Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Mississippi Mills' budget, taxes and council decisions. A municipality in Lanark County, west of Ottawa, made up of the Almonte, Ramsay and Pakenham wards, with a mayor, a deputy mayor and five councillors. Every figure links back to the public record.
Follow Mississippi Mills 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.
+119%running the town office, 2019 to 2024
Mississippi Mills spent $1.6M on running the town office in 2019 and $3.5M in 2024. Prices only went up about 18% in that time. Only 1 of 79 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$8,956,525of bank financing in the 2026 budget, against $4,038,823 in the 2025 budget
The biggest project in the 2026 budget is the new childcare centre at 111 Menzie Street in Almonte. The budget plans $8,956,525 of bank financing across all 2026 projects, more than double the $4,038,823 planned for 2025. The audited statements say the centre will be paid for from grants, long-term debt and reserves, but neither document says how much of the centre is borrowed.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 6 sources
$(978,581)net financial assets (debt) at the end of 2024, down from $2,914,588 a year earlier
At the end of 2023 the Municipality owned more in financial assets (cash, investments, money owed to it) than it owed, by $2,914,588. At the end of 2024 it owed more than it held, by $978,581. Savings in reserves (money set aside for later) fell from $19,515,973 to $17,947,598, and the 2026 budget plans to take $8,120,936 from reserves, against $3,503,307 in the 2025 budget.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 7 sources
$985,826of building permit fees budgeted for 2026, against $342,688 collected in 2024
The building department is paid for by its own fees, not by property taxes. The 2026 budget expects $985,826 from building permits. That is 56.8% more than the 2025 budget ($628,548, a percentage the budget prints) and nearly three times (worked out by us) the $342,688 actually collected in 2024. In 2023 and 2024 the department also took money from its reserve to cover costs. The 2026 budget plans no reserve transfer.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$62,178spent on building department legal fees in 2024, against $6,097 budgeted for 2025
The building department's legal fees were $62,178 in 2024, compared with $10,238 in 2023 and $13,760 in 2022. The 2025 budget set aside $6,097 and the 2026 budget sets aside $6,249. The budget book does not say what the 2024 legal work was.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 1 source
$1,186typical yearly water and wastewater bill proposed for 2026, up from about $1,076 at 2025 rates
The town's rate study, dated June 16, 2025, proposes that the typical home's water and wastewater bill rise from about $1,076 to $1,186 in 2026, and then by 10.4% to 11.1% a year. The 2026 budget counts on $5,086,775 of water bill revenue, compared with $4,332,776 actually collected in 2024 (a rise of about 17%, worked out by us).
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$3,264per home on long-term debt, 2024
Mississippi Mills spent about $3,264 per home on long-term debt in 2024. The typical similar town spent $1,237. Only 8 of 79 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
10.92%increase in the 2026 police budget, to $2,242,394
Mississippi Mills pays the Ontario Provincial Police under a contract. The 2026 budget raises the police budget by 10.92% to $2,242,394. The town explains the increase: a 2024 repeal of a provincial law that capped public-sector wages, and a one-time $339,441 of provincial relief in 2025.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$3,731,720spent on social and family services in 2024, against a budget of $3,328,698
In the audited 2024 statements, general government spent $3,621,445 against a budget of $3,335,373. Protection to persons and property spent $4,831,018 against $4,342,968. Social and family services spent $3,731,720 against $3,328,698. That is about 8.6%, 11.2% and 12.1% over (worked out by us). Total expenses were $28,924,513 against $28,497,542, close to budget overall.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$150,000difference between two 2026 budget totals in the same book (worked out by us)
The 2026 budget book's summary table (Schedule A) gives total revenue and total expenditures of $55,845,738. The Revenues section of the same book says revenue sources for 2026 are budgeted at $55,995,738, which is $150,000 more.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
2024 tax year · Mississippi Mills, Ontario
Enter your home's assessed value to see roughly what you pay in property tax each year, who gets it, and what Mississippi Mills'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 Mississippi Mills.
a year in property tax, at 2024 rates
Mississippi Mills council sets only its own share. County or region sets its share, the Province sets the school rate.
An estimate. It uses the residential tax rate, and splits Mississippi Mills's share by what each service cost in 2024 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.
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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.
Council meetings are open to the public, and councillors answer to you. How to reach Mississippi Mills' council · Council Books is free and paid for by readers: support this work.