Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to North Middlesex's budget, taxes and council decisions. A rural municipality in Middlesex County, Ontario, with its office in Parkhill, a mayor, a deputy mayor and five ward councillors. Every figure links back to the public record.
Follow North Middlesex 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.
$648per home on council, 2023
North Middlesex spent about $648 per home on council in 2023. The typical similar town spent $54. None of the 82 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
2022the newest audited year we found, with an auditor's report dated December 6, 2023
Audited statements are the town's yearly accounts, checked by an outside accountant. The newest ones posted on the Municipality's Budget & Finance page are for 2022, and that auditor's report is dated December 6, 2023. The 2026 budget, written in February 2026, still labels its 2023 and 2024 numbers "Unaudited". We did not find audited statements for 2023, 2024 or 2025.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$1,826,832net cash requirement for municipal drains in the 2026 budget, against $302,773 in the 2025 budget
Municipal drains are ditches and tile systems built or repaired by the town, which normally bills the landowners who benefit. In the 2025 budget, the drains department had revenue of $3,504,327, of which $3,100,000 was "Ratepayers Debenture Payments" (landowners repaying a loan). For 2026 the revenue line is $1,068,000, of which ratepayer debenture payments are $716,000, while spending is $2,894,832. The department's net cash requirement goes from $302,773 in the 2025 budget to $1,826,832, which the budget prints as an increase of 503.37%. The budget does not explain the change.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$7,000planned transfer into reserves in 2026, against $4,392,220 in the 2025 budget
Reserves are savings set aside for future repairs and projects. The 2026 budget shows money coming out of reserves and reserve funds of $3,949,996, against $3,869,220 in the 2025 budget. Money going into reserves is $7,000 in 2026. In 2024 it was $2,286,953 (unaudited) and in the 2025 budget $4,392,220. The budget does not say why contributions fall away.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$681,796transfer from reserves shown as Council revenue in the 2026 budget
In earlier years the Council department cost the town between $184,196 and $233,300 a year and had no revenue. In the 2026 budget it has a revenue line, "Tfer from Res and Res Funds", of $681,796. That turns the department's requirement from $227,885 in the 2025 budget into a contribution of $457,712. Council's own spending lines (pay, conferences, donations) are $224,084 and change little.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$3,664,166salaries and wages in the 2026 budget, against $3,135,695 in the 2025 budget
Across the tax-supported departments (everything except water and wastewater), the budget shows salaries and wages of $2,314,890 in 2023, $2,797,121 in 2024 (both unaudited), $3,343,815 forecast for 2025 and $3,664,166 for 2026. That is 16.85% above the 2025 budget of $3,135,695. In general government (the administration office), salaries and wages go from $546,000 in the 2025 budget to $794,566, up 45.52%. The budget does not list new positions or explain the increase.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$870,000gravel grading materials in the 2026 budget, against $15,000 in the 2025 budget
The "GM Grading - Materials Purchased" line (gravel for grading rural roads) was $9,344 in 2023 (unaudited), nothing in 2024, $15,000 in both the 2024 and 2025 budgets, and is $870,000 in the 2026 request. The dust layer line (calcium to control road dust) was $308,167 in 2023, $224,794 in 2024 and nothing in the 2025 budget, and is $375,000 in 2026. The 2026 capital list shows a "Gravel Program" of $870,000 and a "Calcium Program" of $375,000. The department totals rise from $246,250 to $967,512 for gravel grading (292.90%) and from $17,750 to $377,652 for the dust layer.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
+69%water, sewers and garbage, 2019 to 2023
North Middlesex spent $2.9M on water, sewers and garbage in 2019 and $4.9M in 2023. Prices only went up about 16% in that time.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
$6.5Min temporary loans, end of 2023
At the end of 2023, North Middlesex owed $6.5M on temporary loans. That is like putting 26% of a year's income on a line of credit. This is short-term borrowing for building projects, which is normal while waiting for a grant or a long-term loan. But it was already $4.4M a year earlier, so it has lasted more than a year. Only 6 of 82 similar towns had any temporary loans at the end of 2023.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
The 2026 budget was adopted by a written decision of the Mayor, Brian Ropp, dated February 18, 2026. It says the Mayor prepared and presented the proposed budget, waived the seven-day response period, and noted that council waived its remaining review period. The decision is issued under section 284.3 of the Municipal Act, 2001 and Ontario Regulation 530/22. We did not read council minutes, so we do not know what council discussed.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
2023 tax year · North Middlesex, Ontario
Enter your home's assessed value to see roughly what you pay in property tax each year, who gets it, and what North Middlesex'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 North Middlesex.
a year in property tax, at 2023 rates
North Middlesex 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 North Middlesex's share by what each service cost in 2023 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 North Middlesex's council · Council Books is free and paid for by readers: support this work.