Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Gravenhurst's budget, taxes and council decisions. A lower-tier town in the District of Muskoka, with a mayor and eight councillors. 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.
+46%roads and snow, 2019 to 2025
Gravenhurst spent $4.3M on roads and snow in 2019 and $6.2M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time. Only 1 of 43 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
6.87%Town tax rate increase for 2026, after 4.5% in 2025 and 2.99% in 2024
The Town's own tax rate increase (not the District's or the school boards') was 2.99% for 2024, 4.5% for 2025 and 6.87% for 2026. The money the Town raises from property tax, called the net tax levy, went from $19,347.0 thousand in 2024 to $22,407.0 thousand in 2026. The Town says new capital projects, inflation, a new winter-control reserve and an increase of 3.0 full-time-equivalent staff are behind the 2026 figure, and that it stayed inside a guideline of 8.0%. Compounded, the three yearly rate increases come to about 15.0% (worked out by us).
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$14,855,491owed by the Town's capital projects to its own reserve at the end of 2025
The Town says it has not borrowed from outside lenders since 2012 and owed $5,904,667 of that old debt at the end of 2025. It now borrows from its own Community Reinvestment Reserve, a savings fund, to pay for roads, vehicles and buildings. At the end of 2025 it owed that reserve $14,855,491, and the 2026 budget plans $4,369,786 of repayments, up from $2,574,489 in 2022. The Town's table shows the combined amount owed at $20,760,158 at the end of 2025 and $20,783,272 at the end of 2026, so the total does not go down next year.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$9,764,174projected reserve balance at the end of 2026, after commitments, in the Town's budget book
A reserve is money set aside for later, such as replacing a road. The audited statements show the Town's reserves and reserve funds at $20,412,096 at the end of 2023, $19,529,723 at the end of 2024 and $18,927,473 at the end of 2025. The biggest one, the Community Reinvestment fund, went from $10,556,465 to $7,845,857 to $6,801,264. The 2026 budget book shows the reserves after subtracting amounts already promised to approved projects: (10,681,489) at the end of 2025 and a projected (9,764,174) at the end of 2026. The Town says its capital budget has doubled since 2020 and that reserves and internal borrowing pay for 66% of the capital plan.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$100,401tax stabilization reserve at the end of 2025, down from $667,761 at the end of 2023
A tax stabilization reserve is a cushion used so that a bad year does not have to be paid for with a sudden tax increase. The audited statements show it at $667,761 at the end of 2023, $546,261 at the end of 2024 and $100,401 at the end of 2025. The 2026 budget book shows the audited balance at December 31, 2024 as (132,174), not $546,261, and plans to use $0 from the reserve in 2026. The book's total for all reserves at that date is (19,136,530); the audited statements give 19,529,723. The difference is $393,193 (worked out by us).
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$131,332corporate legal services spending in 2024, against a budget of $75,000
The Town's corporate legal services line paid for $50,676 in 2022 and $51,332 in 2023, then $131,332 in 2024. The 2024 budget for it was $75,000. Spending to October 21, 2025 was $60,092 against a 2025 budget of $75,000, and the 2026 budget stays at $75,000. The Town says the line covers a mix of issues including the planning appeals tribunal and corporate governance, plus a provision for the Integrity Commissioner. The 2026 budget book says the Town managed an Integrity Commissioner transition and various legal tribunal files in 2025.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
+56%police, fire and safety, 2019 to 2025
Gravenhurst spent $2.1M on police, fire and safety in 2019 and $3.3M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
$9,190,450surplus in 2025, against a budgeted $802,809
A surplus is what is left when a year's revenue is more than its spending. The audited 2025 statements show "Other" revenue of $9,151,058 against a budget of $1,342,000. The Town's own note breaks that figure down. It includes $4,551,800 of buildings and other capital assets that someone else gave to the Town (these are not cash), $2,976,187 of investment income, and $1,219,854 moved from restricted reserves. The Town also explains that the budget in the statements is rebuilt from a different kind of budget, so some of the gap is accounting. The Town's own count of its day-to-day operating surplus is much smaller: $708,712 at the end of 2025, after a deficit of $381,027 the year before.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$1,000,000pledged in 2023; the reserve holds $686,895 at the end of 2025
In 2023 the Town committed $1,000,000 to the Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare two-hospital model of care. Note 12 of the 2025 statements says the Town has transferred a total of $605,616 into a Health Services Reserve Fund. The same statements show that reserve at $686,895 at the end of 2025. The 2026 budget book lists no contribution to it, only $15,140 of projected revenue, which would take it to $620,756. The Town says the commitment will not be fulfilled until construction is to commence.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$319,502ice storm cost shown to October 21, 2025, after $235,054 for a snow event in 2024
The 2026 budget book lists two storm costs as their own lines: "Snow Event 2024" at $235,054 and "Ice Storm 2025" at $319,502 (the 2025 figure is spending to October 21, 2025). Together that is $554,556 (worked out by us). The Town says it created a Winter Control Maintenance Reserve to steady costs from winter surprises and budgets $107,000 into it for 2026.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$225per home on snow ploughing, 2025
Gravenhurst spent about $225 per home on snow ploughing in 2025. The typical similar town spent $139. Only 6 of 43 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
A property tax bill in Gravenhurst pays for three governments. Only part of it goes to the town, and that part is what Gravenhurst council controls.
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