Not the full picture. Built from public records, which leave things out.Read by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date. Check the sources, and tell us if you spot a mistake. What this site can't tell you Read by hand. We read Mississauga's own documents for this site in October 2026; the Sources page lists which ones. The comparisons with other places still come from the Province's yearly reports.
Questions · 12 so far
Things worth asking about
We read Mississauga's financial reports and meeting minutes, and compared its numbers with 1 similar Ontario place. These are the things that stood out.
What these are, and what they are not. A question here means a number or practice is unusual, or harder to see than it should be. It does not mean anyone did anything wrong. Most unusual numbers turn out to have ordinary explanations, and every question lists some. The only way to know is to ask.
Worth asking
Worth asking
There may well be a good reason. It is still worth asking what it is.
15.12%the 2027 levy increase in the city’s own forecast, after 4.39% in 2026 (with a one-time $33 million draw from reserves)
The levy is the part of the property-tax bill that pays for city services. A reserve is money the city saved for later. For 2026 the city used $33 million of reserves, so the levy rose 4.39% instead of 8.80%. The city’s own four-year plan then shows a 15.12% levy increase in 2027. In September 2026 council was told that 2026 could end with an operating deficit of $39.6 million before any reserves are applied.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 4 sources
$335,754,000left in the development-charge fund at the end of 2025, down from $410,972,000 a year earlier (amounts as printed in thousands)
Development charges are fees that builders pay when they build, kept in a separate fund to pay for roads, transit, parks and other things a growing city needs. In 2025 the fund took in $20,067,000, and $97,855,000 was spent from it. Its balance fell from $410,972,000 to $335,754,000. The city has also cut or removed these charges on some housing to speed up building, and council extended those cuts in March 2026.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 3 sources
$365,538,000long-term debt at the end of 2025, up from $260,745,000 (amounts as printed in thousands)
Mississauga borrowed $144,156,000 in 2025 (all of it through the Region of Peel), after $90,000,000 in 2024. The city’s plan has debt principal and interest rising from $48,559,000 in 2025 to $98,627,000 in 2029. At the same time, the 2026 budget cut the part of the tax that pays for capital projects and debt (the Capital Infrastructure & Debt Repayment Levy) from three per cent to one per cent. The city says this means some projects will be delayed or cancelled.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 4 sources
In 2023 the Province passed a law (Bill 112) to dissolve the Region of Peel on January 1, 2025, and Mississauga’s own report called single-tier status something it had asked for over two decades. In June 2024 a new law (Bill 185) confirmed Peel would not be dissolved. Instead, in December 2025 the Province passed Bill 45 to move regional roads and garbage collection to Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon. The Mayor says the move will bring "cost savings and efficiencies", and the 2026 budget says it will "result in savings for taxpayers", but the budget prints no figure and leaves both services out of its numbers.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 5 sources
An Auditor General is an officer who reports to council, not to city management, and can check whether money is well spent. After residents asked for stronger independent oversight during the 2026 budget meetings, council asked staff for options in January 2026. On March 11, 2026 council was shown four options, including hiring an Auditor General, and chose to keep the current Internal Audit team and add two residents to the Audit Committee. The city says council will watch how the Region of Peel’s new Auditor General works out. A public fraud and waste hotline is planned for early 2027.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 5 sources
$144,581,000spent on contracted services in 2025, against a budget of $93,684,000 in the audited statements (amounts as printed in thousands)
The city’s audited 2025 statements put total expenses at $1,273,523,000, against a budget of $1,189,440,000. Contracted services (work done by outside companies) were $144,581,000 against $93,684,000, and salaries and benefits were $745,259,000 against $706,008,000. Roads spending was $179,007,000 against a budget of $130,774,000. The statements explain that the budget they compare to is adjusted to leave out the capital budget’s spending.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 3 sources
The Hazel McCallion Line is a provincially owned light rail line (formerly the Hurontario LRT). The city’s 2026 budget lists "Hazel McCallion LRT operating costs" among the costs that pushed up its original 2026 forecast, but it prints no dollar figure and gives no opening date. News reports have given figures. We did not find one in a city document we could open, so we do not repeat any here.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 2 sources
Each year the city publishes what it paid each member of council. "Constituency expenses" are the costs of running the member’s office. For 2025 the Mayor’s were $106,819.17, against a budget of $111,082.64. The eleven councillors’ were each between $17,495.14 and $34,876.47. The statement does not say what the Mayor’s figure includes.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 2 sources
Council unanimously agreed to give $390 million toward the local share of the new Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital. The city plans a new one per cent Hospital Levy on property taxes from 2029, which the budget puts at 10,019 (thousands of dollars) in 2029. If the levy has not raised enough by January 1, 2033, the city says it will borrow the rest.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 2 sources
The Integrity Commissioner is the independent officer who looks into complaints that a council member broke the Code of Conduct. The city’s page for the commissioner’s reports lists nothing dated after March 14, 2023, yet its page on the commissioner now names a different firm (Principles Integrity) from the one who signed that 2023 report. Council also decided in 2022 that the commissioner should report every quarter on complaints that fell outside the commissioner’s powers.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 3 sources
15.12%the 2027 levy increase in the city’s own forecast, after 4.39% in 2026 (with a one-time $33 million draw from reserves)
The levy is the part of the property-tax bill that pays for city services. A reserve is money the city saved for later. For 2026 the city used $33 million of reserves, so the levy rose 4.39% instead of 8.80%. The city’s own four-year plan then shows a 15.12% levy increase in 2027. In September 2026 council was told that 2026 could end with an operating deficit of $39.6 million before any reserves are applied.
Why it matters
Reserves can only be spent once. If the 2026 shortfall is covered from reserves too, there is less cushion for 2027, and the first budget of the next council, elected on October 26, 2026, starts with a bigger gap.
It could be because…
The city may have used reserves for one year to soften a tax increase while it plans for later years, and its budget names the draw.
The 2027 number is a planning forecast. Council sets each year’s budget separately and can change it.
A mid-year deficit forecast often shrinks by year end, because spending can be adjusted and some revenue arrives late.
Questions you could ask
How much of the $39.6 million forecast deficit for 2026 will be covered from reserves, and how much will those reserves be worth afterwards?
Of the 2027 forecast increase of 15.12%, how much is the $33 million one-time draw not being repeated, and how much is new, permanent cost?
Will the city publish, before council changes after October 26, 2026, what its plan says the 2027 residential tax bill will be?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Mississauga?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
The budget summary says: "The 2026 proposed net operating budget is $789.4 million, which is a 4.39 per cent increase over the 2025 adopted operating budget. This includes a $33 million transfer from reserves." The same page shows a tax levy budget increase of 8.80% before the one-time transfer.
The city’s four-year table shows the tax levy budget with the one-time transfer as 789,421 for 2026, 913,542 for 2027, 1,001,899 for 2028 and 1,076,609 for 2029 (in thousands of dollars). The row for the levy budget increase reads 4.39%, 15.12%, 9.07% and 6.86%. The one-time transfer from reserves of (33,000) appears in 2026 only.
The city’s own explanation: staff cut the Capital Infrastructure & Debt Repayment Levy from three per cent to one per cent and paused the Public Safety Fire Program. It then says: "However, these decisions were difficult to make and the changes are not sustainable." The page also says the 2026 budget had been forecast to rise by 13.3 per cent in the 2025 budget cycle.
The city’s recap of the September 29, 2026 council meeting says the mid-year financial report "forecasts a year-end operating deficit of $39.6 million before any reserve funding is applied". It says transit revenue is forecast to be $30.2 million below budget, largely because of lower post-secondary student ridership, and that recreation and culture revenues are $6.8 million below budget. We could not open the report itself (see notes).
$335,754,000left in the development-charge fund at the end of 2025, down from $410,972,000 a year earlier (amounts as printed in thousands)
Development charges are fees that builders pay when they build, kept in a separate fund to pay for roads, transit, parks and other things a growing city needs. In 2025 the fund took in $20,067,000, and $97,855,000 was spent from it. Its balance fell from $410,972,000 to $335,754,000. The city has also cut or removed these charges on some housing to speed up building, and council extended those cuts in March 2026.
Why it matters
When builders pay less, growth projects still need paying for. If the fund runs down, the choices are to build less, borrow, or use property taxes.
It could be because…
The fund exists to be spent on growth projects, so a falling balance can simply mean the projects are being built.
Receipts go up and down with the number of building permits, and the mayor’s budget letter says the housing market has slowed.
Some of the balance is already promised to approved projects, and council may plan to refill it as building picks up.
Questions you could ask
How much development-charge money did the city not collect in 2025 because of its incentives, and how much does it expect not to collect in 2026 and 2027?
When the fund cannot cover a growth project, which of these will pay: property taxes, borrowing or delay?
How much of the $128,868,000 not yet committed to a project is expected to be needed in the next three years?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Mississauga?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The continuity schedule for the development-charge fund reads: opening balance 410,972, receipts 20,067, interest applied 2,570, recognized as revenue 97,855, closing balance 335,754 (in thousands of dollars). Of the closing balance, 206,886 is committed to approved capital projects and 128,868 is uncommitted.
The Mayor’s letter in the budget says: "We became one of the first municipalities in Ontario to reduce and/or eliminate residential development charges." It adds that, despite the housing market slowdown, there has been uptake in shovel-ready projects.
The city’s recap of the March 11, 2026 council meeting says council extended its development charge incentives, for residential developments with building permits issued before November 13, 2026, to December 31, 2027. It does not say what the incentives cost.
$365,538,000long-term debt at the end of 2025, up from $260,745,000 (amounts as printed in thousands)
Mississauga borrowed $144,156,000 in 2025 (all of it through the Region of Peel), after $90,000,000 in 2024. The city’s plan has debt principal and interest rising from $48,559,000 in 2025 to $98,627,000 in 2029. At the same time, the 2026 budget cut the part of the tax that pays for capital projects and debt (the Capital Infrastructure & Debt Repayment Levy) from three per cent to one per cent. The city says this means some projects will be delayed or cancelled.
Why it matters
Debt must be paid back with interest from future budgets. Cutting the levy that pays for it, while borrowing more, is a trade-off residents should see laid out.
It could be because…
Cities borrow to build things that last for decades, and spreading the cost over time is normal.
The city may be well inside the Province’s limit on debt payments. We did not look up that limit.
The city’s debt per resident may still be low compared with other large cities. We did not compare.
Questions you could ask
Which planned capital projects have been deferred or cancelled because of the cut from three per cent to one per cent, and what do they cost?
What will the city’s debt be at the end of 2029 under its own plan, and what share of the budget will go to paying it?
What new projects is the $144,156,000 of 2025 borrowing paying for?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Mississauga?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
Note 11 says: "All of the City's long-term debt is acquired through the Region of Peel. In 2025, the City acquired new debt of $144,156 (2024 $90,000), changing the debt balance to $365,538 (2024 $260,745)" (in thousands of dollars).
The budget’s operating overview shows Debt Principal & Interest of 48,559 (2025 adopted budget), 66,520 (2026), 72,306 (2027), 83,325 (2028) and 98,627 (2029), in thousands of dollars.
The city’s explanation: "The two per cent reduction in the Capital Infrastructure & Debt Repayment Levy means that some planned capital projects must be either deferred or cancelled which impacts the 10-year capital plan and reduces the ability to meet some reserve fund targets." It adds that the levy will rise by one per cent in 2029 from its original forecast of two per cent.
In 2023 the Province passed a law (Bill 112) to dissolve the Region of Peel on January 1, 2025, and Mississauga’s own report called single-tier status something it had asked for over two decades. In June 2024 a new law (Bill 185) confirmed Peel would not be dissolved. Instead, in December 2025 the Province passed Bill 45 to move regional roads and garbage collection to Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon. The Mayor says the move will bring "cost savings and efficiencies", and the 2026 budget says it will "result in savings for taxpayers", but the budget prints no figure and leaves both services out of its numbers.
Why it matters
These two services are large and Mississauga taxpayers will pay for them directly. Residents are told to expect savings but are not shown the numbers they rest on.
It could be because…
The city said plainly that the detailed money figures were not yet available and could not go into the 2026 budget. It may publish them in 2026 or 2027.
The transfer dates have moved (the Province now intends roads on July 1, 2027 and garbage on October 1, 2027), so the numbers may not be final.
Savings may be real but come only after a new garbage collection contract starts.
Questions you could ask
What does the city expect regional roads and garbage collection to cost to run each year, and what does it expect to stop paying to the Region of Peel?
Does the $15,600,000 in the 2026 capital plan for "Roadway Rehabilitation Following Peel" mean the roads are being handed over in worse condition than the city wants, and who pays for that?
When will council see the implementation plan the 2026 budget promises for waste collection?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Mississauga?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The city’s November 8, 2023 report said that with Bill 112 "the Region of Peel will dissolve and Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon will become single-tier cities effective January 1, 2025". On page 5 it said: "It is a simple fact that eliminating a layer of government will lead to efficiencies overall."
Peel Region’s release says Bill 185 "received Royal Assent, confirming that Peel Region will not be dissolved", and that the Region continues to review four services: land use planning, water and wastewater, regional roads and waste management.
The Province’s decision notice says Bill 45, the Peel Transition Implementation Act, 2025, "received Royal Assent on December 11, 2025" and transfers regional roads and associated stormwater infrastructure to Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon. It says the Minister intends to set the transfer of waste collection to October 1, 2027 and of regional roads to July 1, 2027.
The budget says: "Transferring these services to Mississauga will result in savings for taxpayers, but detailed financial information (and approved provincial legislation regarding regional roads) is required before these changes can be incorporated into the City’s budget. As such, neither waste collection services nor regional roads have been included". Page 18 gives October 1, 2027 for waste collection.
The 2026 capital plan includes project 26029 "Roadway Rehabilitation Following Peel", funded from Canada Community-Building Reserve Funds and Tax Reserve Funds, with 15,600 (in thousands of dollars) in 2026. Another list on page 211 shows the same project at 3,900.
An Auditor General is an officer who reports to council, not to city management, and can check whether money is well spent. After residents asked for stronger independent oversight during the 2026 budget meetings, council asked staff for options in January 2026. On March 11, 2026 council was shown four options, including hiring an Auditor General, and chose to keep the current Internal Audit team and add two residents to the Audit Committee. The city says council will watch how the Region of Peel’s new Auditor General works out. A public fraud and waste hotline is planned for early 2027.
Why it matters
The city spends over a billion dollars a year. Residents asked for an independent check, and council chose a smaller step. The reasons and costs behind that choice were in a staff report we could not open.
It could be because…
Council may have judged that an independent office would cost more than it would save. We could not read the cost estimates in the staff report.
The Internal Audit charter says the audit function reports directly to the Audit Committee, which may already give it enough independence.
Council said it will revisit the question after seeing how Peel’s Auditor General performs.
Questions you could ask
What did the staff report estimate for each of the four options, and why did council judge the Auditor General option not worth its cost?
Who decides which value-for-money audits Internal Audit does, and can a resident or councillor request one?
What will make council revisit the question, and when?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Mississauga?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The city’s recap of the January 28, 2026 meeting says council directed staff to report on how value-for-money audits can be done, and that "the report responds to resident feedback received during the 2026 Budget Committee meetings calling for stronger independent oversight of City operations". Options were to include hiring an independent Auditor General or using outside consultants.
The city’s recap of the March 11, 2026 meeting lists four options (keep Internal Audit as it is; add Internal Audit staff to do an annual audit; hire an outside consultant for one-off audits; hire an independent Auditor General). It says council "voted to continue with the current approach using an Internal Audit function in addition to adding two residents to the Audit subcommittee" and will "monitor the outcome of the hiring of an Auditor General at the Region of Peel".
The city’s notice says the Audit Committee has two citizen vacancies, that applications ran from March 20, 2026 to April 10, 2026, and that new members were expected at the Audit Committee meeting on June 1, 2026.
The Internal Audit Charter says internal audit works best when "The Internal Audit function is independently positioned with direct accountability to the Audit Committee."
The recap of the September 29, 2026 meeting says council received a plan to let members of the public report concerns about fraud, waste or wrongdoing, with revised policies due by November 2026 and a public launch expected in the first quarter of 2027.
$144,581,000spent on contracted services in 2025, against a budget of $93,684,000 in the audited statements (amounts as printed in thousands)
The city’s audited 2025 statements put total expenses at $1,273,523,000, against a budget of $1,189,440,000. Contracted services (work done by outside companies) were $144,581,000 against $93,684,000, and salaries and benefits were $745,259,000 against $706,008,000. Roads spending was $179,007,000 against a budget of $130,774,000. The statements explain that the budget they compare to is adjusted to leave out the capital budget’s spending.
Why it matters
Outside contracts are where the city has the most choice. A gap this size could be a real overspend or a difference in what is counted, and the statements do not say which.
It could be because…
The statements say the adjusted budget takes out the capital budget’s spending. Some road and other work paid for from capital funds may not count as a capital asset and so shows up as an expense in the actual figures only.
The city may have done more winter maintenance and road work than budgeted, paid from reserves or recoveries from other governments (recoveries from third parties were $132,097,000 against a budget of $83,569,000).
The city’s year-end operating report to council may explain it. We could not open that report.
Questions you could ask
How much of the $144,581,000 was work paid for from the capital budget that does not become a city asset, and how much was ordinary operating spending?
Why did Roads spend $179,007,000 against $130,774,000, and which contracts account for the difference?
Where in the year-end operating report does council see these variances, and will it be published in a form that matches the audited statements?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Mississauga?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
Note 21 shows contracted services of 93,684 (2025 budget), 144,581 (2025 actual) and 110,612 (2024 actual), and salaries, wages and employee benefits of 706,008 budget against 745,259 actual, in thousands of dollars. Total expenses were 1,189,440 budget against 1,273,523 actual.
Note 20 says the budget is based on the 2025 budgets adopted on December 2, 2024 and is reconciled to the accrual basis. Its expense reconciliation removes the capital budget: "Approved Capital Budget 609,250" less "Eliminate capital expense budget (609,250)", in thousands of dollars.
Mississauga spent $143M on parks, arena and library in 2019 and $213M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time.
Why did the cost of parks, arena and library grow 49% in 6 years?
Parks, arena and library
Prices (inflation)
−20%+0%+20%+40%+60%
+49%
2019202020212022202320242025
Show as a table
Year
Parks, arena and library
Prices (inflation)
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
−13%
+1%
2021
−3%
+4%
2022
+12%
+11%
2023
+25%
+16%
2024
+37%
+18%
2025
+49%
+21%
Change since the first year shown. The grey line is how much prices rose overall, for comparison.
Why it matters
When one area grows much faster than prices, it is either doing more (which may be great) or paying more for the same thing. Residents deserve to know which.
It could be because…
The city added a service, a building or staff that residents asked for.
Costs were moved from another area, so the total did not really change.
Accounting rules changed how costs are sorted.
Large one-time costs, like a study, lawsuit or repair, landed in one year.
Questions you could ask
Which new or renovated facilities opened between 2019 and 2025, and what do they cost to run each year?
How much of the growth is pay and benefits rather than new service?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Mississauga?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The audited statements show Recreation and cultural services expenses of 246,665 in 2025 and 225,750 in 2024 (in thousands of dollars). The city says this segment includes parks, forestry, recreation programs and facilities, golf courses, libraries and museums (note on PDF page 37).
The Hazel McCallion Line is a provincially owned light rail line (formerly the Hurontario LRT). The city’s 2026 budget lists "Hazel McCallion LRT operating costs" among the costs that pushed up its original 2026 forecast, but it prints no dollar figure and gives no opening date. News reports have given figures. We did not find one in a city document we could open, so we do not repeat any here.
Why it matters
If the city must pay to operate the line, that cost lands on property taxes after opening. Residents deserve the number from the city itself.
It could be because…
The amount may depend on the opening date and contract terms, which the Province controls, so the city may not have a firm figure to publish.
The city may be negotiating with the Province to cover some of the costs.
Questions you could ask
What yearly amount does the city expect to pay toward operating the Hazel McCallion Line, and from what date?
Has the Province agreed to cover any of it, and for how long?
Is the amount in the city’s 2027 to 2029 forecast, and where?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Mississauga?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The budget overview lists "Hazel McCallion LRT operating costs" with labour cost increases from union settlements and inflation as "non-discretionary costs" behind the original 13.3 per cent forecast for 2026. No amount is given.
The city’s project page says the line is "provincially-owned" and that Mobilinx "was awarded the contract to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the system". It says major construction began in spring 2020. It gives no opening date and no operating cost for the city.
Each year the city publishes what it paid each member of council. "Constituency expenses" are the costs of running the member’s office. For 2025 the Mayor’s were $106,819.17, against a budget of $111,082.64. The eleven councillors’ were each between $17,495.14 and $34,876.47. The statement does not say what the Mayor’s figure includes.
Why it matters
This is public money, and the mayor’s office spends about three times as much as the highest ward office. It is likely to be explained by the mayor’s role, but the statement does not say.
It could be because…
The Mayor leads the whole city and may pay for city-wide events, communications and staff from this budget, which a ward councillor does not.
The Mayor’s budget allocation is set higher (111,082.64) and the spending was within it.
In 2024 the Mayor’s office was split across two people, so the figures are not directly comparable year to year.
Questions you could ask
What does the Mayor’s constituency expense line pay for (staff, events, communications), and is there a published breakdown?
Who sets the Mayor’s allocation of $111,082.64, and how is it different from a ward budget?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Mississauga?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
The 2025 statement shows the Mayor’s salary as 156,170.67, benefits 11,516.07, and constituency expenses of 106,819.17 actual against 111,082.64 budget. Councillors’ actual constituency expenses run from 17,495.14 (Ward 9) to 34,876.47 (Ward 7).
The 2024 statement shows constituency expenses for the Mayor’s office split between a former Mayor (10,990.85) and the current Mayor (49,342.36), with a note that "Salary and expense information has been separated for the respective positions in 2024."
Council unanimously agreed to give $390 million toward the local share of the new Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital. The city plans a new one per cent Hospital Levy on property taxes from 2029, which the budget puts at 10,019 (thousands of dollars) in 2029. If the levy has not raised enough by January 1, 2033, the city says it will borrow the rest.
Why it matters
This is one of the largest single commitments in the budget, and it is spread over taxes that will be set by councils not yet elected.
It could be because…
The city has already explained its plan in the budget, including a dedicated reserve and a back-up debenture.
The hospital is not due to be substantially finished until 2033, so the levy has years to build.
Questions you could ask
If the levy raises about 10,019 (thousands of dollars) a year from 2029, how much of the $390 million will still need to be borrowed by 2033, and at what cost in interest?
Will the amount residents pay for the hospital be shown on the tax bill?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Mississauga?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
The budget says council "unanimously approved a motion from Mayor Parrish to provide a $390 million municipal contribution toward Trillium Health Partners’ local share for the construction of the Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital", which is "expected to reach substantial completion by 2033". It proposes "a new annual Hospital Levy of one per cent starting in 2029".
The city says all revenue from the levy goes to a dedicated reserve applied to the "$390 million local share contribution", and "A debenture will be issued to cover any remaining shortfalls between the approved contribution amount and the balance of the levy collected as of January 1, 2033." The table shows a Hospital Levy of 10,019 in 2029 (in thousands of dollars).
The Integrity Commissioner is the independent officer who looks into complaints that a council member broke the Code of Conduct. The city’s page for the commissioner’s reports lists nothing dated after March 14, 2023, yet its page on the commissioner now names a different firm (Principles Integrity) from the one who signed that 2023 report. Council also decided in 2022 that the commissioner should report every quarter on complaints that fell outside the commissioner’s powers.
Why it matters
The point of the commissioner is public confidence. If later reports exist only in the council meeting portal, residents may not find them.
It could be because…
Later reports may be posted in the council agenda portal (eSCRIBE), which our automated reader could not open.
There may have been no reports to publish, for example if no complaints were made.
Questions you could ask
Where are the Integrity Commissioner’s annual and quarterly reports for 2023, 2024 and 2025 published?
When did the city change its Integrity Commissioner, and was the position tendered?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Mississauga?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
The page lists seven documents. The most recent is a "Quarterly Report" dated Mar 14, 2023; others are dated Sep 7, 2022, Jul 6, 2022, Nov 19, 2021, Nov 1, 2022, Oct 8, 2020 and Dec 2, 2019.
The page says the Integrity Commissioner "submits an annual report to Council about any recommendations or investigations made in the previous year" and gives the contact as Principles Integrity, postoffice@principlesintegrity.org.
The March 14, 2023 quarterly report says that on "February 9th, 2022, Council passed resolution 0030-2022 which required quarterly reports from the Integrity Commissioner on any complaints that I deemed not within my jurisdiction". It also says the commissioner was defending a judicial review application brought by former Councillor Starr.
Mississauga spent $271M on roads and snow in 2019 and $406M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time.
Why did the cost of roads and snow grow 50% in 6 years?
Roads and snow
Prices (inflation)
+0%+20%+40%+60%
+50%
2019202020212022202320242025
Show as a table
Year
Roads and snow
Prices (inflation)
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+0%
+1%
2021
+4%
+4%
2022
+12%
+11%
2023
+25%
+16%
2024
+33%
+18%
2025
+50%
+21%
Change since the first year shown. The grey line is how much prices rose overall, for comparison.
Why it matters
When one area grows much faster than prices, it is either doing more (which may be great) or paying more for the same thing. Residents deserve to know which.
It could be because…
The city added a service, a building or staff that residents asked for.
Costs were moved from another area, so the total did not really change.
Accounting rules changed how costs are sorted.
Large one-time costs, like a study, lawsuit or repair, landed in one year.
Questions you could ask
How much of the growth since 2019 is winter maintenance and how much is transit service and wages?
What did the enhanced winter maintenance approved in the 2025 Budget add each year, and what has it bought (faster clearing, more routes)?
How much of the increase is the cost of roads and buses the city did not have in 2019?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Mississauga?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The city explains its latest roads increase: of a $22.5 million net increase to maintain current service levels, "A cost increase of $12.3 million for annualization of enhanced winter maintenance services approved in the 2025 Budget" and "A cost increase of $2.7 million for pre-treated salt". The net increase for Roads is $21,138,169, or 23.6%.
For Transit (net increase $23,263,199 or 21.7%) the budget lists "A cost increase of $27 million for labour and benefits" and "A revenue increase of $4.3 million due to a MiWay fare increase".
The audited statements show Transportation services expenses of 495,967 in 2025 and 442,770 in 2024 (in thousands of dollars). The city defines this segment as roads, winter maintenance, street lighting and transit (note on PDF page 37).
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