Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Rideau Lakes' budget, taxes and council decisions. A township in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville in eastern Ontario, with a mayor and eight councillors, two from each of four wards. Every figure links back to the public record.
Follow Rideau Lakes 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.
$3.7Min savings at the end of 2024
Towns keep savings (called reserves) to pay for new trucks, roof repairs and surprises. Rideau Lakes had $3.7M saved at the end of 2024, up from $1.9M in 2019. That is 25% of one year's spending. None of the 90 similar towns had less, compared with what they spend.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
$6,820,840owed in long-term liabilities at December 31, 2024, up from $4,648,821 a year earlier
Long-term liabilities (money the Township has borrowed and still owes) were $4,648,821 at the end of 2023 and $6,820,840 at the end of 2024. That is $2,172,019 more, or about 47% (worked out by us). The statements say the Township took on $3,528,000 of new debt and repaid $1,355,981. A $1,600,000 interim loan from Ontario Infrastructure Corporation is part of the total. The Township's net debt (what it owes minus its cash and money owed to it) also grew, from $4,177,729 to $5,265,634.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$2,574,139asset retirement obligation at December 31, 2024, listed as unfunded
An asset retirement obligation is a bill the Township already knows will come: closing landfills, removing asbestos from six buildings and sealing three wells. The statements list it at $2,574,139 at the end of 2024, of which $2,211,402 is for landfills. The statements call it "unfunded" and take it off the Township's equity (its net worth) as a negative amount. They also show $3,558,816 in reserves (savings Council has set aside), but none of the reserves listed is named for this bill.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$61,1002025 year-to-date legal fees in corporate services administration, against an approved budget of $12,000
The 2026 budget book prints, beside each line, the 2025 approved budget and the 2025 "YTD Actuals" (spending so far, as the Township labels it). In corporate services administration, legal fees were approved at $12,000 and show $61,100. Other professional fees were approved at $20,000 and show $52,475. In treasury, audit fees were approved at $40,000 and show $65,483. The year before, the 2025 budget book shows $10,844 for legal fees, $30,503 for other professional fees and $41,892 for audit fees.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
32complaints received from October 17, 2024 to December 31, 2025, with fees of $50,262.40
An Integrity Commissioner is an outside person who checks whether members of council follow the Code of Conduct and the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. The commissioner's annual report covers October 17, 2024 to December 31, 2025. In that time the commissioner received 32 complaints: 30 under the Code of Conduct and 2 under the conflict of interest law. The report says 21 Code of Conduct complaints were investigated and 19 of those ended in a finding of a contravention. The bill for the period was $50,262.40.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
6recommendations made to Council in the March 25, 2026 closed meeting report
Councils may only meet in private for a short list of reasons, and they must say in public, in general terms, what the private part is about. A closed meeting investigator reviewed a request about council's closed meetings. The report is dated March 25, 2026. It found that on January 5, 2026 Council's closed session on "Board Operations" broke the open meeting rule: the description was too broad, part of the discussion did not qualify to be private, and a vote was taken in private. It found that a 2023 committee meeting did not break the rule.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$388,5242025 year-to-date winter control materials, North Crosby patrol, against $275,000 approved
The North Crosby patrol is one of the Township's road crews. Its line for "Winter Control - Materials" (such as salt and sand) was approved at $345,000 for 2024 and the 2024 actual was $170,604. For 2025 the approved amount was cut to $275,000, and the 2025 year-to-date actual is $388,524.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$554,254year-end budget surplus for 2024, from the statements' own reconciliation
The Township's budget is built a different way from its audited statements, so the statements include a table that lines the two up. It shows a "year-end surplus" of $554,254 on the budget basis, because revenue came in at $26,007,540 against a budget of $25,629,453 and capital projects cost less than planned.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 1 source
2024 tax year · Rideau Lakes, Ontario
Enter your home's assessed value to see roughly what you pay in property tax each year, who gets it, and what Rideau Lakes'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 Rideau Lakes.
a year in property tax, at 2024 rates
Rideau Lakes 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 Rideau Lakes'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 Rideau Lakes' council · Council Books is free and paid for by readers: support this work.