Municipal Debt Report Series
Long-term debt is one of the tools that municipalities have available to pay for capital works. Long-term borrowing can provide many benefits but, like all tools, it is not without risk as excessive indebtedness can compromise financial sustainability and flexibility of municipal governments.
This report series is part of the Municipal Debt Project, which was initiated as a response to questions from MFOA members regarding good practices around the use of debt, and recommended analytics to support decision-making around debt financing.
Three reports are made available as part of this series:
- Report 1 - The Management of Municipal Debt in Ontario: This report describes debt decisions in the context of long-term financial planning and municipal budgeting.
- Report 2 - A History of Municipal Debt in Ontario: This report examines the history of long-term debt of municipalities. It provides an understanding of how the current framework has evolved and key lessons from the past to assist today’s municipalities with decision-making around long-term financing.
- Report 3 - The Legislative Framework for Municipal Debt in Ontario: This report sets out in some detail the legislation governing debt. It is solidly anchored in the rules set out in the Municipal Act, 2001, (and the City of Toronto Act, 2006) and accompanying regulations.
To access all three reports, log in to your MFOA account and download the three documents below.
Click here to access our Debt Service Charges Forecasting Tool.