out.Older reportDetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date.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
An older report. We have no 2024 report for Head, Clara and Maria in the Province's latest release, so these pages use its 2023 report. It may simply be filed late.
Read by hand. We read Head, Clara and Maria'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.
Ontario / Head, Clara and MariaUpdated Oct 13, 2026

Your town, in plain words

How Head, Clara and Maria uses the money we share.

A clear, checkable guide to Head, Clara and Maria's budget, taxes and council decisions. A small township on the Ottawa River in Renfrew County (Stonecliffe), with a mayor and four councillors. Every figure links back to the public record.

Your typical 2023 property tax bill$1,129on a $150K home28% Town52% County20% SchoolsSee your tax bill explained →
Town spending, 2023$905KAbout $2,556 per household, up 23.5% from 2022.See the money →
Property tax change−0.1%Head, Clara and Maria's own property tax came to $624K in 2023, against $625K in 2022.What changed →

Where it goes

Most of every dollar supports the everyday town.

Explore every service →
Running the town office$343K · 38%
Roads and snow$223K · 25%
Water, sewers and garbage$172K · 19%
Police, fire and safety$121K · 13%
Show all 5 servicesShow fewer
Parks, arena and library$45,507 · 5%

Day-to-day spending in 2023, from Head, Clara and Maria's report to the Province.

Where it comes fromWho pays for Head, Clara and Maria's services?Property taxes60%Grants for specific projects16%Other10%Money from Ontario (no strings)7%Smaller sources8%$1.0M came in during 2023.See the money →

Questions worth asking

A closer look at the numbers.

Each one is a question, not an accusation. Every one lists ordinary reasons it could be true, and the documents it comes from.

All 9 questions
Worth askingMoney health

Why is the adopted 2026 municipal tax levy of $600,194 higher than every option Council was shown in May 2026?

$600,194adopted 2026 general municipal taxation, against $574,097 in the 10% draft option

The levy is the part of the budget paid by property taxes. A draft budget table in the May 21, 2026 agenda package showed five choices for the levy: 0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% and 10%, from $521,906 up to $574,097 for "General Municipal Taxation". At 10% the draft still needed $30,092 moved in from reserves (savings set aside) to balance. The budget bylaw, dated June 18, 2026, shows general municipal taxation of $600,194 and no matching reserve line. That is 15.0% above the 0% column (worked out by us), and $26,097 above the 10% column (worked out by us). We did not find a report that explains the choice.

Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources

Worth askingMoney health

How will the Township pay for $3,124,000 of expected landfill closure costs when it has reserved $243,260?

$3,124,000expected total landfill closure and care costs at the end of 2022, with $243,260 reserved

The Townships run three landfill sites (garbage dumps) and must pay to close them and look after them afterwards. The 2022 audited statements show a liability (a debt the Township owes in the future) of $421,000 "to date", against expected total costs of $3,124,000. The remaining $2,703,000 has not yet been counted as a cost. Most of it, $2,353,000, is for the Bisset Creek site, which is given 65 years of remaining life. The statements say the Townships "have reserved $243,260" for these costs. The 2026 budget carries $55,500 for site maintenance and monitoring and a $75,000 capital project for waste management.

Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources

Worth askingMoney health

How much will be left in reserves after the 2026 budget takes $339,020 from them?

$339,020planned transfers from reserves in the 2026 budget (worked out by us)

A reserve is money set aside for a named purpose. The adopted 2026 budget pays for part of its capital projects with three transfers from reserves: $150,000, $114,020 and $75,000, together $339,020 (worked out by us). The newest reserve balance we could read is from the 2022 audited statements: "Internally restricted reserves" of $1,373,561, with cash of $1,473,531. We could not find the balance since then.

Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources

Worth askingOpenness

Why do the Township's finance pages stop at 2022 for audited statements and 2019 for council pay?

2022newest year of audited statements posted on the Township's website

On October 13, 2026 the Financial Statements page listed 2022 as the newest audited statements. The Annual Council Expense Reports page listed only 2018 and 2019. The Budget page listed one file, a 2022 proposed budget. Yet newer documents exist: the March 24, 2026 Council agenda package carries the 2025 council pay statement, and the June 18, 2026 package carries the adopted 2026 budget. We did not find audited statements for 2023, 2024 or 2025 anywhere we looked.

Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources

Show 5 more questionsShow fewer
Worth askingRising costs

Why did the cost of water, sewers and garbage grow 142% in 4 years?

+142%water, sewers and garbage, 2019 to 2023

Head, Clara and Maria spent $71,055 on water, sewers and garbage in 2019 and $172K in 2023. Prices only went up about 16% in that time.

Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources

Good to knowRising costs

Why did total council pay and expenses rise from $26,246.66 in 2019 to $45,317.70 in 2025, and what were the "2024 shortfalls"?

$45,317.70paid to Council in 2025 (honorariums and expenses), against $26,246.66 in 2019

The only council pay statements we could compare are for 2019 and 2025. The 2019 report to Council gives $26,246.66 for honorariums and expenses together, against $21,774.75 in 2018. The 2025 statement shows honorariums of $44,796.40 and expenses of $521.30, for a total of $45,317.70, a rise of 72.7% on 2019 (worked out by us). A footnote says the honorariums "also include 2024 shortfalls per Council working session March 20, 2025". We could not tell from the papers what the shortfalls were.

Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources

Good to knowHow decisions are made

How will the Township keep track of the work Council members do as volunteers under its new volunteer policy?

Aug. 8, 2026date the volunteer policy was on the Council agenda to be adopted

The August 8, 2026 Council agenda proposed Bylaw 2026-14, which adopts a Municipal Volunteer Engagement Policy. The policy says Council members who volunteer "must report to designated municipal staff and not act independently", must declare conflicts of interest, and must be supervised like any other volunteer. Staff are to give Council a yearly report on the number of volunteers and hours. The bylaw makes staff keep a register of approved volunteers. But the policy also says that when Council members take part in "collaborative governance activities" approved by Council or asked for by staff, they need no application or forms, and that these activities count as part of their official duties. The package we read is the agenda, so we do not know the vote.

Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources

Good to knowRecord-keeping

Why does the 2026 tax rates schedule show $691,510 of municipal taxation when the budget shows a levy of $600,194?

$691,510municipal ("Lower General") taxation on the 2026 tax rates schedule

Bylaw 2026-10 sets the 2026 tax rates. Its schedule, printed from the Province's tax-rate tool on June 9, 2026, shows total taxation for "Lower General" (the Township's own share, as opposed to the county and schools) of 691,510. The adopted budget shows "General Municipal Taxation" of 600,194 and "Payment In Lieu/Hydro Dam" of 196,816. The numbers are not the same measure, so the gap is not an error by itself. The papers do not show how they connect.

Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources

Good to knowMoney health

Why did government transfers come in $114,700 under budget in 2022 while "Other" revenue ran $58,380 over?

$114,700government transfers below budget in 2022 (worked out by us)

In 2022 the Township budgeted $325,683 in transfers from the Province and others and received $210,983, a shortfall of $114,700 (worked out by us). "Other" revenue was budgeted at $40,000 and came in at $98,380. Spending also came in under budget: expenses were $783,665 against $851,984 budgeted, and capital purchases were $194,683 against $341,550 budgeted. The year ended with an excess of revenue over expenses of $195,605 against a budgeted $162,529. The statements explain the capital gap: budgets for capital projects are set project by project and may be carried out over more than one year. They do not explain "Other".

Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources

2023 tax year · Head, Clara and Maria, 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 Head, Clara and Maria'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 Head, Clara and Maria.

Source

a year in property tax, at 2023 rates

  • Head, Clara and Maria
  • County or region
  • Schools

Head, Clara and Maria council sets only its own share. County or region sets its share, the Province sets the school rate.

See what your Head, Clara and Maria share pays forHide the breakdown

Roughly what your Head, Clara and Maria share pays for

Source
  • Running the town office
  • Roads and snow
  • Police, fire and safety
  • Water, sewers and garbage
  • Parks, arena and library

An estimate. It uses the residential tax rate, and splits Head, Clara and Maria's share by what each service cost in 2023 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.

  • Every fact, sourced

    Each number links to the public document it came from. Check it yourself.

  • No accusations

    We ask questions. Every one lists ordinary reasons a number could look odd.

  • Compared fairly

    Towns are only compared with places of a similar size and kind, from the same yearly reports.

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