Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Val Rita-Harty's budget, taxes and council decisions. A small township in the Cochrane District of northeastern Ontario, with a mayor and four councillors. Every figure links back to the public record.
Follow Val Rita-Harty 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.
$1,768per home on council, 2024
Val Rita-Harty spent about $1,768 per home on council in 2024. The typical similar town spent $114. None of the 54 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
$1.88 millionlocal share of the water plant rehabilitation, by the Township's own financial plan
The Township's own waterworks financial plan, filed with Council in October 2025, says the plant needs a rebuild that would use up the Township's borrowing room, and that it is not in a position to do the work without more money from other governments. The Township has secured $3,073,357 so far. It is asking senior governments to cover the rest. We are asking what the plan is if they say no.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 7 sources
June 16, 2026the day Council adopted the 2026 budget of $2,821,930
Council adopted the 2025 budget of $3,420,994 in July and August 2025, and the 2026 budget of $2,821,930 on June 16, 2026. Until a budget is adopted, a township collects tax only on an interim bill and its borrowing is capped by the year before. The budget page on the Township's website lists budgets only up to 2023.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
October 21, 2025the date a bylaw was proposed to approve the July 9, 2025 decisions
A bylaw proposed in the October 21, 2025 agenda package would approve, as of July 9, 2025, decisions Council made that day, because no minutes or notes of the meeting exist. Those decisions included adopting the 2025 budget and setting the 2025 tax rates. We read the proposal, not the minutes of the meeting that dealt with it, so we do not know if it passed.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
December 31, 2022year end of the newest audited statements posted on the website
The newest audited statements on the Township's website are for the year ended December 31, 2022, and the auditor signed them on November 29, 2023. The finance page labels that file 2023. Council accepted statements for 2024 on August 26, 2025, but we did not find them, or any 2023 statements, on the website.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$626Kin savings at the end of 2024
Towns keep savings (called reserves) to pay for new trucks, roof repairs and surprises. Val Rita-Harty had $626K saved at the end of 2024, up from $568K in 2019. That is 27% of one year's spending. Only 10 of 54 similar towns had less, compared with what they spend.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
Ongoingstatus of the 2025 payables review in the Township's January 2026 progress report
In January 2026 the Township's own progress report said staff were still researching accounts payable (the bills the Township owes) for 2025, because some had been paid from statements without an invoice, put in the wrong accounts, or lacked supporting papers. The work was listed as ongoing.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 1 source
$47,418.60total council pay and expenses for 2025, in the statement in the February 17, 2026 agenda package
The Municipal Act requires a yearly itemized statement of council pay and expenses by March 31, and the Township's draft pay bylaw says it will be posted on the website. The council page lists reports for 2021 and 2022 only. The 2025 statement, which totals $47,418.60, is inside a February 2026 agenda package. Its expenses column shows the same round amounts on several lines.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
August 18, 2022date the Integrity Commissioner's report was presented to Council
An August 18, 2022 report by the Township's Integrity Commissioner found that Mayor Johanne Baril went beyond the role of a mayor by doing administrative work while the office was short of staff, and did not file the written statement the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act asks for when Council voted on paying for that work. The Commissioner recommended no penalty.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$624,581protection services spending in 2022, against a budget of $212,202
Spending on protection services (mainly fire) in 2022 was $412,379 over budget, worked out by us. The audited statements show the Township received $438,898 from Indigenous Services Canada for evacuation, which is more than the gap. This looks like extra spending paid for by another government.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
2024 tax year · Val Rita-Harty, Ontario
Enter your home's assessed value to see roughly what you pay in property tax each year, who gets it, and what Val Rita-Harty'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 Val Rita-Harty.
a year in property tax, at 2024 rates
Val Rita-Harty council sets only its own share. the Province sets the school rate.
An estimate. It uses the residential tax rate, and splits Val Rita-Harty'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.
Local businesses can sponsor this page · How it works →
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 Val Rita-Harty's council · Council Books is free and paid for by readers: support this work.