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 2023 for Clearview, and 2023 for 85 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. Township of Clearview, budget documents

   Township of Clearview · retrieved 2026-10-01

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

3. 2026 Budget Package (Clearview 2026 Corporate Budget)

   Township of Clearview · retrieved 2026-10-05

   The adopted 2026 operating and capital budget. 110 PDF pages. Most pages have a readable text layer; one summary table (page 29) and the reserves pages (88 and 89) are pictures and were not used.

4. 2026 Staff Presented Budget Summary

   Township of Clearview · retrieved 2026-10-05

   The budget summary staff presented to Council in late 2025. 69 PDF pages; several pages are pictures and were not used.

5. 2026 Budget Timeline

   Township of Clearview · retrieved 2026-10-05

   One page with the dates of the 2026 budget steps.

6. Finance Reports & Statements (web page)

   Township of Clearview · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Lists the audited statements, council pay statements and tax rates the Township posts.

7. Strong Mayor Powers (web page)

   Township of Clearview · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Explains the Mayor's extra powers and lists each written Mayoral decision.

8. 2020 Statement of Remuneration

   Township of Clearview · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Newest council pay statement posted. Its council pay table does not keep its columns in line in the text, so we copied no amounts from it.

9. Consolidated Financial Report, December 31, 2024

   Township of Clearview · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Audited statements for 2024. Scanned pictures of 28 pages. Opened, not used for any figure.

10. 2023 Audited Financial Statements

    Township of Clearview · retrieved 2026-10-05

    Audited statements for 2023. Scanned pictures of 29 pages. Opened, not used for any figure.

11. 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 2023 return, in 2023. This gives 85 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.