Not the full picture. Built from public records, which leave things out.Read by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date. Check the sources, and tell us if you spot a mistake. What this site can't tell you Read by hand. We read Brighton's own documents for this site in October 2026; the Sources page lists which ones. The comparisons with other places still come from the Province's yearly reports.
A clear, checkable guide to Brighton's budget, taxes and council decisions. A municipality in Northumberland County, Ontario, with a mayor, a deputy mayor and five councillors. Every figure links back to the public record.
$51 millioncost of the new sewage plant, with almost $35 million from the Province and the rest to be borrowed
A sewage treatment plant cleans used water before it goes back into the environment. Brighton's 2026 budget presentation says the new plant is a $51 million project. The Municipality says it has received almost $35 million from the Province, and that the rest will come from an outside loan, paid back through water and sewer rates and development charges (fees paid when new homes are built). The 2025 budget already carried $19,936,962 of capital spending under Environmental Services. The newest statements we could read (2023) show long-term debt of $6,319,841. The presentation does not say how large the loan will be. By our working, the loan is at least about $16 million ($51 million less "almost $35 million"), which would be a large step up from today's debt.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$13,167,000Fire Services capital in the 2025 budget, against $673,000 in 2026
The 2025 budget lists $13,167,000 of capital spending for Fire Services, and its key projects slide names a "New Fire/Paramedic Station". The 2026 presentation then says $500,000 is "budgeted for design and site plan of new fire station", and the whole Fire Services capital program for 2026 is $673,000. The 2026 presentation explains why a new station is needed (the current one was built in 1975 and has limited space and poor ventilation) and says an alternative site south of the tracks is being looked at. It does not say whether the 2025 amount was spent, carried forward or dropped.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$14,403,084the 2026 municipal levy, up from $12,240,318 in 2024
The municipal levy is the amount Brighton raises from property taxes for its own services. The 2025 presentation shows it at $12,240,318 for 2024 and $13,544,749 for 2025. The 2026 presentation shows $14,403,084 for 2026, a 4.9% tax increase after assessment growth. That is $2,162,766 more than the 2024 levy (worked out by us). The 2025 increase on a typical home was 6.24%. The 2026 presentation explains much of its increase: pay and benefits up 4.0% ($545,437), including a 4.75% cost-of-living increase, plus higher insurance, grants and physician recruitment costs. On the Municipality's own comparison, a $400,000 home pays $6,190.41 in total tax, third-lowest of the seven municipalities shown (worked out by us).
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
The 2024 budget introduced an Automatic Speed Enforcement (ASE) program, the speed-camera program, along with a by-law officer "to support STA/ASE/Enhanced enforcement". The 2026 budget presentation lists the "Elimination of ASE revenue" as a challenge, and "ASE Revenues from 2025" as an opportunity. It also says the 2026 budget lowers building revenues because of a "budget mis-statement in 2025". The presentation gives no dollar amounts for any of these.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
The Municipality's Financial Statements page says audited statements are presented to Council after the audit is complete. The 2023 statements carry a clean opinion ("present fairly") from Baker Tilly KDN LLP dated February 2025, about 14 months after the year ended (worked out by us). The page lists the statements for 2024, 2023, 2022, 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2017. We did not find 2021 or 2025. The 2024 file has 56 PDF pages and every page is a picture with no readable text, so we could not read any figure from it and used none. Because of this, the 2023 statements are the newest ones this pack can quote.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
In its accumulated surplus note, Brighton lists "Unfunded capital" of $4,535,222 at the end of 2023, up from $3,760,699 a year earlier. Protection services (fire and similar) make up $2,189,284. This is capital spending that is not yet matched by money set aside, which will have to be paid later from taxes, fees or loans. Over the same year, savings in reserves fell from $4,684,020 to $4,114,490 and in reserve funds from $5,752,132 to $5,001,759. The statements do not explain the rise.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
Towns keep savings (called reserves) to pay for new trucks, roof repairs and surprises. Brighton had $8.9M saved at the end of 2024, up from $8.5M in 2019. That is 54% of one year's spending. Only 13 of 91 similar towns had less, compared with what they spend.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
At the end of 2024, $3.0M of property tax had been billed but not paid. That is 12% of everything billed. Only 9 of 91 similar towns had a higher share. A year earlier it was $2.1M.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
Since May 1, 2025, the Province has given Brighton's Mayor "strong mayor" powers, including writing the budget. For 2025, Council held budget meetings on January 15, January 29 and February 7, plus a public meeting on February 18, and passed the budget by by-law on March 3, 2025. For 2026, the Mayor's June 12, 2025 directive told staff to prepare a draft budget with a budget committee of the Mayor, the CAO and the Treasurer. The Mayor presented the budget on November 17, 2025, Council had 30 days to propose changes, passed one amendment (an extra $50,000 for the Brighton Homelessness Task Force's recommendations), and the budget was deemed adopted on December 27, 2025 with no veto. The Municipality says the amendment "did not impact the presented budget or the municipal tax levy".
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
A surplus is revenue minus spending for the year. Brighton's budget for 2023 planned $3,651,487 and the audited result was $9,369,860. Most of the gap is "Contributed tangible capital assets" of $5,996,493 (roads, pipes and similar things handed over, usually by developers), which the statements record as revenue even though no cash arrives. The Municipality's accounting policy says so. Cash actually fell from $13,840,299 to $12,422,630 and net debt rose from $331,010 to $2,893,279, partly because of a new $2,050,000 liability for asbestos removal and old gravel pit cleanup.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
2024 tax year · Brighton, Ontario
Your tax bill, worked out.
Enter your home's assessed value to see roughly what you pay in property tax each year, who gets it, and what Brighton'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 Brighton.
An estimate. It uses the residential tax rate, and splits Brighton'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.
How Brighton's share of the bill compares with similar towns
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