Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Magnetawan's budget, taxes and council decisions. A small municipality in the Almaguin Highlands of the District of Parry Sound, on the Magnetawan River, with a mayor, a deputy mayor and three councillors. Every figure links back to the public record.
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Questions worth asking
Each one is a question, not an accusation. Every one lists ordinary reasons it could be true, and the documents it comes from.
+134%roads and snow, 2019 to 2025
Magnetawan spent $1.6M on roads and snow in 2019 and $3.8M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time. Only 1 of 20 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$4,535,670spent on transportation services in 2025, against a budget of $3,458,927
The audited statements show the Municipality's transportation services (road maintenance, culverts, bridges, winter control and streetlights) cost $4,535,670 in 2025. The budget in the same statement was $3,458,927, and the year before the cost was $2,782,139. The statements say their budget figures were adjusted to match the way the statements are prepared, and the budget reconciliation lists amortization (the yearly wearing-out of assets) as part of that budget. Amortization for this service was $703,738 in 2025 and $682,964 in 2024, so it does not explain the gap. We did not find the Municipality's own explanation.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$(1,225,362)general surplus (deficit) at December 31, 2025, against $38,898 a year earlier
The statements split the Municipality's accumulated surplus into pieces. The part called the general surplus was $38,898 at the end of 2024 and $(1,225,362) at the end of 2025, a deficit. The statements show the main reason: $(2,318,011) for the net change in tangible capital assets (what was spent on buildings, roads and equipment beyond the money set aside for it). The Municipality's own budget planned to borrow $1,700,000 in 2025, but the only debt in the statements is a $130,000 loan that ends in December 2026. The reserve for asset management, money saved for replacing assets, fell from $4,289,959 to $2,876,197.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$3,870,998approximate contract for the new fire hall and a bridge, with about $2,958,700 left to complete at December 31, 2025
The audited statements say that during 2025 the Municipality entered a contract for the new fire hall and a bridge for approximately $3,870,998 plus taxes, with approximately $2,958,700 plus taxes still to be completed at December 31, 2025. The 2026 budget carries $2,780,189 on a fire department capital line, against $391,549 spent in 2025 on a line budgeted at $3,218,000. Over the year, cash fell from $3,312,067 to $2,008,841 and trade payables (bills owed to suppliers) rose from $92,101 to $1,303,364. A payment of $348,209.50 ("Draw #8") to the builder is on the October 7, 2026 list of accounts. We did not find a published total project budget or a report that shows total cost so far.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$2,853,537estimated landfill closure and after-care cost at December 31, 2025, up from $2,545,923
The statements record a legal duty to close and look after the Municipality's landfill sites, called an asset retirement obligation. The landfill part of it grew from $2,545,923 to $2,853,537 in 2025, and the whole obligation from $2,749,760 to $3,057,374, partly through a remeasurement adjustment of $231,236. The statements list reserves for waste disposal ($324,618) and landfill rehabilitation ($638,710). These are the only waste or landfill reserves named in the statements. The statements do not say how the rest will be paid.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
+89%parks, arena and library, 2019 to 2025
Magnetawan spent $532K on parks, arena and library in 2019 and $1.0M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time. Only 3 of 20 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$947Kowed in unpaid property tax, end of 2025
At the end of 2025, $947K of property tax had been billed but not paid. That is 12% of everything billed. Only 4 of 20 similar towns had a higher share. A year earlier it was $861K.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
The auditor signed the 2024 statements on June 25, 2025 and the 2025 statements on August 19, 2026. Both opinions are clean ("present fairly"). We did not find a reason for the later date in the documents we read.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$900,186net financial assets at December 31, 2025, down from $3,340,994 (budget: $(824,356))
Net financial assets are what the Municipality owns in cash, investments and amounts owed to it, minus what it owes. They fell by $2,440,808 in 2025, mainly because of capital spending of $2,986,308. The budget in the same statement planned a bigger fall, to $(824,356), a net debt. So the result was better than planned. We include it as context for the fire hall questions above.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 1 source
A property tax bill in Magnetawan pays for the town and schools. Only part of it goes to the town, and that part is what Magnetawan council controls.
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Each number links to the public document it came from. Check it yourself.
We ask questions. Every one lists ordinary reasons a number could look odd.
Towns are only compared with places of a similar size and kind, from the same yearly reports.
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