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by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date.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

Your town, in plain words

How Georgian Bluffs uses the money we share.

A clear, checkable guide to Georgian Bluffs' budget, taxes and council decisions. A township in Grey County, Ontario, on the west shore of Georgian Bay near Owen Sound, with a mayor, a deputy mayor and five councillors. Every figure links back to the public record.

Property tax raised in 2025$25.7Mall property in Georgian Bluffs54% Town32% County15% SchoolsSee where your tax bill goes →
Town spending, 2025$16.9MAbout $3,048 per household, up 10.1% from 2024.See the money →
Property tax change+5.4%Georgian Bluffs' own property tax came to $13.8M in 2025, against $13.1M in 2024.What changed →

Where it goes

Most of every dollar supports the everyday town.

Explore every service →
Roads and snow$4.6M · 27%
Running the town office$3.6M · 22%
Police, fire and safety$3.6M · 21%
Water, sewers and garbage$3.1M · 18%
Show all 7 servicesShow fewer
Parks, arena and library$1.6M · 9%
Planning and business$290K · 2%
Health$98,353 · 1%

Day-to-day spending in 2025, from Georgian Bluffs' report to the Province.

A fair comparisonHow does Georgian Bluffs compare?Among 46 similar Ontario towns, Georgian Bluffs' day-to-day spending per household is near the middle.Georgian Bluffs is here · 19 of 46, lowest to highestCompare Georgian Bluffs →

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 9 questions
Worth askingHow decisions are made

Why have the Township's last two audits each come with a qualified opinion, and when will it be fixed?

2 in a rowaudits with a qualified opinion (2023 and 2024), for not adopting the asset retirement obligations standard

An audit opinion is the auditor's verdict on whether the statements can be trusted. A "qualified" opinion means: trustworthy, except for one named problem. For both 2023 and 2024 the problem is the same. Since January 1, 2023 the rules for public bodies have required them to record the cost of legal duties to take apart or clean up their assets at the end of their life (called asset retirement obligations). The auditor says the Township has not finished working out which of its assets carry such a duty, and that it cannot say how much the statements are off because of it. The 2024 audit report is dated October 30, 2025. The 2023 report was dated September 3, 2024. The Township says it plans to finish the work as part of a facilities review.

Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources

Worth askingMoney health

Why was $22,738,147 of the Township's $26,036,933 in cash at one bank at the end of 2024, when deposit insurance covers $100,000?

$22,738,147of $26,036,933 cash held at one bank at December 31, 2024

At December 31, 2024 the Township held $26,036,933 in cash. Its own note says $22,738,147 of it was in one Canadian chartered bank and $1,740,028 in another. The same note says deposit insurance (the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation) covers up to $100,000 per depositor, and lists this as a credit risk. The Township also says its operating and capital credit lines were undrawn.

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

Worth askingMoney health

How will the Township cover the unfunded deficits in the Oxenden and Pottawatomi water systems?

$406,791unfunded deficit in the Pottawatomi water system at December 31, 2024 (Oxenden: $191,259)

Each water system is meant to pay for itself from water bills. The 2026 budget presentation says two small systems ended 2024 with deficits nobody has funded yet: $191,259 for Oxenden and $406,791 for Pottawatomi (together $598,050, worked out by us). The Township's explanation is that it is waiting for a water rates study and has assumed a 3.00% rate increase in the meantime. The Township has also signed a $387,885 engineering agreement for a watermain extension to Pottawatomi.

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

Worth askingRising costs

Why does the 2026 budget add a 1.50% waste collection levy in the year recycling moves to the Province?

1.50%waste collection levy assumed in the 2026 budget

The 2026 budget assumptions include a "Waste Collection levy - 1.50%", next to a separate 1.50% capital levy. The same budget says recycling is moving to the Province in 2026, which lowers the Township's garbage and recycling spending. It also says the recycling grant the Township used to receive is going away and that bag tag revenue (the fee for bags of garbage) is falling. So part of the question is how the new levy relates to money that is no longer coming in.

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

Show 5 more questionsShow fewer
Worth askingRising costs

Why did the cost of running the town office grow 100% in 6 years?

+100%running the town office, 2019 to 2025

Georgian Bluffs spent $1.8M on running the town office in 2019 and $3.6M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time. Only 5 of 45 similar towns had faster growth here.

Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources

Good to knowHow decisions are made

Who decides the 2026 budget now that Georgian Bluffs has strong-mayor powers?

5%ceiling Council asked for, and the Mayor directed, for the 2026 tax rate increase (approximate)

Strong-mayor powers came to the Township on May 1, 2025. They let the mayor, not council, propose the budget. Council can amend it and the mayor can veto the amendments, but Council can override a veto only with a two-thirds vote. The Township explains that Council publicly opposed these powers in May 2025. On June 25, 2025 Mayor Sue Carleton signed decisions that gave the hiring of the chief administrative officer and committees back to Council and the organization to the CAO, but kept the budget: she directed staff to prepare the 2026 budget. Council then asked that the increase be no higher than about 5%, and the Mayor's later direction used the same ceiling.

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

Good to knowSpending level

What did council and citizen appointees cost in 2025, and what will change for the next term?

$251,155council and citizen remuneration including paid benefits, 2025

The Treasurer's yearly report under the Municipal Act says council and citizen remuneration, including paid benefits, totalled $251,155 for 2025, paid under By-law 2023-016. Citizen appointees are residents named to boards and committees. The Township also asked residents to join a Council Remuneration Committee for 2026 to 2030, which was to recommend changes to the pay policy before December 31, 2025. We did not copy member-by-member pay because the report's table does not read in order by machine.

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

Good to knowHow decisions are made

What is the property development claim that names the Township as a co-defendant?

No amountgiven in the audited statements for either claim

The audited 2024 statements say the Township "has been named as a co-defendant in a claim relating to property development" and that the outcome "is undeterminable at the present time". They also say the Township is named in other claims being handled through its insurer. No amount is given for either.

Found by reading the town's own documents · 1 source

Where your tax bill goes

A property tax bill in Georgian Bluffs pays for three governments. Only part of it goes to the town, and that part is what Georgian Bluffs council controls.

Tax bill split: Georgian Bluffs 54%, County or region 32%, Schools 15%
$25.7Mraised in 2025
  • Georgian Bluffs54%
  • County or region32%
  • Schools15%

  • 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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