Questions · 7 so far
We read St Joseph's financial reports and meeting minutes, and compared its numbers with 27 similar Ontario towns. These are the things that stood out.
There may well be a good reason. It is still worth asking what it is.
The budget page links an "Approved Budget 2026", but the link leaves the Township's website for a SharePoint address that tells automated readers to stay out. We could not open it, so we could not check anything in the 2026 budget. We also did not find a council pay and expenses statement on the pages we read.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 1 source
A reserve called Homecare Services stood at $202,618 at the end of 2025 and was blank (nothing) the year before. The statements do not say what it is for or where the money came from.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
Background that helps make sense of the rest.
$559,124environmental services expenses in 2025, against a budget of $397,224
Environmental services expenses were $559,124 in 2025 against a budget of $397,224 in the same statement. The 2024 actual was $559,029 (we did not find the 2024 budget). The gap may be mostly amortization (the yearly wearing-out of equipment and pipes), which a budget often leaves out, but the statements do not show the budget split by type.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
Environmental services show a deficit of $(131,771) in 2025 after amortization and accretion, which are not cash costs. Leaving those two out (worked out by us), the department took in more than it spent in cash terms. We note it for context.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
The Township planned to buy or build $1,825,787 of capital assets in 2025 and spent $793,747. That is about 43% (worked out by us). Spending under budget is not a problem by itself.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
On the pages we could read, the Township had net financial assets (money and receivables minus what it owes) of $5,632,380 at the end of 2025, and had not drawn on a $400,000 line of credit. We could not read the balance sheet page itself, so this rests on the change-in-net-financial-assets and cash flow statements.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
The posted 2025 statements file includes an engagement letter from the audit firm to a different organization, dated June 1, 2021, inside both the Township's auditor's report and the trust fund report. Two pages have no readable text. The 2024 statements are posted as a scan with an unreliable text layer. We used nothing from the unreadable pages.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 1 source
A reserve called Homecare Services stood at $202,618 at the end of 2025 and was blank (nothing) the year before. The statements do not say what it is for or where the money came from.
Reserves are money council sets aside for a purpose. A new one worth about a fifth of the Township's other reserves deserves a plain explanation of its purpose and its source.
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for St Joseph? Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
Reserves set aside for specific purposes by Council, 2025 and 2024: Homecare Services 202,618 and "-". Total reserves 3,512,721 (2024: 3,106,507).
2025 Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 6 · Note 6, Accumulated surplus, PDF page 15
Social and family services expenses were 1,133,923 against a budget of 1,258,714.
2025 Consolidated Financial Statements, Statement of Operations · Consolidated Statement of Operations, PDF page 7
$559,124environmental services expenses in 2025, against a budget of $397,224
Environmental services expenses were $559,124 in 2025 against a budget of $397,224 in the same statement. The 2024 actual was $559,029 (we did not find the 2024 budget). The gap may be mostly amortization (the yearly wearing-out of equipment and pipes), which a budget often leaves out, but the statements do not show the budget split by type.
If a department is budgeted well below what it keeps costing, the budget is not a good guide, and the gap is filled from somewhere else (taxes, reserves or other departments).
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for St Joseph? Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
Environmental services expenses: budget 397,224; 2025 actual 559,124; 2024 actual 559,029.
2025 Consolidated Financial Statements, Statement of Operations · Consolidated Statement of Operations, PDF page 7
Amortization of tangible capital assets: budget 601,102; 2025 actual 751,273.
2025 Consolidated Financial Statements, Statement of Change in Net Financial Assets · Consolidated Statement of Change in Net Financial Assets, PDF page 8
Within environmental services in 2025, amortization was 182,094 and accretion was 8,617.
2025 Consolidated Financial Statements, Schedule 2 · Schedule 2 - Consolidated Segment Disclosure, 2025, PDF page 20
Environmental services show a deficit of $(131,771) in 2025 after amortization and accretion, which are not cash costs. Leaving those two out (worked out by us), the department took in more than it spent in cash terms. We note it for context.
Fees that do not cover the cost of a utility are topped up by taxpayers or reserves. Fees that cover cash costs but not replacement leave a bill for later.
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for St Joseph? Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
Environmental services 2025: revenue 427,353, expenses 559,124, net deficit (131,771); user fees and service charges 310,198; amortization 182,094; accretion 8,617. Taking amortization and accretion out of the expenses leaves less than the revenue (worked out by us).
2025 Consolidated Financial Statements, Schedule 2 · Schedule 2 - Consolidated Segment Disclosure, 2025, PDF page 20
Reserves for 2025 (2024 in brackets): sewage treatment operations 192,232 (178,963); waterworks operations 259,480 (252,020); landfill operations 405,771 (358,872).
2025 Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 6 · Note 6, Accumulated surplus, PDF page 15
The Township planned to buy or build $1,825,787 of capital assets in 2025 and spent $793,747. That is about 43% (worked out by us). Spending under budget is not a problem by itself.
Projects that slip move work and cost into later years, and the money sits in reserves in the meantime.
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for St Joseph? Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
Acquisition of tangible capital assets: budget (1,825,787); 2025 actual (793,747); 2024 actual (916,478).
2025 Consolidated Financial Statements, Statement of Change in Net Financial Assets · Consolidated Statement of Change in Net Financial Assets, PDF page 8
Reserve funds: tangible capital asset replacement 2,094,226 (2024: 1,680,476).
2025 Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 6 · Note 6, Accumulated surplus, PDF page 15
On the pages we could read, the Township had net financial assets (money and receivables minus what it owes) of $5,632,380 at the end of 2025, and had not drawn on a $400,000 line of credit. We could not read the balance sheet page itself, so this rests on the change-in-net-financial-assets and cash flow statements.
This is the plain-language check on whether a small township can pay its bills. It is context for the other questions, not a concern.
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for St Joseph? Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
Net financial assets, end of year: budget 4,457,458; 2025 actual 5,632,380; 2024 actual 4,809,758.
2025 Consolidated Financial Statements, Statement of Change in Net Financial Assets · Consolidated Statement of Change in Net Financial Assets, PDF page 8
"The municipality has a $400,000 bank operating line of credit bearing interest at prime and secured by a general security agreement. As at December 31, 2025, a balance of NIL was outstanding on this credit facility."
2025 Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 9 · Note 9, Credit facility, PDF page 16
The posted 2025 statements file includes an engagement letter from the audit firm to a different organization, dated June 1, 2021, inside both the Township's auditor's report and the trust fund report. Two pages have no readable text. The 2024 statements are posted as a scan with an unreliable text layer. We used nothing from the unreadable pages.
Residents should be able to read the Township's audited statements as published. A stray document from another client makes people wonder which pages are final.
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for St Joseph? Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The auditor's report page opens with a letter dated June 1, 2021 about a different organization's project, before the Township's own report; the report is dated June 18, 2026.
2025 Consolidated Financial Statements, Independent Auditor's Report · PDF pages 4 to 5