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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by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date.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 Fort Erie'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 / Fort ErieUpdated Oct 5, 2026

Your town, in plain words

How Fort Erie uses the money we share.

A clear, checkable guide to Fort Erie's budget, taxes and council decisions. A town in Niagara Region with a mayor, six ward councillors and a regional councillor. Every figure links back to the public record.

Your typical 2024 property tax bill$3,585on a $230K home47% Town43% County10% SchoolsSee your tax bill explained →
Town spending, 2024$52.1MAbout $3,124 per household, up 6.6% from 2023.See the money →
Property tax change+7.6%Fort Erie's own property tax came to $35.4M in 2024, against $32.9M in 2023.What changed →

Where it goes

Most of every dollar supports the everyday town.

Explore every service →
Water, sewers and garbage$19.8M · 38%
Running the town office$8.2M · 16%
Roads and snow$7.2M · 14%
Parks, arena and library$7.1M · 14%
Show all 8 servicesShow fewer
Police, fire and safety$4.8M · 9%
Planning and business$4.3M · 8%
Health$631K · 1%
Social services$88,370 · 0%

Day-to-day spending in 2024, from Fort Erie's report to the Province.

A fair comparisonHow does Fort Erie compare?Among 36 similar Ontario towns, Fort Erie's day-to-day spending per household is on the low side.Fort Erie is here · 10 of 36, lowest to highestCompare Fort Erie →

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

Why are the Town's savings for capital projects smaller than they were two years ago?

$15Mlevy capital reserves in the January 2026 slides, against $24.0M projected for January 1, 2024

A reserve is money a town sets aside for later, such as replacing a road or a pipe. The Town's January 2024 slides projected $24.0M in levy capital reserves (the money raised from property taxes) and $15.9M in levy operating reserves for January 1, 2024. The January 2026 slides show $15M in levy capital reserves and $15.1M in operating reserves. The 2026 slides say reserves are starting to trend downwards even though contributions have increased slightly, and the 2025 budget used $2.7M of reserves. The two sets of slides may not count exactly the same things, so the drop is not a measured loss. We did not find a table of year-end balances in the documents we could read.

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

Worth askingMoney health

How will the Town pay for the repairs its roads, pipes and buildings need, when its own slides show a gap of $29M or more a year?

$29M+a year, the AMP gap named in the 2026 capital slides

An asset management plan (AMP) lists what a town owns, how fast it wears out and what it costs to replace. The Town's 2026 slides say it owns assets with a historical cost of $467M and a replacement value of about $2B, and sets aside $16.0M a year in base reserve transfers (levy and water and wastewater together). They also say the yearly investment needed to maintain the levy system is approximately $37M, and that the AMP gap is $29M+ a year and widening. Two years earlier the Town said the gap from its 2019 plan had been closed in 2022. The Town is open about this: it says a financial strategy report would follow, and that reserves are not sufficient and a higher reliance on debt is likely. We could not open that report.

Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources

Worth askingSpending level

Why does the Town forecast a 7.1% base budget increase for 2027 after 3.57% for 2026?

7.1%forecast base budget increase for 2027, against 3.57% net for 2026

The 2026 levy budget raises the Town's base budget by 5.78% before assessment growth (new buildings that add to the tax base) of 2.21%, leaving 3.57%. A note on the slide says a report in October 2025 had estimated 8.75%. For a typical home the Town's share of the tax bill goes up 3.50% and the whole bill, with the Region and schools, 4.50%. The slides then forecast base budget increases of 7.1% in 2027 and 4.4% in 2028. Two years ago the Town forecast 7.9% for 2025 and 2.7% for 2026. The slides do not say why 2027 is so high, though they list one-time reserve use, wage agreements and the asset gap as pressures.

Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources

Worth askingHow decisions are made

Why do 159 open capital projects still hold $87M of approved budget?

$87Moutstanding budget on 159 open capital projects, against a 2026 program of $23.8M

A capital project builds or replaces something that lasts, such as a road, a bridge or a pipe. The Town's November 2025 slides say a variance report (CS-10-2025) closed 77 projects with a budget of $27.1M and returned $3.6M to reserves. It also gave a status update on 159 projects that remain open with outstanding budget of $87M. The same slides propose a 2026 program of $23.8M for 61 projects and an average of $35.3M a year from 2026 to 2036. The Town points to that variance report for the detail. We could not open it.

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

Show 3 more questionsShow fewer
Worth askingMoney health

Why does the 2026 budget count on building and planning fees falling by $390,300, and on a building permit reserve for about $500,000 of daily costs?

$500,000of 2026 operations funded by the Building Permit Surplus reserve, which cannot be relied upon after 2027

Fees paid by builders and developers help pay for the people who review plans and inspect work. The 2026 levy slides list building and planning fees among the revenue changes at $390,300 (a loss of income, since the slide treats positive numbers as unfavourable). The same slides say the Building Permit Surplus reserve is funding approximately $500,000 of 2026 operations and cannot be relied upon after 2027. They name development volatility as a risk, and the water slides name lower forecast development charge collections. The slides do not say why the fees fell or what replaces the reserve.

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

Good to knowRising costs

Why are water and wastewater bills forecast to rise about 6.5% a year from 2027 to 2031?

6.5%a year, the forecast water and wastewater bill increase for 2027 to 2031

The Town buys water treatment from Niagara Region and passes the cost on. For 2026 the Region's budget raises the cost by 9.42%, and the Town's slides say that is 79% of the Town's own increase. The Town builds 9.42% into 2027 and every later forecast year, and forecasts bill increases of about 6.5% a year for 2027 to 2031. The Town explains the reasons itself: the Region's charges are more than 62% of its water budget, its customers are spread over a long network of pipes, and it was second highest in Niagara for the base charge in 2025. It also reports 64 watermain breaks so far in 2025, against 34 in 2024 and 25 in 2023.

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

Good to knowSpending level

What is the one-time $500,000 Coal Docks grant to NPC in the 2026 budget?

$500,000one-time Coal Docks grant to NPC, paid from the GLRS reserve

The 2026 levy slides list a one-time cost of $500,000 for a "Coal Docks grant - to NPC", paid from a reserve the slides call GLRS. The slides say it is the one request in that part of the budget that was already the subject of a previous report or resolution, which suggests Council had decided on it earlier. The same budget cuts three grant programs (Heritage Property, Affordable Housing and Industrial development charge grants) by $200,000. The slides do not say what NPC is or what the grant buys, and we could not open the earlier report.

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

2024 tax year · Fort Erie, Ontario

Your tax bill, worked out.

Enter your home's assessed value to see roughly what you pay in property tax each year, who gets it, and what Fort Erie'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 Fort Erie.

Source

a year in property tax, at 2024 rates

  • Fort Erie
  • County or region
  • Schools

Fort Erie council sets only its own share. County or region sets its share, the Province sets the school rate.

See what your Fort Erie share pays forHide the breakdown

Roughly what your Fort Erie share pays for

Source
  • Running the town office
  • Roads and snow
  • Parks, arena and library
  • Police, fire and safety
  • Planning and business
  • Health
  • Social services

An estimate. It uses the residential tax rate, and splits Fort Erie'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.

  • 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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