Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Renfrew's budget, taxes and council decisions. A town in Renfrew County, in the Ottawa Valley, with a mayor, a reeve and five councillors. Every figure links back to the public record.
Follow Renfrew 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.
+15%town property tax, 2023 to 2024
In 2024, Renfrew collected $1.5M more in its own property tax than in 2023. That is a 15% jump, while prices went up about 2.4%. Only 6 of 88 similar towns raised theirs by more. Almost all of it came from a higher tax rate (up 14% for homes); the value of homes on the tax roll grew only 0.6%.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 4 sources
+125%running the town office, 2019 to 2024
Renfrew 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 88 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
+97%parks, arena and library, 2019 to 2024
Renfrew spent $2.0M on parks, arena and library in 2019 and $3.9M in 2024. Prices only went up about 18% in that time. Only 4 of 88 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$381per home on council, 2024
Renfrew spent about $381 per home on council in 2024. The typical similar town spent $53. Only 2 of 88 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
$8,341per home on long-term debt, 2024
Renfrew spent about $8,341 per home on long-term debt in 2024. The typical similar town spent $904. None of the 88 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
$966,445increase in the 2026 tax levy, to $13,460,726 (7.735%)
The levy is the part of the Town's budget that property taxes must raise: spending, minus grants, user fees and money taken from savings. The Town's own recap shows the 2026 levy at $13,460,726, up $966,445 from $12,494,281 in 2025. The Town breaks the rise into three parts: operating costs added $1,128,295, a bigger yearly payment into savings for capital projects added $150,483, and smaller payments into operating savings took off $312,333. The Town also says that after the Mayor proposed the budget on January 12, 2026, council had 30 days to propose changes, that period ended on February 12, 2026 with no amendments proposed, and the budget is deemed adopted.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$34,138,519net long-term liabilities at the end of 2024, up from $26,974,446
Long-term debt is money the Town has borrowed and must repay over years. The audited 2024 statements show net long-term liabilities of $34,138,519, against $26,974,446 a year earlier. Almost all of the rise is temporary financing for a construction loan: $20,000,000 drawn by the end of 2024, up from $12,000,000, with a maximum of $20,029,807, to be turned into long-term debt once construction is complete. The Town's 2026 recap lists a $20,000,000 loan for the Ma-te-Way expansion, over 30 years at 4.60%, issued in 2025. The statements also show net financial liabilities (what the Town owes minus its financial assets) of $28,302,343 at the end of 2024, against $25,799,589 a year earlier.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$1,091,576estimated borrowing room left for 2026, down from $1,512,523 in 2025
Ontario sets a yearly limit on how much of its income a town may commit to debt payments, called the Annual Repayment Limit (ARL). The Town's 2026 recap says the 2026 budget lists borrowing of $5,315,348 for two road projects: $3,520,000 for Munroe Avenue and $1,795,348 for Harry Street (Part 1). At an assumed 20 years and 5%, new yearly payments would be $420,947. The Town shows its limit falling from $1,512,523 for 2025 to an estimated $1,091,576. A separate debt list in the same recap shows total 2026 debt payments of $3,599,628.72.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$5,327,365asset retirement obligation at the end of 2024, which the auditor could not confirm
An audit opinion is the auditor's verdict on whether the statements are fair. A qualified opinion means the auditor was happy with the statements except for one named problem. For both 2023 and 2024 the auditor, MacKillican & Associates, wrote that the Town does not have up to date asset retirement obligation cost estimates, so it could not tell whether the liability needed an adjustment. (An asset retirement obligation is the cost of cleaning up or closing an asset later, here a landfill and contaminated properties.) The liability is $5,327,365 at the end of 2024: $2,088,791 for the landfill and $3,238,574 for properties. The 2023 report is dated 8 October 2024. The 2024 report is dated 27 January 2026. The Town's fourth-quarter 2025 report says staff were working with the auditors on the 2024 statements, for completion in the fourth quarter and presentation in early 2026.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$260,000budgeted for corporate legal costs in 2025, against $48,081.46 spent by January 9, 2026, and $30,000 for 2026
In the Mayor's 2026 budget, the corporate management legal line was $260,000 in the 2025 budget, had $48,081.46 spent against it at the date of the January 9, 2026 run, and is $30,000 for 2026. The line for other professional services in the same section went the other way: $25,000 budgeted for 2025, $81,019.99 spent to the same date, and $25,000 for 2026. These 2025 actuals were printed before the year was audited. The audited 2024 statements say the Town is involved in various liability claims and has recorded no amount for them because the outcome cannot yet be determined. The Town's fourth-quarter 2025 report lists "Prepare undertakings for the standpipe legal claim" among the environmental services tasks ahead.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$20.7Mover budget, according to the Town's own third-party review (August 6, 2024)
In 2023 council ordered an outside review of the expansion of the Ma-te-Way recreation centre. WSCS Consulting's final report, dated August 6, 2024, says the project was estimated to come in at $38.7M, was over budget by $20.7M, and would carry financing costs of an additional $15-19M over 30 years. It says council approved a budget of $18M in 2021 and secured grant funding of $11.8 million. The review says the budgets were unrealistic from the outset and that council did not insist on regular written reporting. The Town accepted all of the review's recommendations and said a work plan was being developed. The loan that now finances the project appears in the Town's 2026 debt list as $20,000,000 over 30 years.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$18,587,869advances on the loan the Town guarantees for RPGI, at the end of 2024
A guarantee means the Town promises to repay a loan if the borrower cannot. The audited 2024 statements say the Town has agreed to guarantee a loan for Renfrew Power Generation Inc. (RPGI), a company the Town owns outright and that generates electric power for the benefit of the Town's residents. Advances on the loan stood at $18,587,869 at the end of 2024, down from $19,946,830. The statements record no liability for it. RPGI's own long-term debt is shown as $21,070,936.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$7,236,424surplus in 2024, against a budgeted shortfall of $2,269,675
A surplus is what is left when a year's revenue is more than its spending. The 2024 statement of operations shows the budgeted result as a shortfall of $2,269,675 and the actual result as a surplus of $7,236,424. The 2023 surplus was $7,124,757. The statements explain that budget figures were reclassified to match public sector accounting rules and that the Town does not budget activity within reserves. The Town's own budget page says municipalities are not allowed to budget for deficits.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
−$28.3Mnet financial position, 2024
In 2019, Renfrew had $2.2M more in cash and money owed to it than it owed to others. By 2024 it was −$28.3M. About 17% of that change ($5.3M) is a new accounting rule from 2023: towns must now record the future cost of closing things like a landfill. That is not new spending or borrowing. Even leaving that out, only 0 of 88 similar towns are in a weaker position.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
2024 tax year · Renfrew, Ontario
Enter your home's assessed value to see roughly what you pay in property tax each year, who gets it, and what Renfrew'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 Renfrew.
a year in property tax, at 2024 rates
Renfrew 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 Renfrew'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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