Sources and method

Where this comes from

Everything on these pages comes from public documents. Here they are, with how we used them, so anyone can check our work.

Documents

1. Ontario Financial Information Return (FIR)

   Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing · retrieved 2026-10-01

   The numbers behind the money and compare pages: 2019 to 2025 for Bradford West Gwillimbury, and 2025 for 12 similar towns. Figures are what the municipality reported to the Province for each year, prepared on the same basis as its audited financial statements.

2. Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury, budget documents

   Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury · retrieved 2026-10-01

   The town’s published budgets. Used to check its plans against what it reported.

3. 2026 Budget Highlights flyer (adopted December 18, 2025)

   Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Two-page flyer: 3.71% total increase, key operating investments, and a note on the speed camera program. 2 PDF pages.

4. 2024 Budget Highlights flyer

   Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Two-page flyer for the 2024 budget. Used only to confirm that SWAR is the South West Arterial Roads project and that a wastewater facility expansion was budgeted in 2024. 2 PDF pages.

5. Minutes of Regular Council and Committee of the Whole, January 21, 2025

   Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Web page. Used for the Town's 2025 share of the police budget and how it was funded.

6. Minutes of Regular Council and Committee of the Whole, January 20, 2026

   Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Web page. Used for the Town's 2026 share of the police budget and how it was funded.

7. Minutes of Regular Council and Committee of the Whole, April 1, 2025

   Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Web page. Used for the Civic Centre added cost and green roof savings.

8. Minutes of Regular Council and Committee of the Whole, June 17, 2025

   Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Web page. Used for the allocation of the 2024 surplus and the 2024 carry-forward projects.

9. Minutes of Regular Council and Committee of the Whole, September 2, 2025

   Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Web page. Used for projects over budget and the long-term debt report sent back to staff.

10. Minutes of Regular Council and Committee of the Whole, October 7, 2025

    Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury · retrieved 2026-10-05

    Web page. Used for approval of the 2024 audited statements, the long-term debt recommendation, the Civic Centre savings and the speed camera motion.

11. Minutes of Regular Council and Committee of the Whole, October 21, 2025

    Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury · retrieved 2026-10-05

    Web page. Used for the 2025 Borrowing By-law.

12. Minutes of Regular Council and Committee of the Whole, November 18, 2025

    Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury · retrieved 2026-10-05

    Web page. Used for projects over budget (September 30, 2025 financial results).

13. Minutes of Regular Council and Committee of the Whole, December 2, 2025

    Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury · retrieved 2026-10-05

    Web page. Used for the police budget, the $65,000,000 construction financing, the reserve policy request and the organizational structure report.

14. Minutes of Regular Council and Committee of the Whole, December 16, 2025

    Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury · retrieved 2026-10-05

    Web page. Used for the WPCP Construction Project Borrowing By-law.

15. Minutes of Regular Council and Committee of the Whole, June 16, 2026

    Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury · retrieved 2026-10-14

    Web page. Used for the 2025 Financial Report resolution and approval of the 2025 audited statements. Fetched again on October 14, 2026 (HTTP 200, no bot check).

16. Statistics Canada, Consumer Price Index, annual average (table 18-10-0005-01)

    Statistics Canada · retrieved 2026-10-01

    How much prices went up each year, so cost growth can be compared with inflation.

How the numbers are worked out

Day-to-day spending

Total expenses as reported, minus amortization ("wear and tear"), which is an accounting cost rather than cash spent that year. Costs are shown in the service where they were recorded, before the town spreads its office overhead across services, so the cost of running the office stays visible.

Per home

An amount divided by the number of households the town reported to the Province for that year.

Similar towns

Ontario lower-tier municipalities with 60% to 160% of this population that had filed their 2025 return, in 2025. This gives 12 towns. "Typical" means the median: half of similar towns are above it and half below. The size limits are a judgement call; moving them a little adds or drops a few towns, so treat small differences in rank as noise. Per-home figures use the household counts each town reports to the Province. Towns do not all count the same way: some include seasonal homes, so per-home comparisons are a guide, not exact.

Faster than prices

Growth is compared with Canada's Consumer Price Index over the same years.

When a question is raised automatically

When a cost grew at least 25 percentage points faster than prices and faster than 80% of similar towns; when a measure of money health is worse than 80% of similar towns; or when a one-year tax increase is higher than 80% of similar towns and well above inflation. "Needs an answer" means worse than 90% of similar towns. When there are fewer than 20 similar towns, automatic questions go no higher than "Worth asking", because one rank moves a lot in a small group.

What this cannot see

These records show totals by category, not individual payments. They cannot show whether a particular contract was fair, whether a purchase was split to avoid tendering, or who was paid. That needs the town's list of payments (its cheque register or accounts payable list), which residents can ask for under Ontario's freedom-of-information law (MFIPPA). That is the next thing we plan to add.