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 London, and 2025 for 0 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 London, council remuneration and expense statements

   City of London · retrieved 2026-10-03

   What each council member was paid, and spent on benefits and expenses, 2024 to 2024. One statement a year; the link is the latest, and the council page links each year.

3. City of London, budget documents

   City of London · retrieved 2026-10-01

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

4. Consolidated Financial Statements, December 31, 2025 (KPMG LLP opinion dated July 23, 2026)

   City of London · retrieved 2026-10-03

   Audited consolidated statements; clean opinion.

5. 2025 Financial Report

   City of London · retrieved 2026-10-03

   Management discussion with the statements; budget-to-actual and reserve tables.

6. 2024 Consolidated Financial Statement

   City of London · retrieved 2026-10-03

   Prior-year audited statements (auditor’s report dated August 15, 2025).

7. 2024 to 2027 Multi-Year Budget

   City of London · retrieved 2026-10-03

   The adopted four-year budget with business cases.

8. 2026 Annual Budget Update (adopted)

   City of London · retrieved 2026-10-03

   Yearly update to the multi-year budget.

9. Ombudsman report on a March 21, 2023 gathering (January 2024)

   Ombudsman of Ontario · retrieved 2026-10-03

   Closed meeting investigation; found a contravention.

10. Ombudsman letter on closed meeting complaints (October 2, 2025)

    Ombudsman of Ontario · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Two complaints reviewed; no contravention found.

11. Integrity Commissioner Annual Report 2025-2026 (April 30, 2026)

    Aird & Berlis LLP, Interim Integrity Commissioner · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Complaints, Code review and Bill 9.

12. Integrity Commissioner report on Complaints 2025-04-A, B and C (February 24, 2026)

    Aird & Berlis LLP · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Public investigation; complaints not sustained.

13. Integrity Commissioner Recommendation Report (December 8, 2023)

    Aird & Berlis LLP · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Recommended a formal reprimand.

14. Statement of Remuneration and Expenses for Elected Officials, 2024 (ward councillors)

    City of London · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Section 284 statements for the 14 ward councillors.

15. Mayor Statement of Remuneration 2024

    City of London · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Section 284 statement for the Mayor.

16. 2022-2026 London City Council contact list (March 2026)

    City of London · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Official email addresses of all 15 members.

17. 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 0 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.