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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by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date.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 Brooke-Alvinston'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.
Ontario / Brooke-AlvinstonUpdated Oct 7, 2026

Your town, in plain words

How Brooke-Alvinston uses the money we share.

A clear, checkable guide to Brooke-Alvinston's budget, taxes and council decisions. A small rural municipality in Lambton County, southwestern Ontario, with a mayor and four councillors. Every figure links back to the public record.

Property tax raised in 2025$7.3Mall property in Brooke-Alvinston54% Town30% County16% SchoolsSee where your tax bill goes →
Town spending, 2025$5.4MAbout $5,064 per household, up 13.1% from 2024.See the money →
Property tax change+8.9%Brooke-Alvinston's own property tax came to $4.0M in 2025, against $3.6M in 2024.What changed →

Where it goes

Most of every dollar supports the everyday town.

Explore every service →
Roads and snow$1.7M · 32%
Police, fire and safety$831K · 15%
Water, sewers and garbage$762K · 14%
Parks, arena and library$731K · 14%
Show all 7 servicesShow fewer
Planning and business$662K · 12%
Running the town office$611K · 11%
Health$65,624 · 1%

Day-to-day spending in 2025, from Brooke-Alvinston's report to the Province.

A fair comparisonHow does Brooke-Alvinston compare?Among 22 similar Ontario towns, Brooke-Alvinston's day-to-day spending per household is on the high side.Brooke-Alvinston is here · 21 of 22, lowest to highestCompare Brooke-Alvinston →

Questions worth asking

A closer look at the numbers.

Each one is a question, not an accusation. Every one lists ordinary reasons it could be true, and the documents it comes from.

All 7 questions
Worth askingMoney health

Is the Municipality setting aside enough to replace its roads, bridges and buildings as they wear out?

$2.5 milliona year on average, the Asset Management Plan's estimate of what the tax-supported assets need (2026 dollars)

The Municipality's own 2026 Asset Management Plan says keeping its tax-supported roads, bridges, buildings and equipment in the condition it wants would cost about $2.5 million a year on average, and that a 3.0% tax levy increase each year would run its savings down over 25 years. The plan says a 6.5% increase a year would be needed. For 2026 Council adopted a 3.97% tax rate increase, after removing $101,000 of planned capital spending. A reserve is money set aside for a future purchase.

Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources

Worth askingMoney health

Why do the water and sewer funds show deficits, and how will they be paid down?

(246,968)water operations fund balance at December 31, 2024, as printed

The audited 2024 statements show three utility funds in the red: water operations (246,968), sewer operations (121,646) and Inwood sewer operations (171,903). Each was in deficit a year earlier too, by almost the same amounts. A deficit here means the fund has spent more over time than it has collected from users.

Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources

Worth askingSpending level

Why did 2024 spending come in well under budget, and does the same thing show up in 2026?

$635,740less spent than budgeted in 2024, worked out by us from the printed budget and actual totals

For 2024 the Municipality budgeted a surplus of 536,413 and ended with 962,821. Total expenses were 5,865,530 against a budget of 6,501,270, which is 635,740 less (worked out by us). Planning and development spent 479,620 against 789,404 budgeted. In 2026 the treasurer says about 63% of the taxation budget had been used by September 30, mainly because capital projects were delayed.

Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources

Worth askingMoney health

Is the allowance for unpaid taxes big enough, when the oldest unpaid taxes grew by about 42%?

$17,500allowance for doubtful accounts in both 2023 and 2024, against taxes owing of 483,602 (taxes, penalties and interest, after the allowance)

Taxes receivable (taxes billed but not yet paid) were 448,421 at the end of 2024 against 368,692 a year earlier. The aging table puts 235,128 of the taxes owing in its oldest column, up from 165,445. The allowance set aside for taxes that may never be paid stayed at 17,500 in both years.

Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources

Show 3 more questionsShow fewer
Good to knowOpenness

How much does the public hear after Council meets in private?

2 groundscited for the March 12, 2026 closed session: personal matters, and litigation or potential litigation

On March 12, 2026 Council went into closed session on two grounds in the Municipal Act: personal matters about an identifiable individual including employees, and litigation or potential litigation. The report back to the public in the minutes lists topics in a few words, such as "a legal matter regarding the municipality was reviewed".

Found by reading the town's own documents · 1 source

Good to knowRecord-keeping

Can residents search and read the 2025 audited financial statements?

1 of 32pages with any readable text in the posted 2025 statements, by our reader

The 2025 financial statements are posted on the Finance page. In the PDF we downloaded, almost every page is a picture of a page rather than text. Our reader found text on only one page of 32, and it was an address line. We used nothing from this document.

Found by reading the town's own documents · 1 source

Where your tax bill goes

A property tax bill in Brooke-Alvinston pays for three governments. Only part of it goes to the town, and that part is what Brooke-Alvinston council controls.

Tax bill split: Brooke-Alvinston 54%, County or region 30%, Schools 16%
$7.3Mraised in 2025
  • Brooke-Alvinston54%
  • County or region30%
  • Schools16%

  • Every fact, sourced

    Each number links to the public document it came from. Check it yourself.

  • No accusations

    We ask questions. Every one lists ordinary reasons a number could look odd.

  • Compared fairly

    Towns are only compared with places of a similar size and kind, from the same yearly reports.

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