Not the full picture. Built from public records, which leave things out.Read by hand, Oct 2026Details

This is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date.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 Dryden'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.

The money · 2025

How Dryden's money works

A city is a bit like a household. Money comes in (mostly taxes and grants), and money goes out to pay for services like roads, fire trucks and the arena. Here is what that looked like in 2025, the latest year the city has reported to the Province.

Why 2025 and not this year? A budget is a plan. These figures are what actually happened, checked by an auditor and reported to Ontario.

Money in: $36M

Where the city's money came from in 2025.

48%

27%

Property taxes$16.7M48%
Money from Ontario (no strings)$2.5M7%
Grants for specific projects$1.9M5%
Fees people pay$9.6M27%
Late fees and fines$1.3M4%
Other$1.9M6%
Everything else$1.1M3%

Show as a table

Category	Amount	Share
Property taxes	$16,737,968	47.8%
Money from Ontario (no strings)	$2,530,400	7.2%
Grants for specific projects	$1,869,354	5.3%
Fees people pay	$9,620,318	27.5%
Late fees and fines	$1,257,033	3.6%
Other	$1,935,082	5.5%
Everything else	$1,074,278	3.1%
Total	$35,024,433	100%

What each source means

Property taxes: What home and business owners pay each year, based on what their property is worth.
Money from Ontario (no strings): A yearly grant from the Province that the city can spend on anything. Small rural places get more.
Grants for specific projects: Money from Ontario or Canada that must be spent on a certain thing, often a road or building.
Fees people pay: Water and sewer bills, dump fees, arena rentals, permits and similar charges.
Late fees and fines: Interest charged on late tax payments, and fines.
Other: Interest earned, donations, sales of land and equipment.

Money out: $30.1M on services

Day-to-day spending in 2025, by service. On top of this, the city recorded $5.1M of "wear and tear" on things it owns. That is an accounting cost, not cash out the door, so it is left out here.

16%

26%

14%

16%

Running the city office$4.9M16%
Police, fire and safety$7.9M26%
Roads and snow$4.3M14%
Water, sewers and garbage$4.7M16%
Health$1.3M4%
Social services$1.0M3%
Housing$559K2%
Parks, arena and library$4.8M16%
Planning and business$632K2%

Show as a table

Category	Amount	Share
Running the city office	$4,909,789	16.3%
Police, fire and safety	$7,889,521	26.2%
Roads and snow	$4,309,075	14.3%
Water, sewers and garbage	$4,699,987	15.6%
Health	$1,319,932	4.4%
Social services	$1,004,520	3.3%
Housing	$559,032	1.9%
Parks, arena and library	$4,778,334	15.9%
Planning and business	$632,463	2.1%
Total	$30,102,653	100%

Police, fire and safety

$7.9M

Paying for police, the fire department, building inspectors and by-law officers.

+34% since 2019 (prices rose 21%)

Police (OPP contract)$5.5M+37%
What the city pays for policing.
Fire department$1.2M+32%
Firefighters, trucks and fire halls.
Traffic court$851K+42%
Handling tickets and fines.
By-law and animal control$213K+90%
Enforcing city rules, like noise, parking and dogs.
Emergency planning$120K−11%
Getting ready for floods, storms and other emergencies.

Show as a table

Item	Amount	Change
Police (OPP contract)	$5,530,881	+37.2%
Fire department	$1,174,724	+31.9%
Traffic court	$851,158	+42.3%
By-law and animal control	$212,937	+90.2%
Emergency planning	$119,821	−11.1%

Running the city office

$4.9M

Council, managers, the clerk, accounting, computers, insurance and the city hall itself. Every city needs some of this, but it does not fix a road or put out a fire.

+43% since 2019 (prices rose 21%)

Senior management$2.7M+33%
The top managers who run the city day to day.
Office and administration$1.7M+62%
Office staff, finance, IT, insurance, legal and the city hall. Places share this cost out across other services.
Council$505K+43%
Pay and expenses for the mayor and councillors, and council meetings.

Show as a table

Item	Amount	Change
Senior management	$2,695,222	+33.3%
Office and administration	$1,710,034	+62.0%
Council	$504,533	+43.1%

Parks, arena and library

$4.8M

Parks, the arena, the pool, sports fields, programs and the library.

+51% since 2019 (prices rose 21%)

Arena and buildings$2.8M+58%
The arena, pool, community centre and halls.
Library$678K+79%
The public library.
Parks$633K+22%
Parks, beaches, trails and green spaces.
Programs$458K+33%
Classes, camps and activities.
Museums$170K+43%
Local museums.

Show as a table

Item	Amount	Change
Arena and buildings	$2,838,891	+57.8%
Library	$677,972	+79.0%
Parks	$633,388	+22.0%
Programs	$457,812	+32.8%
Museums	$170,271	+43.1%

Water, sewers and garbage

$4.7M

Clean tap water, the sewer system, garbage pickup, the dump and recycling.

+18% since 2019 (prices rose 21%)

Water treatment$1.9M+51%
Making lake or well water safe to drink.
Sewage treatment$983K−24%
Cleaning sewage before it goes back into nature (Tweed uses lagoons).
The dump (landfill)$952K+92%
Running the landfill, and saving up to close it safely one day.
Storm drains$455K+13%
Drains that carry away rain water.
Garbage pickup$269K+86%
Trucks that collect garbage.
Recycling$161K−61%
Recycling and composting.

Show as a table

Item	Amount	Change
Water treatment	$1,879,869	+51.2%
Sewage treatment	$983,450	−23.6%
The dump (landfill)	$951,860	+92.2%
Storm drains	$454,789	+12.7%
Garbage pickup	$268,757	+86.4%
Recycling	$161,262	−61.3%

Roads and snow

$4.3M

Fixing and paving roads, bridges and culverts, ploughing snow, and street lights.

+20% since 2019 (prices rose 21%)

Paved roads$2.6M+26%
Fixing and repaving paved roads.
Airport$850K−12%
A local airport or airstrip.
Snow ploughing$337K+35%
Ploughing, salting and sanding roads in winter.
Street lights$183K+621%
Power and repairs for street lights.
Public transit$128K
Buses.
Roadsides and signs$101K−54%
Ditches, signs, line painting and roadside brush.
Parking$96,060+47%
City parking lots and meters.
Sidewalk snow$58,238
Clearing sidewalks and parking lots.

Show as a table

Item	Amount	Change
Paved roads	$2,555,761	+25.9%
Airport	$850,240	−12.3%
Snow ploughing	$336,859	+34.6%
Street lights	$182,729	+620.7%
Public transit	$128,123	–
Roadsides and signs	$101,065	−53.5%
Parking	$96,060	+47.3%
Sidewalk snow	$58,238	–

Health

$1.3M

Public health, ambulances and cemeteries.

+29% since 2019 (prices rose 21%)

Ambulance$664K
Paramedics and ambulances.
Public health$458K+23%
Health inspections and programs.
Cemeteries$198K+81%
Looking after city cemeteries.

Show as a table

Item	Amount	Change
Ambulance	$664,008	–
Public health	$458,069	+22.9%
Cemeteries	$197,855	+81.1%

Social services

$1.0M

Help for people and families who need it, and child care.

−63% since 2019 (prices rose 21%)

Seniors$811K+14%
Long-term care and seniors programs.
Income support$115K+7%
Help for people with very low income.
Child care$78,795−96%
Daycare and early learning.

Show as a table

Item	Amount	Change
Seniors	$811,053	+14.1%
Income support	$114,672	+7.4%
Child care	$78,795	−95.8%

Planning and business

$632K

Deciding what can be built where, and trying to bring businesses and visitors to city.

+37% since 2019 (prices rose 21%)

Planning and zoning$453K
Deciding what can be built where.
Business and tourism$179K−60%
Attracting businesses and visitors, and helping local shops.

Show as a table

Item	Amount	Change
Planning and zoning	$453,318	–
Business and tourism	$179,145	−59.6%

Housing

$559K

Affordable and social housing.

+2% since 2019 (prices rose 21%)

Public housing$559K+2%
Homes owned by government.

Show as a table

Item	Amount	Change
Public housing	$559,032	+2.5%

What the money bought

The same 2025 spending, sorted by what it paid for rather than which service.

Staff pay and benefits$10.3M
Wages, benefits and pensions for city workers.
Outside companies$9.6M
Work the city pays other companies to do, like policing, paving or consultants.
Supplies and utilities$6.9M
Gravel, salt, fuel, electricity, heating, office supplies and repairs.
Money given to others$2.8M
Grants and payments to other groups, like the conservation authority.
Rent and money costs$326K
Renting equipment or space, bank fees, and some accounting costs.
Interest on loans$183K
The extra money paid to lenders for money the city borrowed.

Show as a table

Item	Amount
Staff pay and benefits	$10,274,038
Outside companies	$9,620,704
Supplies and utilities	$6,855,923
Money given to others	$2,842,416
Rent and money costs	$326,093
Interest on loans	$183,479

Staff

People on the city's payroll at the end of each year, as reported to the Province.

Year	Full-time	Part-time	Seasonal
2019	122	82	11
2020	101	63	17
2021	96	29	5
2022	87	40	11
2023	86	48	8
2024	82	53	9
2025	88	58	9

How things have changed since 2019

Money in compared with day-to-day spending, each year. When the orange line is above the blue one, the city spent more than it took in and made up the difference from savings or loans. Grants for big projects arrive in some years and not others, which makes "money in" jump around.

$36M

Show as a table

Year	Money in	Day-to-day spending
2019	$30.8M	$24.8M
2020	$31.5M	$22M
2021	$29.4M	$23.8M
2022	$35.2M	$30M
2023	$37M	$28.6M
2024	$42.8M	$29.3M
2025	$36M	$30.1M

City property tax

Up 16% since 2019. Prices rose 21%.

$16.7M

Show as a table

Year	City property tax
2019	$14.4M
2020	$14.5M
2021	$14.6M
2022	$14.6M
2023	$15.2M
2024	$16.3M
2025	$16.7M

Savings (reserves)

Money set aside for repairs, equipment and emergencies.

$8.0M

Show as a table

Year	Savings
2019	$8.2M
2020	$6.2M
2021	$6.8M
2022	$5.2M
2023	$3.6M
2024	$5.2M
2025	$8.0M

What the city owes

Long-term loans plus short-term (temporary) loans at year end.

$4.8M

Show as a table

Year	Long-term loans	Temporary loans
2019	$11.5M	$0
2020	$8.7M	$0
2021	$7.8M	$0
2022	$7.0M	$0
2023	$6.2M	$0
2024	$5.2M	$0
2025	$4.8M	$0

Building new things

Spending on new or rebuilt roads, pipes, buildings and equipment, compared with how fast existing ones wear out.

$3.1M

Show as a table

Year	Built or bought	Wore out (amortization)
2019	$2.7M	$4.7M
2020	$4.6M	$4.7M
2021	$2.4M	$4.5M
2022	$6.8M	$4.6M
2023	$4.9M	$4.7M
2024	$15.2M	$5.0M
2025	$3.1M	$5.1M

Source: Ontario Financial Information Return (FIR), Schedules 10, 40, 51, 60, 70, 74 and 80 (archived copy). Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Retrieved 2026-10-01. Figures are what the municipality reported to the Province for each year, prepared on the same basis as its audited financial statements.