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 2022 for Madoc, and 2022 for 29 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. Township of Madoc, budget documents

   Township of Madoc · retrieved 2026-10-01

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

3. Corporation of the Township of Madoc, Financial Statements, December 31, 2022

   Township of Madoc (auditor: Baker Tilly KDN LLP) · retrieved 2026-10-07

   Audited statements for 2022 with 2021 comparison figures. Clean opinion, auditor's report dated June 5, 2024. 23 PDF pages.

4. Corporation of the Township of Madoc, Financial Statements, December 31, 2021

   Township of Madoc (auditor: Baker Tilly KDN LLP) · retrieved 2026-10-07

   Audited statements for 2021. Clean opinion, auditor's report dated March 1, 2024. 24 PDF pages.

5. Madoc Township 2026 Budget (Preliminary #3 - Mar 19, 2026)

   Township of Madoc · retrieved 2026-10-07

   Operating and capital budget lines, 2025 and 2026 columns. 17 PDF pages.

6. 2026 Budget Notes

   Township of Madoc · retrieved 2026-10-07

   Staff notes and council decisions behind the 2026 budget, from November 7, 2025 on. 11 PDF pages.

7. By-Law 1800-2026 (estimates and tax levy), Schedule A and Schedule B

   Township of Madoc · retrieved 2026-10-07

   The by-law (Word file), its Schedule A of 2026 tax rates (Word file) and Schedule B, a one-page year-over-year comparison of tax rates (PDF).

8. Media release: Madoc Township Council Addresses Financial Reporting Concerns, September 10, 2026

   Township of Madoc · retrieved 2026-10-07

   One-page release on the financial reporting backlog and provincial funding.

9. Council minutes, July 8, 2026

   Township of Madoc · retrieved 2026-10-07

   Minutes, 9 PDF pages. Includes the motion accepting the 2023 audited statements.

10. Regular Council agenda package, October 7, 2026

    Township of Madoc · retrieved 2026-10-07

    104 PDF pages: the agenda and attached reports and minutes, including the August 5, 2026 minutes.

11. Regular Council agenda, September 2, 2026

    Township of Madoc · retrieved 2026-10-07

    Agenda, 3 PDF pages.

12. Special Council agenda, September 24, 2026

    Township of Madoc · retrieved 2026-10-07

    Agenda, 6 PDF pages, with the propane tender report.

13. 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 2022 return, in 2022. This gives 29 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.