$2,060,804investment income in 2024, against a budget of $136,470
Investment income is the interest the Municipality earns on the money it keeps in the bank. The audited 2024 statements show $2,060,804 of it, against a budget of $136,470. The year before it was $1,716,123, so the budget line stayed far below the result for two years. The Municipality has said in its budgets that it raised the interest line because of higher interest rates. Part of the interest is, by rule, added to restricted funds rather than spent on day-to-day costs: the statements show $646,502 of "externally restricted investment income" added to deferred revenue in 2024. The documents we read do not say how much of the $2,060,804 reached the operating budget and how much went into reserves.
$3,000,000Industrial Land Servicing project in the 2026 budget, planned to be repaid from land sales
The 2025 budget put $3M in the capital plan to service the Forest industrial lands (roads, pipes and similar work so that lots can be sold), with the money shown as coming from a debenture, which is a long-term loan. The budget says "Future sale of lands will be used to pay off the debenture." The 2026 budget carries a project called Industrial Land Servicing with a total of 3,000,000, and shows 1,500,000 of financing for "Forest industrial lands servicing" in 2026. The 2026 list of loans at the end of 2025 does not include an industrial lands loan, so we read the money as not yet borrowed. The 2025 budget said a commercial appraiser had been retained to report on land prices. We did not find the appraisal or any sale of the lots.
$7,250,000contract for the Grand Bend bridge repairs, including HST
The statements record a construction contract of $7,250,000 including HST for the Grand Bend bridge repairs, started in September 2024 and due to finish by December 2026. The 2025 budget plan for the "Ontario Street Bridge and Connecting Link" showed 5,000,000 for 2025 and 1,200,000 for the following year, with 3,000,000 of Connecting Link funding (a provincial program for roads that carry a highway) and 2,000,000 of development charges (fees paid by builders for growth). The 2026 budget shows 3,879,022 for the bridge, funded by development charges of 2,414,939, grants of 868,000 and committed funds of 596,083. No Connecting Link amount of 3,000,000 appears in the 2026 funding. The documents we read do not give the total project cost to date, or say how much grant money has been received.
$630,365tax rate stabilization reserve at the end of 2024, down from $1,596,332
A reserve is money set aside for later. The tax rate stabilization reserve is meant to soften the need for tax increases when a year goes badly. The statements show it at $630,365 at the end of 2024, down from $1,596,332. Total reserves on the same note fell from $36,809,918 to $31,547,503. The 2026 budget projects the tax rate stabilization reserve falling again, from 653,458 at the end of 2025 to 274,098, and total reserve funds from 40,056,859 to 35,462,697. The Municipality has explained part of this: its 2026 budget says that using reserves for capital projects limits borrowing, that "reserves are limited resources," and that the heavy use of them highlights the need for ongoing contributions to replenish them. The two sets of reserve figures are on different bases and should not be compared line by line.