Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Lincoln's budget, taxes and council decisions. A town in Niagara Region, on the Niagara Peninsula, with a mayor and eight ward 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.
+11%town property tax, 2024 to 2025
In 2025, Lincoln collected $2.8M more in its own property tax than in 2024. That is a 11% jump, while prices went up about 2.1%. None of the 24 similar towns raised theirs by more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
+229%running the town office, 2019 to 2025
Lincoln spent $4.9M on running the town office in 2019 and $16M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time. Only 0 of 24 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$25.4Min savings at the end of 2025
Towns keep savings (called reserves) to pay for new trucks, roof repairs and surprises. Lincoln had $25.4M saved at the end of 2025, up from $19.2M in 2019. That is 50% of one year's spending. Only 2 of 24 similar towns had less, compared with what they spend.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
$843per home on council, 2025
Lincoln spent about $843 per home on council in 2025. The typical similar town spent $50. None of the 24 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
$4,991per home on long-term debt, 2025
Lincoln spent about $4,991 per home on long-term debt in 2025. The typical similar town spent $1,212. None of the 24 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
$16,372,012surplus in 2025, against a budgeted deficit of $3,867,997
A surplus is what is left when a year's revenue is more than its spending. The budget figures in the 2025 audited statements show a planned deficit of $3,867,997. The actual result was a surplus of $16,372,012, a gap of $20,240,009 (worked out by us). Spending came in $1,377,000 above its budget (worked out by us), so the gap is on the revenue side. Grants were $13,642,937 against a budget of $4,246,884. The Town also booked $7,774,744 of "Contributed tangible capital assets" (roads, pipes and similar things that builders hand over to the Town) that the budget did not plan for. The statements explain how the budget was put together, but they do not break the grants down.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$53,432,634long-term debt at the end of 2025, up from $6,853,279 at the end of 2022
Net debt is what a town owes less the financial assets (cash, investments, money owed to it) it holds. At the end of 2022 Lincoln had net financial assets of $3,482,017. At the end of 2023 it had net debt of $1,966,270, at the end of 2024 $9,447,992 and at the end of 2025 $29,351,703. Long-term debt (debentures issued through Niagara Region) was $6,853,279 at the end of 2022 and $53,432,634 at the end of 2025. On top of that, at the end of 2025 the Town had a $2,907,000 short-term loan and a $4,304,532 construction advance, both from Infrastructure Ontario. The 2026 budget book says debt will rise by another $12.5 million in 2026 and that $43.99 million more could be requested over five years. The Town has explained why: most of it is for roads, water and sewer, and it says debt only follows projects Council has already approved.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 8 sources
$691,311net cost to the tax levy of the former BDSS site in the 2026 budget, up from $440,800
The Town took ownership of the former Beamsville District Secondary School (BDSS) site from the District School Board of Niagara in January 2025. It now calls it the Beamsville Community Hub. The budget books show the site costing the tax levy $440,800 in 2025 and $691,311 in 2026, a rise of $250,511, which the Town describes as 0.95% of the tax levy. The purchase was financed with a floating rate loan from which $2,907,000 had been drawn by the end of 2025. The 2025 budget book says the site is "valued at tens of millions of dollars". We did not find the price in the documents we read. The Town says it is still asking residents what the site should become.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
+325%water, sewers and garbage, 2019 to 2025
Lincoln spent $2.5M on water, sewers and garbage in 2019 and $10.6M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
$8,000,000the Town's committed contribution to the new West Lincoln hospital, in the 2024 and 2025 statements
General government (the costs of running the Town itself) was $8,031,823 in 2024 and $16,735,904 in 2025, a rise of $8,704,081 (worked out by us). The Town has explained part of this. Its 2024 statements say it committed $8,000,000 to the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital Foundation for a new hospital, that it had set aside $7,963,691 in a reserve fund, and that the payout was expected in 2025. In the 2025 statements that reserve fund is nil, and the budget reconciliation lists an "WLMH contribution previously approved" of $8,000,000. The 2025 statements do not say in so many words that the payment was made, or when.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
4.98%increase in the Town's tax levy in the 2026 budget after growth, of which 0.20% is for ongoing operations
The levy is the part of property taxes the Town sets for itself. The 2026 budget book says the Town's levy rises 4.98% after growth. Only 0.20% of that is for ongoing operations. The former Beamsville high school site adds 0.95% and capital (saving for roads, water and buildings, and paying debt) adds 3.83%. The Town says this is a $111 yearly increase for the average household, or 1.8% on the total tax bill, because the Town's share of the bill is 37%. The 2025 budget book showed a 7.88% increase after growth, which included 1.80% for the school site. The Town has explained each part in its budget book, which is why this is a note and not a question.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
0amendments proposed or passed to the 2026 budget, according to the Mayor's decision of November 25, 2025
Lincoln was given strong mayor powers on May 1, 2025. Under them the Mayor proposes the budget, Council may amend it, and the Mayor may veto amendments. On May 20, 2025 the Mayor directed staff to prepare the 2026 budget and to engage Council through workshops. On October 2, 2025 the Mayor shortened the veto period to eight days. On November 25, 2025 the Mayor recorded that Council "proposed or passed no amendments" to the 2026 capital and operating budgets, so the budget was deemed adopted as presented. The Town has published each of these decisions. The Chair of the Budget Committee says that the process "has been different".
Found by reading the town's own documents · 6 sources
$107,708Mayor fundraising received and paid out in 2024, according to the 2026 budget book
The Council budget carries a line, "Mayor Fundraising", with the same amount on the spending side, "Mayor Fundraising Disbursements". It was $90,799 in 2023 and $107,708 in 2024 (actual) and is budgeted at $70,000 in 2025 and 2026. The budget says the money is "sponsorship to be received and offset by related expenditures and charitable disbursements", with no cost to the tax levy. The pages we read do not say who sponsors it, what the event is, or which charities receive the money.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
−$29.4Mnet financial position, 2025
In 2019, Lincoln had $17.7M more in cash and money owed to it than it owed to others. By 2025 it was −$29.4M. About 9% of that change ($4.4M) is a new accounting rule from 2023: towns must now record the future cost of closing things like a landfill. That is not new spending or borrowing. Even leaving that out, only 2 of 24 similar towns are in a weaker position.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
A property tax bill in Lincoln pays for three governments. Only part of it goes to the town, and that part is what Lincoln council controls.
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