Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Merrickville-Wolford's budget, taxes and council decisions. A village in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, with a mayor and four councillors elected at large. 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.
+104%roads and snow, 2019 to 2025
Merrickville-Wolford spent $876K on roads and snow in 2019 and $1.8M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time. Only 1 of 29 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$655,181more expenses than the budget column, worked out by us ($7,549,966 against $6,894,785)
The audited 2025 statements show a budget column next to the actual results. Total expenses in the budget column are $6,894,785 and the actual total is $7,549,966, a gap of $655,181 (worked out by us). Amortization, the yearly wearing-out cost of buildings, roads and equipment, is in both columns and nearly equal ($1,231,175 budgeted, $1,218,198 actual), so it does not explain the gap. The largest gap is on the line for materials and services: $1,487,872 budgeted and $2,003,647 actual. The Village explains its operating result in Note 9: a deficit of $55,372 was paid from its working capital reserve. It says its budget figures were set up for capital and reserves on a project basis.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$71,155left in the Capital reserve at the end of 2025, down from $313,984
A reserve is money set aside for a later purpose. At the end of 2025 the reserve named Capital held $71,155, down from $313,984 a year earlier, and the Vehicle replacement reserve held $278,555, down from $379,062. The 2026 budget presentation lists a Fire Tanker at $672,000 and several road projects, and the Village's release on the adopted budget says a new fire pumper tanker is in the capital budget. The Village gives some of its funding: a grant covers most of the Wellington Street project, and the 2026 budget moves $800,000 into capital reserves. We did not find the plan that shows how each project is paid for.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$290,000in the Landfill reserve, against closure costs estimated at $2,880,000
The Village runs one landfill. Its audited statements say closing it and watching it for 25 years afterward will cost an estimated $2,880,000. The statements count $2,076,880 of that as owed so far, and a further $270,000 for removing asbestos from buildings, for a total liability of $2,346,880. The reserve set aside for the landfill holds $290,000 and did not change in 2025. The statements say these costs are "to be recovered from future taxation revenue and reserves".
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$356,739wages and benefits in protection services in 2025, up from $183,167 in 2024
Protection services covers fire, policing, by-law enforcement, building inspection and emergency measures. Its expenses were $1,205,774 in 2025 against $947,431 in 2024, and $1,116,915 in the budget column, so the rise is $258,343 on 2024 (worked out by us). Wages and benefits in this department went from $183,167 to $356,739. We did not find the Village's explanation in the documents we read.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$983Kowed in unpaid property tax, end of 2025
At the end of 2025, $983K of property tax had been billed but not paid. That is 14% of everything billed. Only 3 of 29 similar towns had a higher share. A year earlier it was $806K.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
$2,431per home on long-term debt, 2025
Merrickville-Wolford spent about $2,431 per home on long-term debt in 2025. The typical similar town spent $886. Only 4 of 29 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
$291,645water and sewer surplus in 2025 (2024: $163,845)
Water and sewer service is paid for by the people connected to it, not by property tax. In 2025 the system ended with a surplus of $291,645, after $163,845 in 2024, and the Village moved each into its water and sewer reserve, now $1,782,637. The Village has explained part of this: it said when it set the 2025 budget that rates had to rise 3% because the underground pipes are aging. The largest loan the Village carries, $2,617,534 for the wastewater treatment plant upgrades, falls mostly on benefiting landowners, according to the Village's notes. The Village's 2025 budget document also estimated the water and wastewater reserve at $1,106,697 on January 1, 2025, while the audited 2024 figure is $1,462,496.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$128,779less investment income in 2025 than in 2024, worked out by us
Investment income is interest the Village earns on its savings. It was $469,739 in 2024 and $340,960 in 2025, a drop of $128,779 (worked out by us). The 2025 budget column had $347,500. Cash at year end was $5,505,844, down from $5,948,924. The documents we read do not say why. Falling interest rates, or cash being spent on roads and equipment, would each lower the income.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
An Integrity Commissioner is an independent person who investigates complaints that a council member broke the council's own code of conduct. The Village lists reports from March 2024 on. Two of them found that Mayor Michael Cameron broke the Code. In March 2024, the Commissioner found that an email to staff was an attempt to influence staff, and recommended a reprimand. In January 2025, the Commissioner found that the Mayor did not treat another member of Council with the courtesy and respect the Code requires, and recommended a public apology and a reprimand. We read all the reports on the page and describe here only the findings that went against a member. We did not check what Council decided on either recommendation.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
Ontario's Municipal Act, section 284, requires the Treasurer to give Council a statement of what each member was paid for the previous year. The Village's Council Remuneration and Expenses page lists statements for 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2024 statement went to Council in a report dated March 24, 2025. When we read the page on October 7, 2026, we did not find a statement for 2025. The 2024 statement's table also prints names and amounts in separate blocks in the PDF, so we did not use any member's figures from it.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
A property tax bill in Merrickville-Wolford pays for three governments. Only part of it goes to the town, and that part is what Merrickville-Wolford council controls.
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We ask questions. Every one lists ordinary reasons a number could look odd.
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