Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Markstay-Warren's budget, taxes and council decisions. A municipality in the Sudbury District of northeastern Ontario made up of the villages of Markstay and Warren, with a mayor and four councillors. Every figure links back to the public record.
Follow Markstay-Warren in one tapWhere it goes
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.
$365per home on council, 2022
Markstay-Warren spent about $365 per home on council in 2022. The typical similar town spent $78. Only 1 of 27 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
3 yearsof financial statements (2023, 2024, 2025) presented on May 14, 2026
An audit is an outside accountant's check of a town's yearly books. The Municipality's own notice says its auditor, KPMG, presented the 2023, 2024 and 2025 draft financial statements together at a Special Council Meeting on May 14, 2026. The budget presentation says audit fees rose in 2026 "for the completion of the 2024 and 2025 Audit". The Municipality also asked for bids for a new external auditor on March 25, 2026. The provincial return data on this site for Markstay-Warren stops at 2022. We did not find the audited statements on the Municipality's website.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
11.56%of the 2026 budget goes to shared local boards, which the town says it cannot control
Local boards are shared services that other bodies run and the town pays for through the tax levy: policing, public health, ambulance and planning. The Municipality says local boards are 11.56% of the 2026 budget. Its budget presentation says that public health funding "was unintentionally omitted in 2025" and that this "recurring annual expense will now be included". A new Sudbury East OPP Detachment Board line of $8,000 is also added, and the policing line falls from $479,955 to $455,030.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$3,040,000yearly funding gap in the 2024 asset management plan, against a $97,935 reserve contribution in the 2026 budget
An asset management plan sets out what it costs to keep roads, bridges, water pipes and buildings in good repair. The Municipality's 2024 plan says the average yearly cost to renew its assets is $3,667,000. It says the Municipality puts aside about $503,000 a year, leaving a gap of $3,040,000 a year. The plan's own figures do not add up: $3,667,000 less $503,000 is $3,164,000, not $3,040,000. The plan recommends yearly tax increases of 2.5% for tax-funded assets, over 15 years, to close the gap. The 2026 budget has a 5% tax increase: 3% for operating and capital needs and 2% for asset management. The 2% goes to a reserve contribution of $97,935. Worked out by us, that is about 3% of the yearly gap.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
+81%water, sewers and garbage, 2019 to 2022
Markstay-Warren spent $588K on water, sewers and garbage in 2019 and $1.1M in 2022. Prices only went up about 11% in that time.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
$131,038rise in budgeted general government expenses, 2025 to 2026
General government is the budget for council, elections and the money set aside for later. Its expenses go from $209,298 in the 2025 budget to $340,336 in the 2026 budget, a rise of $131,038. The Municipality lists the causes: a new eSCRIBE subscription for agendas, minutes and livestreams, higher legal fees, a $97,935 contribution to an asset management reserve (2% of the tax levy) and $62,500 for a 2026 strategic plan paid 90% by FedNor, a federal agency. It also says election costs fall sharply. The Municipality does not print the 2025 amount for legal fees, the line that rose, in the pages we could read.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$206.5 million vs $128,152,000replacement value on the asset page (core assets, 2022) and in the 2024 plan (all assets)
The Municipality's asset management web page says its core assets (roads, bridges, water and sewer) have a total estimated replacement value of $206.5 million as of 2022. The 2024 asset management plan says the replacement cost of every asset category it covers, core and non-core together, is $128,152,000. A narrower list is worth more on one page than a wider list on the other.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$6,400.08reported commissioner costs for 2025 ($2,076.50 for advice plus $4,323.58 for complaints, worked out by us)
An integrity commissioner is an independent person who looks into complaints that a member of council broke the code of conduct. The 2025 annual report from the Municipality's commissioner says there were three complaints. Two led to reports to Council and the third was dismissed. It also reports five requests for advice, and costs of $2,076.50 for advice and $4,323.58 for complaints. We did not find the two reports to Council on the Integrity Commissioner page, which links only the annual report.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 1 source
$498per home on snow ploughing, 2022
Markstay-Warren spent about $498 per home on snow ploughing in 2022. The typical similar town spent $137. None of the 27 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
2022 tax year · Markstay-Warren, Ontario
Enter your home's assessed value to see roughly what you pay in property tax each year, who gets it, and what Markstay-Warren'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 Markstay-Warren.
a year in property tax, at 2022 rates
Markstay-Warren council sets only its own share. the Province sets the school rate.
An estimate. It uses the residential tax rate, and splits Markstay-Warren's share by what each service cost in 2022 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.
Local businesses can sponsor this page · How it works →
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.
Council meetings are open to the public, and councillors answer to you. How to reach Markstay-Warren's council · Council Books is free and paid for by readers: support this work.