Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Moonbeam's budget, taxes and council decisions. A township of about 1,200 people in northeastern Ontario, with a mayor and four councillors. Every figure links back to the public record.
Follow Moonbeam 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.
+90%parks, arena and library, 2019 to 2024
Moonbeam spent $400K on parks, arena and library in 2019 and $761K in 2024. Prices only went up about 18% in that time. Only 4 of 48 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$524Kowed in unpaid property tax, end of 2024
At the end of 2024, $524K of property tax had been billed but not paid. That is 17% of everything billed. Only 9 of 48 similar towns had a higher share. A year earlier it was $416K.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
nilcarrying value of asset retirement obligations at December 31, 2024, and the auditor could not confirm it
Some things a town owns must be cleaned up or safely taken apart one day, such as landfill sites, buildings with asbestos and monitoring wells. Accounting rules call these asset retirement obligations. The town's books show the cost as nil. The auditor says it could not get enough evidence to say whether nil is right, so it gave a "qualified" opinion on the 2024 statements. It gave the same kind of opinion on the 2023 statements. A qualified opinion means the statements are fair except for one named problem.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$176,392Moonbeam's 6% share of the landfill board's closure obligation at December 31, 2024, not counted in the statements
Moonbeam and the Town of Kapuskasing run one landfill through a shared board. At December 31, 2024 the board owed $2,939,872 for closing the site and looking after it afterwards. The statements say Moonbeam's share at 6% is $176,392 and that this is not in Moonbeam's own statements. The board expects the site to be full around 2035. The town has set aside $132,558 in a landfill reserve.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$2,268,654cash at December 31, 2024, down from $5,279,695 a year earlier
Cash fell from $5,279,695 at the end of 2023 to $2,268,654 at the end of 2024. The town spent $3,749,873 on buying and building assets, and most of it ($2,866,454) went to projects not yet finished. The reserve set aside for the community hub project fell from $1,630,295 to $148,925. At the same time the town was owed $1,167,260 by the Province and $591,050 by the federal government. The town has an unused line of credit of $400,000.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$39,000budgeted for Municipal Council "operations" in 2026, against $6,000 in the 2025 column
The 2026 budget book shows the Municipal Council line at $128,683, up from $87,346 for 2025. Of that, $89,683 is listed as elected officials' compensation (2025: $81,346) and $39,000 as "operations" (2025: $6,000). The book does not say what the operations line pays for. This is a total for the whole council, not for any one member.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$197,000planning "operations" budgeted for 2026
The 2026 budget has $197,000 on the "operations" line for planning (2025: $207,500), more than half (worked out by us) of the planning budget of $325,822. The book says the planning and development increase is "mainly due to higher legal and professional fees". In the 2024 statements the town listed commitments to an outside planning firm: $141,760 for an official plan and zoning review, with $86,719 left to pay, and $27,570 for a commercial improvement plan with $8,704 left.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$74,673allowance for doubtful accounts at December 31, 2023, shown as nil at December 31, 2024
An allowance for doubtful accounts is money a town sets aside because some bills will not be paid. At December 31, 2023 the town had an allowance of $74,673 against taxes receivable. At December 31, 2024 it shows "-". Taxes from prior years, with penalties and interest, were $330,864 (2023: $317,628). The notes do not explain the change.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
+61%running the town office, 2019 to 2024
Moonbeam spent $509K on running the town office in 2019 and $817K in 2024. Prices only went up about 18% in that time. Only 9 of 48 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$4,712,340total 2025 expenses as adopted, against $4,745,884 and $4,788,804 shown for 2025 in the 2026 book
The 2025 budget Council adopted on May 8, 2025 shows total expenses of $4,712,340. The 2026 budget book, in its overview table, shows the 2025 column as $4,745,884. In its detailed schedule, the same book shows the 2025 budget as $4,788,804. The 2026 book explains some of the differences by moving costs between departments, but a move between departments should not change the total.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
November 6, 2025date of the auditor's report on the 2024 statements
The 2023 statements are dated October 23, 2024 and the auditor's report on the 2024 statements is dated November 6, 2025, about ten months after the year ended. Budgets are adopted well into the year they cover: the 2024 budget on June 6, 2024, the 2025 budget on May 8, 2025 and the 2026 budget on May 7, 2026. When we read the town's finance page on October 7, 2026 the 2024 statements were the newest posted.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
2024 tax year · Moonbeam, Ontario
Enter your home's assessed value to see roughly what you pay in property tax each year, who gets it, and what Moonbeam'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 Moonbeam.
a year in property tax, at 2024 rates
Moonbeam council sets only its own share. the Province sets the school rate.
An estimate. It uses the residential tax rate, and splits Moonbeam'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.
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 Moonbeam's council · Council Books is free and paid for by readers: support this work.