Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to East Zorra - Tavistock's budget, taxes and council decisions. A rural township in Oxford County, Ontario, with a mayor, a deputy mayor and five councillors. Its offices are in Hickson. Every figure links back to the public record.
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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.
+61%roads and snow, 2019 to 2024
East Zorra - Tavistock spent $1.6M on roads and snow in 2019 and $2.5M in 2024. Prices only went up about 18% in that time. Only 3 of 85 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$4,234,807spent on transportation services in 2025, against a budget of $2,404,688
The audited statements show what the Township spent on transportation services (roads, bridges, winter plowing and the equipment that goes with them). For 2025 the budget column says $2,404,688 and the actual column says $4,234,807. For 2024 the budget was $2,452,962 and the actual was $3,502,711. Part of the gap is accounting: the budget column shows nothing for amortization (the yearly write-down of the value of roads, bridges and equipment as they wear out), while the actual column includes it. The transportation share of amortization was $867,643 in 2025. Taking that out leaves $3,367,164, still $962,476 above the budget (worked out by us). The Township's 2026 draft budget says it has raised its winter plowing and salting budget because of what it spent in 2025.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$1,332,419loss on disposal of capital assets in 2024 (2025: $225,554)
When the Township replaces or scraps something it owns (a road section, a bridge, a truck), the statements record the difference between what it was still worth on the books and what the Township received. In 2024 that loss was $1,332,419 and in 2025 it was $225,554. The budget shows nothing for either year. In 2024, almost all of it sits in the transportation column ($1,348,739, with a small gain elsewhere). Assets with an original cost of $2,128,113 were taken off the books in 2024, of which $761,270 had already been written down.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$1,615,450fall in total reserves during 2025, to $7,145,535 (worked out by us)
Reserves are money set aside for later costs, like replacing a bridge or arena equipment. Total reserves rose from $8,136,773 at the end of 2023 to $8,760,985 at the end of 2024, then fell to $7,145,535 at the end of 2025, a drop of $1,615,450 (worked out by us). The reserve for capital replacement fell from $7,777,176 to $5,982,475. Cash fell from $10,692,661 to $9,246,136. The adopted 2026 budget plans to take $3,591,457 from reserves for capital projects in 2026, then $2,330,624, $1,283,912, $891,053 and $2,467,213 in the next four years.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$7,750,000borrowing planned for 2030 in the adopted capital summary
Net long-term liabilities (what the Township owes lenders) were $247,303 at the end of 2025. The capital plan in the adopted 2026 by-law shows no borrowing from 2023 to 2029 and then "Debt Financing" of $7,750,000 in 2030. The Township's draft budget shows where it comes from: a $10,000,000 line for a "Multi-Use Recreational Facility", described as "as per Recreation Advisory Committee - new indoor facility", paid for by debentures (long-term loans) of $7,750,000, developers' contributions of $1,000,000 and $1,100,000 from the community centres reserve. A plan is not a promise, and a later Council would decide.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
+79%parks, arena and library, 2019 to 2024
East Zorra - Tavistock spent $670K on parks, arena and library in 2019 and $1.2M in 2024. Prices only went up about 18% in that time. Only 10 of 85 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$1,906,346surplus in 2025, against a budgeted $3,956,332
A surplus is what is left when a year's revenue is more than its spending. The 2025 budget column planned an excess of revenue over expenditures of $3,956,332. The audited result was $1,906,346, which is $2,049,986 less (worked out by us). Most of the gap is explained by amortization: the budget column has none, and the actual 2025 figure is $1,726,904. That leaves $323,082 (worked out by us).
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$8,945,280the 2026 levy for municipal purposes, up from $8,409,167
The levy is the amount the Township collects from property taxes for its own services (not the County's or the schools'). It was $8,409,167 in 2025 and is $8,945,280 in 2026, a rise of $536,113, or about 6.4% (worked out by us). The residential tax rate went from 0.00589194 to 0.00607867, about 3.2% (worked out by us), so roughly half of the rise comes from more or higher-valued properties and half from a higher rate. The Township's draft budget gives winter control and arena spending as pressures.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$2,933,746the Township's investment in ERTH Corporation at December 31, 2025
ERTH Corporation is a company in which the Township holds a share. The Township owns 5.04% of it and shows it in the statements at $2,933,746: its share of the company's equity ($2,173,746) plus a $760,000 promissory note (a loan with no end date). The note earns 7.25%, and the Township received $55,100 of interest in 2025. ERTH declared a dividend of $1,030,000 in 2025, of which the Township's share is $51,954. The statements say the note is unsecured, and that no principal repayment is expected in the next twelve months.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
2024 tax year · East Zorra - Tavistock, Ontario
Enter your home's assessed value to see roughly what you pay in property tax each year, who gets it, and what East Zorra - Tavistock'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 East Zorra - Tavistock.
a year in property tax, at 2024 rates
East Zorra - Tavistock 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 East Zorra - Tavistock'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.
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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.
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