Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Prince's budget, taxes and council decisions. A small rural township in the Algoma District, next to Sault Ste. Marie, with a mayor and four councillors. 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.
+98%running the town office, 2019 to 2024
Prince spent $349K on running the town office in 2019 and $691K in 2024. Prices only went up about 18% in that time. Only 2 of 50 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
2 yearsof statements with a qualified opinion for the same unfinished review (2024 final, 2025 draft)
The auditor says the Township has not finished a review the accounting rules require, so the auditor could not say how much it affects the numbers. The 2024 statements carry this, and so do the draft 2025 statements. A qualified opinion means the auditor is happy with the statements apart from one named problem.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$1,125,962long-term debt at December 31, 2025 (draft statements), up from $231,000
The draft 2025 statements show two new loans from Infrastructure Ontario's lending arm (Ontario Infrastructure and Lands Corporation), on top of one older loan. The loan total is almost five times what it was a year earlier.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
6.45%increase in the amount raised by taxation in the 2026 budget
The 2026 budget raises $1,785,757.46 from property taxes, an increase of $108,135.47 or 6.45%. The same budget has a debt repayment line of $152,011.88 where the 2025 budget column is blank. Worked out by us, total operating expenses (which leave debt out) also rise by $155,351.10 from the 2025 budget column. We did not find the Township explaining the increase in the documents we read.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$20,340.00paid for the grader, as shown in the July 14, 2026 cheque log
Council approved buying a used grader for $18,000 plus HST. Staff said they got prices from "a local vendor" and from online listings. A letter in the same agenda package, from the Township's former road contractor, already offered a grader at $18,000 plus HST. The tender report called the equipment "fully funded through grant support", but we did not see which grant.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$3,377.50a year: the in-house estimate was lower than the compliant bid by this much (worked out by us)
Staff estimated the in-house plan at $67,000 a year against $70,377.50 for the one bid that met the tender rules. The in-house number counts only costs not already in the budget, and it relies on grant money for equipment. The gap is $3,377.50 a year, worked out by us.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$8,000the Township's share of an $80,000 project, if the grant had come through
On March 31, 2026 council agreed to put up $8,000 toward an $80,000 fencing project, and to cover any overruns from the 2026 budget. By May 12 the grant application had been denied, and one of the options before council was for the Township to pay all of the cost.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$613,566draft 2025 annual surplus, against $186,699 in the plan
In the draft 2025 statements, provincial and federal grants came in well above the plan, and general government spending came in below it. The statements also explain that the plan is built on a different basis from the audited numbers. We treat this as context, not a concern.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$163,484roads reserve at December 31, 2025 (draft), down from $312,780
A reserve is savings that council sets aside for a purpose. In the draft 2025 statements the roads reserve fell by about half, while the general working funds reserve rose. This is likely ordinary use of a reserve, but the statements do not say what it paid for.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 1 source
2024 tax year · Prince, Ontario
Enter your home's assessed value to see roughly what you pay in property tax each year, who gets it, and what Prince'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 Prince.
a year in property tax, at 2024 rates
Prince council sets only its own share. the Province sets the school rate.
An estimate. It uses the residential tax rate, and splits Prince'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.
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