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by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date.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 Madawaska Valley'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 Madawaska Valley's financial reports and meeting minutes, and compared its numbers with 30 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.
$916,1052025 OPP billing amount reapplied as a separate tax rate in 2026
In March 2025 council set the general tax levy at $3,947,872 and charged the cost of Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) policing as a flat "area rate" of $211.91 on every tax bill (every property roll), instead of spreading it by property value. In March 2026 council passed a by-law to reverse that $211.91 as a credit and to reapply the 2025 OPP amount of $916,105 as a separate tax rate. The Township's 2026 budget presentation calls this a one-time step and points residents to a staff report and the February 18, 2026 council meeting video. We did not read that report or watch the video.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$1,387,958landfill estimate adjustment recorded as 2025 revenue (not cash)
The 2025 budget planned a deficit of $1,366,339. The audited result is a surplus of $145,641. The statements include a line "Asset retirement obligation adjustment" of $1,387,958 in revenue. This is a bookkeeping entry, not cash: the Township reduced its estimate of the future cost of closing and looking after its landfill sites (the "asset retirement obligation") from $2,884,664 to $1,496,705. Without that entry the 2025 result would have been a deficit of $1,242,317 (worked out by us). The Township's own note calls it a "change of estimate", and says it holds $1,134,336 in reserves for landfill closure.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$2,047,939moved from reserves to operations in 2025 (2024: $342,542)
Reserves are savings set aside for later costs. The schedule of reserves shows $2,047,939 moved "To operations" in 2025 (2024: $342,542), and total reserves fell by $1,188,511 to $7,243,615. The "Working funds" reserve alone fell from $2,167,393 to $964,897. The general operations schedule shows the 2025 budget planned a transfer from reserves of $407,040, and the actual was $1,102,946. The Township's note says it does not budget activity in reserves except for transactions that affect operations or capital.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$2,203,601owed to suppliers and others at the end of 2025 (2024: $755,420)
"Accounts payable and accrued liabilities" (bills owed but not yet paid) rose from $755,420 at the end of 2024 to $2,203,601 at the end of 2025. The cash flow statement shows the rise as a $1,448,181 increase. The statements say that at year end cash in bank was $(58,901), a negative balance, with investments of $7,416,306. We did not find a note explaining the rise.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$240,850planning and development spending in 2025, against a budget of $147,544
The schedule of general operations shows planning and development expenses of $240,850 in 2025 against a budget of $147,544, and $257,463 in 2024. The Township's 2026 budget presentation shows the 2025 actual for the same department as $174,505, with the same $147,544 budget. The consolidated statement shows $262,437. We did not find a note that explains why the three totals differ. This department owns no capital assets in the schedule of tangible capital assets, so amortization (the yearly write-down of buildings and equipment, which budgets often leave out) does not explain the gap.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$749,724less taxation revenue in 2025 than in 2024 (worked out by us)
The audited statements show "Taxation revenue" of $4,414,983 for 2025, against $5,164,707 for 2024. Within that, property taxes fell from $4,713,357 to $3,965,617. The Township's 2026 budget presentation, in a different table, shows "Taxation Required" for 2025 of $4,985,982 as the actual figure. The two documents use different labels and we could not match them to each other. The gap between them is $570,999 (worked out by us), and the fall from 2024 is $749,724 (worked out by us).
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
The same audit firm signed the Township's consolidated statements on three different dates: August 7, 2024 for 2023, September 29, 2025 for 2024, and June 16, 2026 for 2025. The Library Board's statements were signed earlier in the 2023 and 2024 cycles (May 27, 2024 and March 31, 2025) and on the same day as the Township's in 2025. All three opinions on the consolidated statements say the statements present fairly. We did not find the Township saying why the 2024 audit finished later than the others.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
The auditor gives a "qualified opinion" on the Public Library Board's statements, meaning the statements are fair except for one stated matter. The Library Board spends its book and equipment purchases in the year it buys them instead of listing them as assets that are written down over time, which the accounting standards for governments do not allow. The auditor says expenses would be $20,326 lower in 2025 if they were listed as assets (2024: $19,774, 2023: $17,365). The amount is small. The Township's own consolidated statements, which include the Library Board, carry a clean opinion.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$916,1052025 OPP billing amount reapplied as a separate tax rate in 2026
In March 2025 council set the general tax levy at $3,947,872 and charged the cost of Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) policing as a flat "area rate" of $211.91 on every tax bill (every property roll), instead of spreading it by property value. In March 2026 council passed a by-law to reverse that $211.91 as a credit and to reapply the 2025 OPP amount of $916,105 as a separate tax rate. The Township's 2026 budget presentation calls this a one-time step and points residents to a staff report and the February 18, 2026 council meeting video. We did not read that report or watch the video.
Why it matters
A flat charge per property and a charge by property value fall differently: a low-value property pays the same flat amount as a high-value one, but pays less under a value-based rate. Anyone who owns property may want to know who pays more or less after the change, and why it was needed.
It could be because…
The reversal may simply correct how the policing cost was billed.
Billing it as a rate on property value may be simply fairer to owners of lower-value properties.
Staff may have explained all of this in the report the Township's presentation refers to, which we did not read.
Questions you could ask
Why was the 2025 area rate reversed, and what did the staff report say?
How much more or less does a typical home, a low-value property and a high-value property pay after the change?
Does the Township's 2025 audited revenue reflect the reversal, or does it show up in 2026?
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 Madawaska Valley?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
By-Law 2025-24, clause 2: council adopted "the sum of Three Million Nine Hundred Forty-Seven Thousand Eight Hundred and Seventy-Two Dollars ($3,947,872.00) as the levy requirement for municipal general purposes for the 2025 taxation year with the OPP Billing requiring an area rate applied to every tax roll in the amount of Two Hundred and Eleven Dollars and Ninety-One Cents ($211.91)." Adopted March 4, 2025.
By-Law 2026-33, clause 3: "THAT the 2025 OPP Billing Area Rate of $211.91 be reversed and applied as a credit and the 2025 OPP Billing amount of $916,105 be reapplied as a separate tax rate". The same by-law sets the 2026 levy at $5,111,264.00. Adopted March 17, 2026.
2026 budget presentation: "2025 OPP Levy will be reversed/credited in August billing and reapplied as its own separate tax rate this one time" and "See report on 2025 & 2026 OPP Billing Reversal on the municipal website or Youtube video of Regular Council Meeting of February 18, 2026". The tax billing slide (per $100,000 of residential assessment) shows the municipal tax for the 2025 tax year as $470.56, "+ $211.91 Levy" making $682.47, and $609.23 for the 2026 tax year. A slide on OPP costs shows "2025 cost = $916,105" and "2026 cost = $1,016,876".
$1,387,958landfill estimate adjustment recorded as 2025 revenue (not cash)
The 2025 budget planned a deficit of $1,366,339. The audited result is a surplus of $145,641. The statements include a line "Asset retirement obligation adjustment" of $1,387,958 in revenue. This is a bookkeeping entry, not cash: the Township reduced its estimate of the future cost of closing and looking after its landfill sites (the "asset retirement obligation") from $2,884,664 to $1,496,705. Without that entry the 2025 result would have been a deficit of $1,242,317 (worked out by us). The Township's own note calls it a "change of estimate", and says it holds $1,134,336 in reserves for landfill closure.
Why it matters
An estimate of costs 25 years away can move a lot with a few assumptions. When one such change decides whether the Township shows a surplus or a deficit, residents should know what changed and whether the Township is still setting aside enough for the Bark Lake landfill, which the statements say will fill up in 8 years.
It could be because…
The estimate may have been updated because of a new engineering study, a new discount rate or a changed closing plan, which is the normal way these figures are meant to work.
The Township's note says costs are discounted at its average long-term borrowing rate, net of estimated inflation, so a change in that rate alone could move the total.
The same estimate rose by $335,772 in 2024, so it moves both ways.
Questions you could ask
What changed in the 2025 estimate, and was it based on an engineering report or a new rate?
Why did the undiscounted Bark Lake cost fall by $1,810,053 (worked out by us) in one year?
Is the $1,134,336 in landfill reserves on track to cover the $1,496,705 the Township now owes for closure?
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 Madawaska Valley?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
Statement of operations, 2025: total revenue $11,255,368 includes the line "Asset retirement obligation adjustment" 1,387,958 (2024: (335,771)). "Excess (deficiency) of revenue over expenses": 2025 budget $(1,366,339), 2025 actual $145,641, 2024 actual $(350,754).
Note 6: "Landfill closure and post closure costs" $2,884,664 (2024 $2,548,892); "Increase (decrease) in change of estimate" (1,387,959); end of year $1,496,705 (2024 $2,884,664). "There is currently $ 1,134,336 (2024 - $ 949,119) in reserves set aside for either closure or post closure activities."
Note 6, Bark Lake: "The landfill is expected to reach its capacity in 8 years"; "The total undiscounted future expenditures for closure and post closure care are $ 3,140,753 (2024 - $ 4,950,806)." The estimated length of post closure care is 25 years.
$2,047,939moved from reserves to operations in 2025 (2024: $342,542)
Reserves are savings set aside for later costs. The schedule of reserves shows $2,047,939 moved "To operations" in 2025 (2024: $342,542), and total reserves fell by $1,188,511 to $7,243,615. The "Working funds" reserve alone fell from $2,167,393 to $964,897. The general operations schedule shows the 2025 budget planned a transfer from reserves of $407,040, and the actual was $1,102,946. The Township's note says it does not budget activity in reserves except for transactions that affect operations or capital.
Why it matters
Using savings to cover running costs works once; it cannot be repeated for long. The Township's 2026 presentation says the 2026 budget "does not draw down on reserves to lower the tax rate", which makes it fair to ask what the 2025 draw paid for and whether it will recur.
It could be because…
Some of the draw may have paid for one-time or capital-related items, or covered a planned shortfall in the budget.
Working funds may be a holding account whose balance moves as projects are paid and refilled, rather than savings spent for good.
The note says only transactions affecting operations or capital are budgeted, so some of the gap may be a difference in how the budget and the books count the same money.
Questions you could ask
What did the $2,047,939 taken from reserves for operations in 2025 pay for?
Why did the Working funds reserve fall by $1,202,496 (worked out by us), and will it be refilled?
Why was the planned transfer from reserves $407,040 when the actual was $1,102,946?
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 Madawaska Valley?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
Schedule of reserves and reserve funds: "To operations" $(2,047,939) (2024 $(342,542)); "Change in reserves and reserve funds balance" $(1,188,511); reserves at the end of the year $7,243,615 (2024 $8,432,126). "Working funds" $964,897 (2024 $2,167,393).
Schedule of general operations: "Transfer from (to) reserves" 2025 budget 407,040, 2025 actual 1,102,946, 2024 actual (23,951). "Net transfers" budget $(253,684), actual $839,717.
Note 8: "the Township does not budget activity within reserves and reserve funds, with the exception being those transactions which affect either operations or capital investments."
$2,203,601owed to suppliers and others at the end of 2025 (2024: $755,420)
"Accounts payable and accrued liabilities" (bills owed but not yet paid) rose from $755,420 at the end of 2024 to $2,203,601 at the end of 2025. The cash flow statement shows the rise as a $1,448,181 increase. The statements say that at year end cash in bank was $(58,901), a negative balance, with investments of $7,416,306. We did not find a note explaining the rise.
Why it matters
Nearly tripling the amount owed in one year is large for a Township with about $9.4 million in financial assets. A plain explanation would show whether the bills are routine year-end invoices or something that will need cash soon.
It could be because…
Large capital invoices may have arrived just before year end and been paid in early 2026.
Amounts the Township collects for the County and school boards, or an OPP billing adjustment, may have been unpaid on December 31.
A negative cash-in-bank balance next to $7.4 million of investments may only mean cheques were written before investments were cashed.
Questions you could ask
What makes up the $2,203,601 owed at the end of 2025?
How much of it was paid in the first quarter of 2026?
Why was cash in bank negative at year end while the Township held $7,416,306 in investments?
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 Madawaska Valley?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
Consolidated statement of financial position: "Accounts payable and accrued liabilities" $2,203,601 (2024 $755,420). "Total financial assets" $9,435,757.
$240,850planning and development spending in 2025, against a budget of $147,544
The schedule of general operations shows planning and development expenses of $240,850 in 2025 against a budget of $147,544, and $257,463 in 2024. The Township's 2026 budget presentation shows the 2025 actual for the same department as $174,505, with the same $147,544 budget. The consolidated statement shows $262,437. We did not find a note that explains why the three totals differ. This department owns no capital assets in the schedule of tangible capital assets, so amortization (the yearly write-down of buildings and equipment, which budgets often leave out) does not explain the gap.
Why it matters
A budget that is lower than the last year's actual spending for the same service either expects savings or is set too low. If staff and council use one figure while the audited books use another, residents cannot tell what planning really costs.
It could be because…
The budget presentation may show only the department's own costs, while the statements spread some shared costs (such as office or staff time) into each function.
The 2025 budget may have been set before a known one-time cost, such as a planning study, was added.
The consolidated figure may include amounts from other parts of the Township that the general operations schedule leaves out.
Questions you could ask
Why does the 2025 planning and development total differ between the budget presentation ($174,505), the general operations schedule ($240,850) and the consolidated statement ($262,437)?
What was the 2025 planning budget of $147,544 based on, given 2024 spending of $257,463?
Is the 2026 budget of $144,880 expected to hold?
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 Madawaska Valley?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
Schedule of general operations, expenses: "Planning and development" 2025 budget 147,544, 2025 actual 240,850, 2024 actual 257,463.
Schedule of tangible capital assets by function lists General government, Protection services, Transportation services, Environmental services and Recreation services, with no row for planning and development.
$749,724less taxation revenue in 2025 than in 2024 (worked out by us)
The audited statements show "Taxation revenue" of $4,414,983 for 2025, against $5,164,707 for 2024. Within that, property taxes fell from $4,713,357 to $3,965,617. The Township's 2026 budget presentation, in a different table, shows "Taxation Required" for 2025 of $4,985,982 as the actual figure. The two documents use different labels and we could not match them to each other. The gap between them is $570,999 (worked out by us), and the fall from 2024 is $749,724 (worked out by us).
Why it matters
Tax revenue is the largest single source of money for the Township's services. A drop of this size, in a year when the general levy was $3,947,872 plus a policing area rate, is worth a plain explanation of what was counted where, so residents can see the real cost of running the Township.
It could be because…
The policing area rate (about $916,105 in 2025) may be recorded under another revenue heading in the statements, so the two figures are on different bases.
Some amounts the budget presentation calls taxation may be area rates for garbage or other services that the statements show as user charges.
The reversal of the 2025 policing area rate by by-law in March 2026 may have been recorded in the 2025 books.
Questions you could ask
Where in the 2025 statements is the revenue from the 2025 policing area rate?
What explains the difference between $4,414,983 in the statements and $4,985,982 in the budget summary?
Why did property taxes in the statements fall by $747,740 (worked out by us) from 2024?
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 Madawaska Valley?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
Statement of operations: "Taxation revenue (Note 17)" 2025 budget $4,070,183, 2025 actual $4,414,983, 2024 actual $5,164,707.
By-law 2025-24, section 2: Council adopts "the sum of Three Million Nine Hundred Forty-Seven Thousand Eight Hundred and Seventy-Two Dollars ($3,947,872.00) as the levy requirement for municipal general purposes for the 2025 taxation year with the OPP Billing requiring an area rate applied to every tax roll in the amount of Two Hundred and Eleven Dollars and Ninety-One Cents ($211.91)."
The same audit firm signed the Township's consolidated statements on three different dates: August 7, 2024 for 2023, September 29, 2025 for 2024, and June 16, 2026 for 2025. The Library Board's statements were signed earlier in the 2023 and 2024 cycles (May 27, 2024 and March 31, 2025) and on the same day as the Township's in 2025. All three opinions on the consolidated statements say the statements present fairly. We did not find the Township saying why the 2024 audit finished later than the others.
Why it matters
Audited statements are the Township's main report card. When they come out months after year end, residents and council have less time to react to what they show. A date alone is not a problem, and the 2025 date is earlier than the 2024 one.
It could be because…
A complex item in that year, such as the landfill closure estimate, may have taken extra audit time.
Staff changes or the timing of council meetings may have moved the signing date.
The Township may have published a council report explaining the delay in the meeting portal that we did not read.
Questions you could ask
Why did the 2024 audit finish on September 29, 2025?
What date does council aim for in approving each year's audited statements?
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 Madawaska Valley?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
Independent Auditor's Report on the 2023 consolidated statements: "present fairly, in all material respects"; signed "RENFREW, Ontario ... 7 August 2024".
Independent Auditor's Report on the 2024 consolidated statements: "present fairly, in all material respects"; signed "RENFREW, Ontario ... 29 September 2025".
Independent Auditor's Report on the 2025 consolidated statements: "present fairly, in all material respects"; signed "RENFREW, Ontario ... 16 June 2026".
The auditor gives a "qualified opinion" on the Public Library Board's statements, meaning the statements are fair except for one stated matter. The Library Board spends its book and equipment purchases in the year it buys them instead of listing them as assets that are written down over time, which the accounting standards for governments do not allow. The auditor says expenses would be $20,326 lower in 2025 if they were listed as assets (2024: $19,774, 2023: $17,365). The amount is small. The Township's own consolidated statements, which include the Library Board, carry a clean opinion.
Why it matters
A qualified opinion is a flag the auditor raises every time it is seen. This one is small and easy to fix, but it has repeated for three years, so residents may wonder whether anyone has been asked to correct it.
It could be because…
The amounts are small enough that the Library Board and the auditor may agree the cost of changing the books is not worth it.
Questions you could ask
Will the Library Board list its books and equipment as assets so the opinion can be unqualified?
Has council asked the Library Board about it?
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 Madawaska Valley?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
Library Board auditor's report, 2025: "Qualified Opinion". "The Library Board's tangible capital assets were expensed during the year ... the current year's expenses would have been reduced by $ 20,326 (2024 - $ 19,774)."
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