Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Mulmur's budget, taxes and council decisions. A rural township in Dufferin County, with a mayor, a deputy mayor and three 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.
+12%town property tax, 2024 to 2025
In 2025, Mulmur collected $585K more in its own property tax than in 2024. That is a 12% jump, while prices went up about 2.1%. Only 1 of 30 similar towns raised theirs by more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
+136%parks, arena and library, 2019 to 2025
Mulmur spent $167K on parks, arena and library in 2019 and $396K in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time. Only 3 of 30 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$1,423,715annual surplus in 2025, against a budgeted $201,958
A surplus is what is left when a year's revenue is more than its spending. The 2025 statements show an annual surplus of $1,423,715 against a budgeted $201,958, about seven times the budget (worked out by us). In 2024 the budget planned $479,158 and the result was $1,348,592. Most of the 2025 gap came from two revenue lines. "Grants" came in at $742,164 against a budget of $293,155, and "Other income" at $693,289 against $195,563. Together those two lines are $946,735 above budget (worked out by us), about three-quarters of the $1,221,757 gap (worked out by us). The Township has explained part of this. Its own January to March 2026 update says that donations and fundraising revenues are not budgeted for, and the statements add a reconciliation (note 11) because the budget Council approves is set up differently from the statements.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$2,391,809transportation services in 2025, against a budget of $2,279,289 (before amortization)
Transportation services (roads, bridges, winter control and public works) is the Township's largest service. The statements show it cost $2,391,809 in 2025 against a budget of $2,279,289, which is $112,520 over (worked out by us), and $1,974,347 in 2024. This is not amortization: the statements show amortization (the yearly wearing-out of roads, bridges and equipment) on its own line, and the segment schedule shows it as $710,336 on top of the $2,391,809 for transportation. Within the 2025 segment schedule, transportation materials were $989,778 (2024 $803,726), contracted services were $396,779 (2024 $263,710) and salaries and benefits were $992,500 (2024 $892,811). Over the same year, Ontario grants counted under transportation went from $1,241 to $338,534. The Township has not published a reason for the 2025 overage in the documents we read.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 6 sources
May 29, 2026date of the only auditor's report in the 2025 file, which names the Trust Funds
An auditor's report is the outside accountant's statement of whether the accounts can be relied on. In the 2025 file posted on the Township's website, the index lists "Independent Auditor's Report" before the consolidated statements. The report printed there, dated May 29, 2026, says "We have audited the financial statements of Trust Funds" and lists only the trust funds' statement of financial position and statement of continuity. The same wording is printed again at the back, with the trust funds. We did not find a report in the file that names the consolidated statements of the Township. The 2024 file has one: "We have audited the consolidated financial statements", dated June 6, 2025.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$1,751,587planned to be taken from reserves for 2026 capital spending
Reserves are money set aside by Council for a named purpose. At the end of 2025 the "Capital purposes" reserve held $2,874,092, up from $2,597,001. The 2026 capital budget plans to take $1,751,587 from reserves: $615,000 from bridge reserves, $510,587 from road reserves, $476,000 from public works equipment reserves and $150,000 from arena recreation reserves. The 2026 budget puts $1,285,359 into reserves, against $1,195,738 in 2025. Meanwhile amortization, the yearly wearing out of the Township's assets, was $1,077,687 in 2025. Roads, bridges and other assets cost $37,149,988 and are $15,139,225 worn out. The budget names reserves (bridges, roads, equipment, arena) that do not match the statements' single "Capital purposes" line, so we cannot tell how much is in each.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 6 sources
3 monthslength of the trial, with recordings removed once minutes are approved
A staff report for the August 5, 2026 meeting says council meetings are recorded and posted online, with about three months of recordings kept at any time. It recommended moving to a webinar format in which the public can only watch (questions are sent in advance and read out by the Clerk), and removing recordings once the minutes are approved. The minutes say Council directed staff to move to a webinar-based platform for a trial of 3 months and to remove recordings once the minutes are approved. The staff report's comparison table lists Amaranth as removing recordings when minutes are adopted, and Dufferin County as keeping them for 1 year.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$452,686donations and community centre fundraising in 2025 (worked out by us: $250,000 plus $202,686)
The statements' list of other income shows "Donations - other" of $250,000 in 2025, up from $50,043, and "NDCC fundraising revenue" of $202,686, up from $50,287. NDCC is the North Dufferin Community Centre, which the Township took over fully on January 1, 2024. The segment schedule puts donations of $346,659 under recreation, which finished 2025 with an excess of revenue over expenses of $612,607, the largest of any service. The 2026 budget has $500 for fundraising and donations at the community centre. In January to March 2026 the Township recorded $116,306 against a budget of $250 and says these are not budgeted for.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$60,000difference between 2026 budgeted expenditures and revenues (worked out by us)
The 2026 budget's first page shows expenditures of $6,743,771 and revenues of $6,683,771 for everything except water, a difference of $60,000 (worked out by us). The 2025 budget's totals matched exactly at $6,425,558. The budget book does not say how the $60,000 is covered. The January to March 2026 update in a council package shows a budgeted "Transfer from Tax Rate Stabilization" of $60,000, which matches. The tax rate stabilization reserve is money set aside to smooth tax increases. It held $1,208,394 at the end of 2025, up from $782,036.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$2,010difference between two printed 2025 amortization figures (worked out by us)
Within the same audited file, amortization (the yearly wearing out of assets) is $1,077,687 on the statement of operations and in the segment schedule, but $1,075,677 on the statement of changes in net financial assets, the cash flow statement and the capital assets note, a difference of $2,010 (worked out by us). For 2024 the figures are $976,961 and $983,219. Separately, the loss on selling assets is $37,662 on the statement of changes in net financial assets, but "Gain (loss) on disposal of assets" in the other-income note is (49,094) for 2025 and a gain of 46,769 for 2024, where the statement of changes in net financial assets shows a loss of 9,760.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 6 sources
A property tax bill in Mulmur pays for three governments. Only part of it goes to the town, and that part is what Mulmur council controls.
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