Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to The Nation's budget, taxes and council decisions. A municipality of just over 13,350 people in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, between Ottawa and Montreal, with a mayor and six ward 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.
+13%town property tax, 2024 to 2025
In 2025, The Nation collected $1.9M more in its own property tax than in 2024. That is a 13% jump, while prices went up about 2.1%. Only 2 of 44 similar towns raised theirs by more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$342per home on council, 2025
The Nation spent about $342 per home on council in 2025. The typical similar town spent $50. Only 1 of 44 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
$6,780per home on long-term debt, 2025
The Nation spent about $6,780 per home on long-term debt in 2025. The typical similar town spent $1,163. None of the 44 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
$26,420,624total spending budget printed in both the 2024 and the 2025 statements
A town's statement of operations puts its budget next to what it actually spent. In the 2025 statements, the budget for each of six kinds of spending is exactly the same as the budget printed in the 2024 statements: $2,921,549 for general government, $628,465 for planning and development, and $26,420,624 in total. The revenue budget did change, from $23,850,397 in the 2024 statements to $29,423,593 in the 2025 statements, and the town's 2025 budget book says the tax levy went up by $1,404,602, so a changed spending budget would be expected too. Until the town says which budget that column shows, we cannot tell whether lines such as planning and development ($1,820,863 spent in 2025 against $628,465 'budget') were over budget or not. We did not use any spending-against-budget comparison as a finding.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$39,061,213owed in long-term loans at December 31, 2025
At the end of 2025 The Nation owed $39,061,213 in long-term loans. A loan 'renews' when its fixed interest rate ends and a new rate is set. The sports complex loan ($9,807,865 at 5.770%) renews in 2026, and the two Limoges water and sewer loans ($11,689,910 and $9,410,175, both at 4.812%) renew in 2028. Interest on long-term debt was $2,141,751 in 2025, up from $1,955,856 in 2024 (about 7.7% of all spending, worked out by us). The town says its 'annual repayment limit', the most the province lets it commit each year to loan payments, is 'limited due to three large loans taken on in 2023', so new borrowing must be 'very strategic and cautious'. The 2026 budget still plans two new borrowings (a water project and the vehicle fleet). The town's table showing its current debts and its remaining room is a picture in the budget book, so we could not read it.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 6 sources
$755,390'financial expenses' for the Sports Complex in the 2026 budget
The 2026 budget expects the Sports Complex to earn $320,000 and to cost $542,904 to run. Separately it lists "Financial expenses (Sports complex)" of $755,390 (2025: $778,177). Counting all three, the complex costs about $978,294 more than it earns in 2026 (worked out by us: 320,000 less 542,904 less 755,390). The loan the statements label "Complexe" has monthly payments of $32,241, which is $386,892 a year (worked out by us), about half of the financial expenses line. The budget does not say what else is in that line. The whole recreation department needs $2,346,123 from taxes in 2026.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$8,000,000drawn on a demand loan for pumping station 11, against $14,031,789 in term deposits
At December 31, 2025 The Nation had drawn $8,000,000 of a $10,740,356 temporary loan for the sanitary pumping station 11. The note says it "is repayable on demand" and carries a floating rate set by Ontario Infrastructure and Lands Corporation. The same statements list $14,031,789 of term deposits (a savings product that pays interest for a set time), most of it $12,930,669 at 2.25% with no specific maturity date. The town bought $9,029,221 of term deposits in 2025 and ended the year with $2,015,927 in cash. The statements do not say how the temporary loan will be turned into long-term debt or what it will cost.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
+77%parks, arena and library, 2019 to 2025
The Nation spent $1.7M on parks, arena and library in 2019 and $3.0M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time. Only 5 of 44 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$8.0Min temporary loans, end of 2025
At the end of 2025, The Nation owed $8.0M on temporary loans. That is like putting 23% 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. Only 2 of 44 similar towns had any temporary loans at the end of 2025.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
$7,617,500annual surplus in 2025, against a budgeted $6,257,584
A surplus is what is left when a year's revenue is more than its spending. The statements show 2025 revenue of $31,977,762 against a budget of $29,423,593. User charges (fees for water, sewer, garbage, ice and halls) were $11,808,263 against $9,715,616. Assets given to the town, such as roads and pipes built by developers, were counted at $680,822 against $10,000 budgeted. The statements explain that the budget is built on a different accounting basis, so part of any gap is accounting and not cash. The town did not break down the rest in the pages we read. For 2024 the statements planned a deficit of $242,327 and showed a surplus of $605,584.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$7.6 millionyearly infrastructure funding gap, per the 2026 budget book
The town says it fell behind on costs: over eight years taxes rose 12% while the cost of projects rose by more than 50%. It raised the 2025 municipal levy (the total property tax it collects for its own services) by $1,404,602, to $16,345,943, which was $222.19 more for a home assessed at $300,000. For 2026 it plans a further $741,820, or 4.58% above the revenue neutral rate, which is $61.17 more for the same home. The 2025 Asset Management Plan found a $7.6 million yearly gap between what is needed and what is funded, and the town plans to close it over 15 years for tax-funded assets and 20 years for rate-funded ones. Taxation revenue in the statements rose from $14,501,975 in 2024 to $16,391,447 in 2025 (about 13%, worked out by us).
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$10,000difference between the two 2026 capital totals in the same budget book (worked out by us)
The 2026 budget book says in its text that capital investments for 2026 total $16,396,988. The capital table near the back shows a total of $16,406,988. The two differ by $10,000 (worked out by us). The pages with the summary tables in the middle of the book are pictures, so we could not check which line the difference comes from.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
December 10, 2025date the 2026 Mayor's budget was to be deemed adopted
Since May 1, 2025 the province has given The Nation 'Strong Mayor Powers'. The 2026 budget is called the Mayor's budget: it was submitted on November 10, 2025 and 'deemed adopted, if proposed amendments are not vetoed' on December 10, 2025. The cover of the final budget is dated 12.12.2025, two days after that. The budget says the powers let the mayor propose and adopt the budget and veto council decisions that conflict with it. We did not read council minutes, so we do not know whether council proposed amendments or whether any were vetoed.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
A property tax bill in The Nation pays for three governments. Only part of it goes to the town, and that part is what The Nation council controls.
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