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 Milton, and 2024 for 12 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. Town of Milton, council remuneration and expense statements

   Town of Milton · retrieved 2026-10-05

   What each council member was paid, and spent on benefits and expenses, 2024 to 2025. One statement a year; the link is the latest, and the council page links each year.

3. Town of Milton, budget documents

   Town of Milton · retrieved 2026-10-01

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

4. Financial Report 2024 (audited consolidated financial statements, Milton Public Library Board and Downtown Milton BIA statements, statistics)

   Town of Milton (auditor: Deloitte LLP) · retrieved 2026-10-05

   About 122 PDF pages. Auditor's report dated June 3, 2025; discussion and analysis dated May 26, 2025.

5. Financial Report 2023

   Town of Milton · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Downloaded; the 2024 report carries the 2023 comparison figures, which we used instead.

6. Mayoral Decision 10-2025: 2026 Budget with Attachments 1 to 6

   Mayor of Milton · retrieved 2026-10-05

   The Mayor's proposed 2026 budget of November 10, 2025: operating budget, reserve table, 2027-28 forecast, capital budget and 2027-2035 forecast (16 pages; the attachments are images with a text layer).

7. ES-049-25, 2026 Capital and Operating Budget

   Town of Milton, Chief Financial Officer / Treasurer · retrieved 2026-10-05

   The Treasurer's budget report to council, December 1, 2025 (64 PDF pages).

8. ES-042-25, 2026 Budget Call Report

   Town of Milton, Chief Financial Officer / Treasurer · retrieved 2026-10-05

   September 8, 2025 report that set the 7.94% target; downloaded, used for background only.

9. ES-021-26, 2026 Final Tax Levy By-law and Tax Policy Update

   Town of Milton, Chief Financial Officer / Treasurer · retrieved 2026-10-05

   May 11, 2026: final levy of $123,723,070 and the 6.94% local increase.

10. ES-016-26, 2025 Operating Variance and Journal Entries

    Town of Milton, Chief Financial Officer / Treasurer · retrieved 2026-10-05

    April 13, 2026: unaudited 2025 surplus, reserves, debt, tax collection and the audit timing.

11. ES-034-26, 2025 Treasurer's Statement of Development Charges and Cash-in-Lieu Parkland Reserve Funds

    Town of Milton, Chief Financial Officer / Treasurer · retrieved 2026-10-05

    June 22, 2026: development charge balances and the cash flow assistance.

12. ES-010-26, 2025 Annual Statement of Remuneration and Expenses

    Town of Milton, Chief Financial Officer / Treasurer · retrieved 2026-10-05

    March 16, 2026: council pay and expenses for 2025 (Municipal Act s. 284).

13. ES-008-25, 2024 Annual Statement of Remunerations and Expenses

    Town of Milton, Chief Financial Officer / Treasurer · retrieved 2026-10-05

    Council pay and expenses for 2024.

14. CORS-016-26, Council compensation and expenses

    Town of Milton, Director, Human Resources · retrieved 2026-10-05

    July 13, 2026 review of council pay, benefits and expenses.

15. ES-021-25, 2024 Year End Procurement Summary

    Town of Milton, Chief Financial Officer / Treasurer · retrieved 2026-10-05

    April 28, 2025: 306 contract awards worth $65,344,316.

16. ES-015-26, 2025 Year End Capital Variances

    Town of Milton, Chief Financial Officer / Treasurer · retrieved 2026-10-05

    April 13, 2026; downloaded, not used in a finding.

17. ES-050-25, Ontario Regulation 284-09 Report for 2026 Budget

    Town of Milton, Chief Financial Officer / Treasurer · retrieved 2026-10-05

    Downloaded, not used in a finding.

18. Integrity Commissioner (web page)

    Town of Milton · retrieved 2026-10-05

    Role, complaint steps and conflict of interest disclosures by member.

19. Ontario Ombudsman (web page)

    Town of Milton · retrieved 2026-10-05

    How to complain, and 2016 and 2017 Ombudsman reports.

20. Mayoral Powers Under the Municipal Act (web page)

    Town of Milton · retrieved 2026-10-05

    Strong-mayor powers and the list of mayoral decisions since 2023.

21. 2027 Budget (Let's Talk Milton) and key dates

    Town of Milton · retrieved 2026-10-05

    Dates for the 2027 budget process.

22. 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 lower-tier municipalities with 60% to 160% of this population that had filed their 2024 return, in 2024. This gives 12 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.