Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh's budget, taxes and council decisions. A rural township in the northwest corner of Huron County, on the shore of Lake Huron, with a mayor, a deputy mayor and five 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.
+53%roads and snow, 2019 to 2024
Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh spent $1.9M on roads and snow in 2019 and $2.9M in 2024. Prices only went up about 18% in that time. Only 7 of 73 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$767,468spent on snowplowing in 2025, against $394,722 in 2024 and a 2025 budget of $616,500
The Township's budget books show snowplowing spending of $394,722 in 2024 and $767,468 in 2025. The 2025 figure was $150,968 over what council budgeted for that year, and the 2026 budget is $760,000, so the higher level has been built into the new budget. Sanding and salting rose the same way, from $118,658 to $227,780. Most of the rise is in hired equipment and in wages. Both differences are worked out by us.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$67,709spent on planning legal fees in 2025, against a budget of $40,000
In the budget books, the Legal line under Roads Administration was $5,332 in 2024 and $36,654 in 2025, against a $25,000 budget. The 2026 budget raises it to $40,000. The Legal line under Development & Planning Administration was $8,027 in 2024 and $67,709 in 2025, against a $40,000 budget, and the 2026 budget is $50,000. We did not find a published explanation.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$670,889to be taken from the general surplus reserve to balance the 2026 budget
A reserve is money set aside in earlier years. The 2026 budget covers its gap after a 5% levy increase by taking $670,889 from the general surplus reserve. The 2025 budget planned a $463,500 draw from the same reserve, but the 2026 budget book shows nothing was taken in 2025. Across the whole 2026 budget, $3,613,389 (22%) of the money comes from transfers out of reserves.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$2,845,765shown as actual for Phase 1A, against a $2,690,000 budget
The roads capital budget carries Port Albert servicing work in three phases. Phase 1A (Wellington Street) was budgeted at $2,690,000 for 2025 and shows $2,845,765 actual, which is $155,765 more (worked out by us). Phase 1B was budgeted at $1,060,000 and shows $912,707. Phase 1C was budgeted at $1,480,000 and shows $883,652, with $283,428 and $416,572 more in 2026. The budget book does not give a total cost for the project or say how much each phase was expected to cost at the start.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$750,700from the K2 Community Benefits Fund in the 2026 general revenues
The Township's general revenues include $750,700 a year from the K2 Community Benefits Fund in the 2026 budget. The fund is also named in the roads capital budget ($700,000 for Market and Sydenham, $217,500 more) and the 2026 changes list a $469,000 transfer from a K2 reserve fund. We could not read the K2 agreement, because the copy on the Township's site is a scanned image with no readable text, so we do not know how long the payments last.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$5,635,908of unfunded capital projects in process at the end of 2024, against $2,986,505 a year earlier
The 2024 audited statements show an "Unfunded" amount for capital projects in process of $5,635,908, up from $2,986,505 a year earlier. It is a negative part of the accumulated surplus: the Township had spent that much on projects that were not yet matched by money in hand. In the same year, cash that was free to spend (unrestricted) fell from $5,350,919 to $3,848,904.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$4,271,988actual transportation spending in 2024, against a budget column figure of $3,147,026
In the audited 2024 statement of operations, transportation services were budgeted at $3,147,026 and came in at $4,271,988. The same statement, and the statement of changes in net financial assets, show no budget at all for amortization (the yearly wearing-out cost of roads, buildings and equipment), while actual amortization was $1,743,097. So most of the gap looks like a difference in how the budget column is built rather than overspending, but the statements do not say so. The 36% is worked out by us.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
2024 tax year · Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, Ontario
Enter your home's assessed value to see roughly what you pay in property tax each year, who gets it, and what Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh'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 Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh.
a year in property tax, at 2024 rates
Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh council sets only its own share. County or region sets its share, the Province sets the school rate.
An estimate. It uses the residential tax rate, and splits Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh'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.
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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.
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