Central Frontenac Built Its 2026 Budget in Private. A Summary Appeared Only After Media Inquiry.
Central Frontenac taxpayers are paying an $11.2 million municipal levy this year. Four months after council adopted the budget, they still cannot see what it pays for. The full line-by-line budget has never been published. What eventually appeared on the Township’s website was a summary, and it appeared only after this newsroom started asking questions. The budget was built behind closed doors. Mayor Frances Smith invoked provincial strong mayor powers to develop the spending plan privately with staff, then presented council with a near-finished product. Three of nine councillors voted against the process before a single number was drafted. Their objections are in the minutes. Whether those objections were addressed in the final document cannot be determined from the summary that was posted. NFNM contacted the Township on March 26, 2026, with questions about the budget process, the…
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The Mayor's Variance: Who Filed It, Who Answered for It, and What Nobody Disclosed Until We Asked
Central Frontenac Mayor Frances Smith needed a variance for her property at 17860 Road 509. She chose a Township employee to file it for her. That employee, Abigail McKinnon, is the Township’s Planning Coordinator and Secretary-Treasurer of the Committee of Adjustment, the body that decides…