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 2025 for Kingston, and 2025 for 3 similar places. Figures are what the municipality reported to the Province for each year, prepared on the same basis as its audited financial statements.

2. City of Kingston, budget documents

   City of Kingston · retrieved 2026-10-01

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

3. Proposed 2026 Operating and Capital Budgets (Report Number 26-033 and Exhibit A)

   Mayor of Kingston, with the Chief Financial Officer and City Treasurer · retrieved 2026-10-05

   The Mayor’s proposed 2026 budget (263 pages), with the four-year operating forecast, the 15-year capital plan and the external agencies’ budget requests, including Kingston Police.

4. Proposed 2025 Operating and Capital Budgets (Report Number 25-039)

   Mayor of Kingston, with the Chief Financial Officer and City Treasurer · retrieved 2026-10-05

   The proposed 2025 budget, used to compare reserve draws from year to year.

5. Audited Financial Statements, Year Ended December 31, 2025

   The Corporation of the City of Kingston (auditor: KPMG LLP) · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Audited consolidated statements for 2025 (53 PDF pages), with the auditor’s clean opinion dated September 1, 2026.

6. Audited Financial Statements, Year Ended December 31, 2024

   The Corporation of the City of Kingston (auditor: KPMG LLP) · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Audited consolidated statements for 2024, with the auditor’s report dated September 4, 2025.

7. Audited Financial Statements, Year Ended December 31, 2023

   The Corporation of the City of Kingston (auditor: KPMG LLP) · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Audited consolidated statements for 2023, with the auditor’s report dated August 13, 2024. Opened only to read the report date.

8. Code of Conduct for council members (March 29, 2017)

   City of Kingston · retrieved 2026-10-05

   The code that the Integrity Commissioner enforces. Read for context only.

9. Accountability and Transparency (city web page)

   City of Kingston · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Freedom of information steps, Mayor’s special powers, the pecuniary interest registry, the Integrity Commissioner and closed meetings.

10. 2027 City Budget (Get Involved Kingston page)

    City of Kingston · retrieved 2026-10-05

    The city’s page for the 2027 budget. It gave no meeting dates on October 5, 2026.

11. 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 city 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 city reported to the Province for that year.

Similar places

Ontario single-tier municipalities with 60% to 160% of this population that had filed their 2025 return, in 2025. This gives 3 places. "Typical" means the median: half of similar places are above it and half below. The size limits are a judgement call; moving them a little adds or drops a few places, so treat small differences in rank as noise. Per-home figures use the household counts each city reports to the Province. Places 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 places; when a measure of money health is worse than 80% of similar places; or when a one-year tax increase is higher than 80% of similar places and well above inflation. "Needs an answer" means worse than 90% of similar places. When there are fewer than 20 similar places, 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 city'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.