$260,112planning revenue in 2024, against a budget of $744,200
Planning revenue is the fees the Township collects when people apply to build, divide or rezone land. For 2024 the budget expected $744,200 and the year-end figure was $260,112. For 2025 the budget expected $725,300 and the year-end figure (unaudited, as the 2026 budget book says) was $521,739. The shortfall over the two years is $687,649, worked out by us ($484,088 in 2024 and $203,561 in 2025). The 2026 budget expects $644,050, which is less than the last two budgets but more than either of the last two years brought in. The Township says the figure is "calculated based on an annualized historical average". Over the same years the planning division cost taxpayers more than planned: $786,619 in 2024 against a budget of $373,166, and $673,675 in 2025 against $534,781. The 2026 budget is $800,748. Part of the 2025 overspend was hearing costs at the Ontario Land Tribunal (the province's body that decides planning appeals): the operations line was $145,394 against a budget of $45,000.
$46,475,448projected debt at December 31, 2026, up from $14,180,655 at January 1
At the end of 2025 the Township owed $14,180,654 in long-term debt, down from $16,034,216. The 2026 budget book's debt table shows $34,217,376 of new debt in 2026, which would take the balance to $46,475,448 by December 31, 2026. The biggest piece is $21,687,376 for building a new operations centre (the depot for roads, water and sewer crews). Others are land next to the Sportsplex and for a well ($5,875,000) and wells and water supply ($6,655,000). The same book's capital budget text asks for $9,586,400 of new debt in 2026, so the two numbers measure different things. The debt chart lists $164,407,576 of projected new debt through 2036, including a recreation facility (the "Multi-Use Recreation Facility") at $47,000,000. The Township says that project is "in jeopardy of proceeding as a viable project" unless it gets at least $8M from other sources. The Township also held $47,376,792 in cash and $34,678,510 in short-term investments at the end of 2025, but it also owed $47,924,122 as deferred revenue, which is money received for set purposes such as development charges.
$5,437,060projected deficit in the Land Sale Reserve at December 31, 2026, up from $398,470 at the start of 2025
A reserve is money council sets aside for a future need. A reserve below zero means money has been spent ahead of money the Township expects to get. In its 2025 statements, total reserves were $24,023,172, down from $30,460,614 (a fall of $6,437,442, worked out by us). The wastewater capital reserve fell from $11,533,019 to $7,475,756. The Land Sale Reserve was already below zero: $(398,470) at the start of 2025, $(3,865,460) at the start of 2026, and $(5,437,060) by the end of 2026 in the budget plan, with nothing planned to go in. The Wind Turbine Capital Reserve goes from $24,480 to $(173,520), and two development charge funds (Public Works and Corporate) go below zero. For the development charge funds the Township gives an explanation. We did not find one for the Land Sale Reserve.
+71%running the town office, 2019 to 2025
Centre Wellington spent $4.1M on running the town office in 2019 and $7.1M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time. Only 3 of 17 similar towns had faster growth here.