Sources and method

Where this comes from

Everything on these pages comes from public documents. Here they are, with how we used them, so anyone can check our work.

Documents

1. Ontario Financial Information Return (FIR)

   Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing · retrieved 2026-10-01

   The numbers behind the money and compare pages: 2019 to 2024 for James, and 2024 for 35 similar towns. Figures are what the municipality reported to the Province for each year, prepared on the same basis as its audited financial statements.

2. Township of James, budget documents

   Township of James · retrieved 2026-10-01

   The town’s published budgets. Used to check its plans against what it reported.

3. Council minutes, December 11, 2024

   Township of James · retrieved 2026-10-13

   2023 audit presented to Council. A scanned page, read by eye.

4. Council minutes, July 9, 2025

   Township of James · retrieved 2026-10-13

   2024 audit presented; draft 2025 budget approved; water rates raised. A scanned page, read by eye.

5. Council minutes, August 13, 2025

   Township of James · retrieved 2026-10-13

   2025 tax ratios by-law. A scanned page, read by eye.

6. Council minutes, February 12, 2025

   Township of James · retrieved 2026-10-13

   Water treatment plant operator's 2025 capital proposals. A scanned page, read by eye.

7. Council minutes, January 8, 2025

   Township of James · retrieved 2026-10-13

   2025 borrowing by-law and interim tax levy. A scanned page, read by eye.

8. Council minutes, January 14, 2026

   Township of James · retrieved 2026-10-13

   December 2025 treasurer's report; 2026 borrowing by-law and interim tax levy. A scanned page, read by eye.

9. Council minutes, June 10, 2026

   Township of James · retrieved 2026-10-13

   Motion to adopt the 2026 draft budget and set tax rates on July 8, 2026. A scanned page, read by eye.

10. Council minutes, January 24, 2024

    Township of James · retrieved 2026-10-13

    December 2023 treasurer's report; 2024 borrowing by-law.

11. Council minutes, July 10, 2024

    Township of James · retrieved 2026-10-13

    June 19, 2024 budget meeting minutes approved; 2024 tax ratios by-law.

12. Council minutes, July 8, 2026

    Township of James · retrieved 2026-10-13

    2025 audit presented; 2026 tax ratios and tax rates by-laws.

13. Asset Management Plan, Sections 9 to 12 (adopted by Council March 11, 2026)

    Township of James · retrieved 2026-10-13

    Financial strategy, 2024 budget summary, water system. 25 PDF pages, text.

14. Statistics Canada, Consumer Price Index, annual average (table 18-10-0005-01)

    Statistics Canada · retrieved 2026-10-01

    How much prices went up each year, so cost growth can be compared with inflation.

How the numbers are worked out

Day-to-day spending

Total expenses as reported, minus amortization ("wear and tear"), which is an accounting cost rather than cash spent that year. Costs are shown in the service where they were recorded, before the town spreads its office overhead across services, so the cost of running the office stays visible.

Per home

An amount divided by the number of households the town reported to the Province for that year.

Similar towns

Ontario single-tier municipalities with 60% to 160% of this population that had filed their 2024 return, in 2024. This gives 35 towns. "Typical" means the median: half of similar towns are above it and half below. The size limits are a judgement call; moving them a little adds or drops a few towns, so treat small differences in rank as noise. Per-home figures use the household counts each town reports to the Province. Towns do not all count the same way: some include seasonal homes, so per-home comparisons are a guide, not exact.

Faster than prices

Growth is compared with Canada's Consumer Price Index over the same years.

When a question is raised automatically

When a cost grew at least 25 percentage points faster than prices and faster than 80% of similar towns; when a measure of money health is worse than 80% of similar towns; or when a one-year tax increase is higher than 80% of similar towns and well above inflation. "Needs an answer" means worse than 90% of similar towns. When there are fewer than 20 similar towns, automatic questions go no higher than "Worth asking", because one rank moves a lot in a small group.

What this cannot see

These records show totals by category, not individual payments. They cannot show whether a particular contract was fair, whether a purchase was split to avoid tendering, or who was paid. That needs the town's list of payments (its cheque register or accounts payable list), which residents can ask for under Ontario's freedom-of-information law (MFIPPA). That is the next thing we plan to add.