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by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date.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

Your city, in plain words

How Greater Sudbury uses the money we share.

A clear, checkable guide to Greater Sudbury's budget, taxes and council decisions. A single-tier city that covers 3,228 square kilometres in Northern Ontario, with a mayor and 12 ward councillors. Every figure links back to the public record.

Property tax raised in 2025$434Mall property in Greater Sudbury88% City12% SchoolsSee where your tax bill goes →
City spending, 2025$738MAbout $9,561 per household, up 9.5% from 2024.See the money →
Property tax change+6.5%Greater Sudbury's own property tax came to $389M in 2025, against $366M in 2024.What changed →

Where it goes

Most of every dollar supports the everyday city.

Explore every service →
Social services$175M · 24%
Police, fire and safety$141M · 19%
Roads and snow$106M · 14%
Water, sewers and garbage$98.5M · 13%
Show all 9 servicesShow fewer
Running the city office$60.5M · 8%
Parks, arena and library$53M · 7%
Health$47.7M · 6%
Housing$39M · 5%
Planning and business$17M · 2%

Day-to-day spending in 2025, from Greater Sudbury's report to the Province.

Where it comes fromWho pays for Greater Sudbury's services?Property taxes43%Grants for specific projects25%Fees people pay19%Other8%Smaller sources5%$895M came in during 2025.See the money →

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

The City’s borrowing is planned to rise from $340 million to $592 million by the end of 2027. How will the yearly payments of $36 million be covered?

$592 millionplanned outstanding external debt at the end of 2027, up from $340 million today, per the City’s own debt table

Debt is money the City borrows and pays back, with interest, from later budgets. The City’s own debt table shows what it owes now and what it plans to owe. The biggest new piece is the downtown event centre, a $200 million project that uses $135 million of new borrowing. The City says the payments will come from three sources: a special capital levy (an extra yearly charge on the property tax bill for roads and buildings), water fees and the hotel tax. The budget for 2027 was not adopted, so the next council will decide how to pay.

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

Worth askingOpenness

Council cut the 2026 tax increase from 5.7% to 3.9% and left 2027 for the next council. What was the $500,000 "Closed Meeting Item" in the budget changes?

$500,000budget change listed only as "Closed Meeting Item" in the City’s adopted 2026 budget

Staff proposed a 2026 property tax increase of 5.7%. Council adopted 3.9% on December 3, 2025. The City’s list of changes shows where about $6.9 million came out of the draft: a smaller contribution to the capital levy, a cancelled funding plan for the College Street underpass, and one line called "Closed Meeting Item" for $500,000 with no description. Council also adopted only 2026, not the two-year operating budget staff had drafted.

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

Worth askingMoney health

The City’s statements show it owes an estimated $106 million to remove asbestos from its buildings. How and when will it pay?

$106,498,000the City’s estimate, at December 31, 2025, of the cost of removing asbestos from several of its buildings

An asset retirement obligation is a bill the City knows it will have to pay when it closes or tears down something it owns. At the end of 2025 the City recorded $134.6 million of these, of which $106.5 million is for removing asbestos from several of its buildings and $28.1 million is for closing landfill sites. The same statements list the whole amount as "unfunded". The City also says its reserves (savings kept for later) are lower than those of similar cities.

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

Worth askingHow decisions are made

Only a third of the City’s audit action plans are finished, and the draft budget cuts the Auditor General’s own hours. Who will make sure the rest get done?

33%of audit action plans fully or substantially done at May 31, 2025 (25 of 75); the other 67% were partly done

The City has its own Auditor General, who audits City services and reports to council. When an audit finds a problem, management writes an action plan. At May 31, 2025, 75 plans were being tracked, and 25 were substantially done. The other 50 were only partly done, including one from a 2016 audit. The same budget document says that 88 per cent of the hotline complaints (reports of wrongdoing) still open at the end of 2024 were investigated by staff in Human Resources. It also cuts the Auditor General’s part-time hours from 3,654 to 1,827 by 2027, with more audit work going to contractors.

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

Show 3 more questionsShow fewer
Worth askingHow decisions are made

The Auditor General says the City’s largest projects have the least defined project management. How will council hear early when a project costs more than planned?

$16.6 millionby which the one bid for the Pioneer Manor redevelopment, $80.5 million, exceeded the City’s estimate of $63.9 million

In March 2025 the Auditor General audited how the City runs big building projects and buys for them. The audit found most projects well managed. It also said the rules for the biggest ones (housing projects, the Pioneer Manor long-term care home and others) were "not as well defined" and that changes from the plan "may not be identified to senior management and Council on a timely basis". Pioneer Manor drew only one bid, $16.6 million over the City’s estimate. Management agreed with the recommendations.

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

Good to knowMoney health

The City’s electricity company reported an $8.4 million loss in 2025 after a profit the year before. What changed, and does it affect what the company owes the City?

$8.4 millionloss reported for 2025 by the City’s wholly owned electricity company, after a $4.4 million profit in 2024

Greater Sudbury Utilities Inc. is owned 100% by the City. The City’s statements show its share was a loss of $8,447,000 in 2025 against a budgeted profit of $3,832,000. The company’s own statements show the loss came from an accounting entry for rates set by the Ontario Energy Board. Before that entry the company made a profit of $9.7 million. The Board approved paying back only part of the company’s employee-benefit balances through customer rates. The City also holds a $52,340,000 promissory note (a written promise to repay a loan) from the company at 7.25% a year.

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

Good to knowHow decisions are made

The Integrity Commissioner’s bill went from $25,778.69 in 2023 to $82,718.83 in 2024, then to $12,680.53 in 2025. What was investigated?

$82,718.83paid to the Integrity Commissioner in 2024, of which $64,386.00 was for complaint investigation and reporting

The Integrity Commissioner looks into complaints that a council member broke the Code of Conduct or the conflict of interest law. The City posts what it pays each year, split into investigation, advice and training. The 2024 bill was more than three times 2023, most of it for complaint investigation. The City’s page does not say which complaints were investigated or what was found. A new firm took over on May 13, 2025.

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

Where your tax bill goes

A property tax bill in Greater Sudbury pays for the city and schools. Only part of it goes to the city, and that part is what Greater Sudbury council controls.

Tax bill split: Greater Sudbury 88%, Schools 12%
$434Mraised in 2025
  • Greater Sudbury88%
  • Schools12%

  • 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

    Places are only compared with places of a similar size and kind, from the same yearly reports.

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