Addington Highlands Council
Clean Audit
Katie Mahon, from the Kingston office of the global accounting firm KPMG, presented the financial statements and audit findings report for 2025. It was a clean audit, according to Mahon.
Among her findings were that at the end of 2025, 21% of the taxes owed to the township were outstanding.
Reeve Fritsch asked Mahon how that number compares to the amounts owed in other similar municipalities.
Mahon said that the office does “about 30 rural municipalities” and Addington Highlands is “in the middle of the pack,” at that number. The number went up for everyone over COVID and is now settling down. In 2019, 18% of taxes were owing in Addington Highlands, at the end of the year.
Noting that the township made $200,000 in interest from investments, Councillor Hook asked Mahon what the interest was, and she said it was about 9%.
OPP Stats Concerning
Reeve Fritsch pointed out some concerning numbers as Council received a report from the L&A OPP detachment which included incident numbers for Addington Highlands, in the first quarter of 2026.
The number of offences involving violence or a threat of violence, which includes cases of intimate partner violence in Addington Highlands, was 23 in the first quarter of 2026. This represents a disturbing trending increase, from 7 in the first quarter of 2024, and 15 in the first quarter of 2025.
“We are living in a more violent world,” said Fritsch, “and a lot of these incidents were at home or between neighbours.”
The stats are a bit better as regards fraud. There were 16 in the first quarter of 2024, and that number ballooned to 31 in Q1 in 2025, before dropping back to 19 this winter.
$500 for Mazinaw Lake Swim Program
Council approved a $500 grant to help the long established Mazinaw Swim program this year.
Material costs up for Roads Department
Roads and Waste Supervisor Brett Reavie brought the results of the Request for Quotes for both crushed gravel in Ward 1, and Calcium Chloride for dust suppression, throughout the township.
In each case there was only one bidder, the same company that had received the contract last year. In the case of gravel, the price from Gemmil Sand and Gravel is $12 per tonne. The last gravel order was in 2022, when Gemmil's price was $9.25 per tonne..
“Fuel costs over 4 years are a big part of that increase,” said Reavie. There was extra in the budget this year in anticipation of cost increases. The township will buy 10,000 tonnes for $120,000.
Morris Chemical provided a price for Calcium Chloride, at a 10.8% increase from 2025. The price will be $46,420, $5,000 up from last year.
Trail Permits For ATVs
Reeve Fritsch brought forward a motion encouraging the establishment of a single trail pass for ATV use throughout Ontario. Locally, Council received a delegation from the Frontenac ATV Club for the use of the Tay-Havelock Trail in Addington Highlands, which is managed by the Tweed based Eastern Ontario Trails Alliance (EOTA). Reeve Fritsch and a delegation from the township met with EOTA to discuss the matter in a meeting attended by Bill Cox, the Addington Highlands Rep on the EOTA board.
EOTA and the Frontenac ATV Club had not reached an agreement at that time.
According to a report to Council, The Frontenac ATV proposal was not acceptable to EOTA, and the terms of agreements EOTA had reached with other groups had not been requested by the Frontenac Club. Reeve Fritsch asked if Council wished for him to play a facilitating role between the two organisations to see if that helps, and Council agreed.
Two More Years with KPMG
Council agreed to extend the contract for auditing services with KPMG for two more years, before issuing a new Request For Proposal for the service.
