Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Brockton's budget, taxes and council decisions. A municipality in Bruce County, in southwestern Ontario, with a mayor, a deputy mayor and five councillors. Every figure links back to the public record.
Follow Brockton in one tapWhere it goes
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.
$4,404per home on long-term debt, 2024
Brockton spent about $4,404 per home on long-term debt in 2024. The typical similar town spent $1,131. Only 2 of 94 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
February 10, 2026date of the auditor's report on the 2024 statements (the 2023 report is dated November 12, 2024)
Each year a municipality hires an outside accountant (the auditor) to check its books and sign a report saying whether the numbers are fair. The auditor's report on the 2023 statements is dated November 12, 2024. The report on the 2024 statements is dated February 10, 2026, which is later in the following year. The opinion on 2024 is a clean one: the auditor says the statements "present fairly" the Municipality's position. We did not find 2025 statements on the pages we read.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$13,325,978net financial liabilities at December 31, 2024, up from $12,322,701
"Net financial liabilities" (also called net debt) is what the Municipality owes minus the money and investments it could use to pay. At the end of 2024 it was $13,325,978. A year earlier it was $12,322,701. That is $1,003,277 more, worked out by us. The Municipality also owns roads, buildings and equipment that the statements value at much more than that debt, so this is not a place with nothing behind what it owes.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
($254,715)actual 2024 net revenues/(expenses), against a budgeted $2,305,064
The statement of operations shows a line called "Net revenues/(expenses)" before one-time money such as capital grants. The 2024 budget planned $2,305,064 on that line. The actual result was a shortfall of $254,715. The overall annual surplus was still $2,189,850, but the budget had planned for $3,341,064. The statements say the budget shown is the operating budget approved by Council. The gap on the everyday line is $2,559,779, worked out by us.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$720,720unfunded Greenock landfill liability at December 31, 2024, up from $590,674
When a landfill (a dump) closes, the owner must cap it and watch it for years. A newer accounting standard makes municipalities record that future cost today as a liability. Brockton records $639,574 for the Brant landfill (2023: $626,289) and $720,720 for the Greenock landfill (2023: $590,674), plus $2,555,079 for its half of the Hanover/Walkerton landfill (2023: $2,481,688). The Greenock figure went up by $130,046, about 22%, worked out by us. The statements call all three "unfunded", meaning money has not been set aside for them.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 1 source
$693,732interest on loans payable in 2024, against $505,182 in 2023
Interest is the fee a lender charges for the use of its money. The 2024 statements say interest on loans payable was $693,732, against $505,182 in 2023. That is $188,550 more, about 37%, worked out by us. The Municipality has a bank line of credit of up to $1,500,000, with a balance of nil at the end of 2024 and 2023. The table of loans and repayments is laid out in a way we could not match reliably, so we have not used any figure from it.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$848,433yearly fee to Veolia for water and wastewater operations, plus a further $40,000 from July 1, 2026
The Municipality pays a private company, Veolia Water Canada Inc., to run and maintain its water and wastewater plants. The statements say the fee is $848,433 plus an adjustment for inflation from July 1, 2026, and that from that date the price "will increase $40,000" on top of the inflation adjustment. The agreement ends June 30, 2031. The statements also list capital commitments of $3,130,327 that have funding in place.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$2,000,000principal protected notes, maturing from July 2027 to July 2028
Principal protected notes (PPNs) are bank-issued investments that promise the original money back if held to the end of their term, while the return depends on a market measure. Brockton's statements say it holds CIBC notes maturing from July 2027 to July 2028, and that management intends to keep each to maturity, which "would result in the recovery of all principal ($2,000,000)". The statements put the market value of its bonds and notes together at $4,399,184, and show an accumulated remeasurement gain of $496,288.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
−$13.3Mnet financial position, 2024
In 2019, Brockton had $2.9M more in cash and money owed to it than it owed to others. By 2024 it was −$13.3M. About 26% of that change ($4.3M) is a new accounting rule from 2023: towns must now record the future cost of closing things like a landfill. That is not new spending or borrowing. Even leaving that out, only 2 of 94 similar towns are in a weaker position.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
$317per home on garbage, dump and recycling, 2024
Brockton spent about $317 per home on garbage, dump and recycling in 2024. The typical similar town spent $153. Only 11 of 94 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
2024 tax year · Brockton, Ontario
Enter your home's assessed value to see roughly what you pay in property tax each year, who gets it, and what Brockton'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 Brockton.
a year in property tax, at 2024 rates
Brockton 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 Brockton'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.
Local businesses can sponsor this page · How it works →
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.
Council meetings are open to the public, and councillors answer to you. How to reach Brockton's council · Council Books is free and paid for by readers: support this work.