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by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date.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 Georgian Bay'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.
A clear, checkable guide to Georgian Bay's budget, taxes and council decisions. A township in the District of Muskoka on the eastern shore of Georgian Bay, with a mayor and six councillors, about 3,500 year-round residents and many more seasonal ones. Every figure links back to the public record.
9.61%rise in the Township's own part of a $538,000 home's 2026 tax bill ($1,592.37 to $1,745.35), against 3.60% for the whole bill
On the Township's example home, the whole tax bill rose 3.60% in 2026. Most of that bill goes to the District of Muskoka and the school boards. The part the Township keeps for its own services rose 9.61%, and the year before it rose 8.44%. Worked out by us, two years in a row is about 18.9% more for the Township's own share.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$1,169,000yearly gap the Township's plan found between what it needs for its assets and what it was setting aside
The Township's asset management plan (written in 2020, adopted by Council in 2022) said it needed about $3,014,000 a year to keep its assets in shape and was setting aside about $1,847,000, a yearly gap of $1,169,000. Council's plan was to close it by raising the capital part of the levy each year. The Township says that rise was paused in 2025, and Council postponed the update to the plan itself, which staff expected to finish by the end of May 2026. The 2026 approved budget again includes a capital increase.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
In 2025, Georgian Bay collected $806K more in its own property tax than in 2024. That is a 10% jump, while prices went up about 2.1%. Only 3 of 28 similar towns raised theirs by more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
Georgian Bay spent $1,000K on parks, arena and library in 2019 and $2.1M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time. Only 4 of 28 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$961,799approved 2026 increase in the Township's levy, shown as 9.61%; the table splits it as 6.30% plus 3.31%
The approved 2026 table gives $664,726 as 6.30% and $297,073 as 3.31%, and the two percentages add to the 9.61% total. But the two dollar amounts add to $961,799, and worked out by us, 9.61% of the Township's levy means a base of about $10.0 million (worked out by us from $961,799 and 9.61%). On that base, $664,726 would be about 6.64% and $297,073 about 2.97% (worked out by us). The percentages in the table seem to use more than one base.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$453,000 vs $538,000assessed value of the example home in the 2025 and 2026 summaries
The 2025 summary uses a home assessed at $453,000 with a tax bill of $3,916.18. The 2026 summary uses a home assessed at $538,000 with a bill of $4,818.51. Set side by side, those bills look 23% apart, but the Township says the 2026 rise on the same $538,000 home was 3.60%. The Township's budget page does give the 2025 bill on the $538,000 home, so the like-for-like comparison is available.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$0amortization charged in the Township's 2026 budget, by its own statement
The Township says its budget does not charge amortization (the yearly wearing out of roads, buildings and equipment, a real cost that audited statements do show). It says that understates what its programs cost. So a comparison of spending in the audited statements to the budget cannot be read as overspending without first adding amortization back.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 1 source
$31,011added to the approved 2026 budget as the Council Remuneration Update
The approved 2026 budget adds a line called Council Remuneration Update of 31,011. The staff budget book says it follows a Committee of the Whole resolution from August 2025 that changed meeting honoraria and a yearly benefit account for the Mayor and councillors, and asked staff to report on two more items. We did not find the yearly statement of council pay and expenses that the Municipal Act requires on the Township's finance or council pages, so we have not filled in a council pay table.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$1.4 milliondebt the Township expected to have outstanding in 2026, by its own budget book
The Township's own budget book says it expected about $1.4 million of debt outstanding in 2026, with $343,995 of principal and interest due that year, and a plan to have no debt by the end of 2038. Its yearly repayment limit, set by the Province, was 11% used in the figures it shows. This is context, not a concern.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
2 of 2audited statements we opened (2025 and 2024) that had no readable text
The Township says its audited statements compare actual spending to the budget. The 2025 and 2024 statements are posted, but the files we opened have no text in them: they are pictures of pages. A person can read them on screen, but a search, a screen reader or a spreadsheet tool cannot. For that reason we took no figure, auditor opinion or date from them.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 1 source
Where your tax bill goes
A property tax bill in Georgian Bay pays for three governments. Only part of it goes to the town, and that part is what Georgian Bay council controls.
Tax bill split: Georgian Bay 33%, County or region 49%, Schools 18%
$26.6Mraised in 2025
Georgian Bay33%
County or region49%
Schools18%
How Georgian Bay's share of the bill compares with similar towns
Can we count your visit? With your OK, we use Google Analytics to see which pages help people. It sets cookies and sends visit data to Google. Nothing loads unless you say yes. Privacy