Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to North Perth's budget, taxes and council decisions. A municipality in Perth County, in southwestern Ontario, that includes Listowel, Atwood and Monkton, with a mayor, a deputy mayor and eight councillors in three wards. 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.
+178%running the town office, 2019 to 2025
North Perth spent $2.0M on running the town office in 2019 and $5.6M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time. Only 0 of 41 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
+222%parks, arena and library, 2019 to 2025
North Perth spent $3.6M on parks, arena and library in 2019 and $11.6M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time. Only 0 of 41 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$3,448per home on long-term debt, 2025
North Perth spent about $3,448 per home on long-term debt in 2025. The typical similar town spent $1,119. Only 4 of 41 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
$1the price United Housing paid in 2025 for a complex the Municipality bought for $5,297,241 in 2011
Perth Meadows is a seniors' complex of 18 town homes and 36 suites, on Nelson Avenue South in Listowel. The Municipality bought its assets in November 2011 for $5,297,241 and has run it since. In 2025 it transferred the property, the land and the running of it to United Housing, a not-for-profit housing provider, for $1. The audited statements say the Municipality also handed over $4,948,067 in cash and deposit balances and passed on $6,806,115 owed to residents (life lease deposits and deferred revenue), and recorded a loss of $4,948,712. The Municipality has explained why: it says it looked for a not-for-profit partner to run the complex, and kept a right to buy it back for $2 if the property stops being used as attainable seniors' housing. We did not find the price decision, a valuation or the transfer agreement in the documents we read.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 6 sources
$(556,082)building-code reserve at December 31, 2025, down from $84,227 at the end of 2023
A reserve is money set aside by Council for one purpose. Building permit fees are meant to pay for the building department, and the Municipality keeps a separate reserve for it. At the end of 2023 that reserve held $84,227. At the end of 2024 it was a deficit of $398,847, and at the end of 2025 a deficit of $556,082. The 2026 budget again plans to take $87,800 out of the reserve. The Municipality has explained part of this: it says Council is phasing in permit fee increases to "gradually rebuild a reasonable reserve fund" and that the department should break even once it reaches full staffing.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$(16.89) millionforecast balance of the development charge reserves in 2035, in the 2026 budget book
Development charges are fees builders pay when they build new homes, to cover roads, pipes and other growth costs. The 2026 budget book forecasts the total of the development charge reserves at $1.33 million at the end of 2026, then below zero from 2028 onward, ending at $(16.89) million in 2035. The area-specific reserve for one area (marked NEMP) is already forecast at $(5.04) million in 2026. The stormwater reserve, which pays for drainage, is forecast to go negative from 2028 and reach $(6.43) million. The book says "some experience cash flow pressures that require funding from external sources" and that these projects will be re-checked in future budgets. The ten-year capital plan totals $150.00 million, and the budget plans $15.20 million of it from debentures (borrowing).
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
September 9, 2025date of the auditor's report on the 2023 statements (about 20 months after year end, worked out by us)
Audited financial statements are the yearly report card on a town's finances, checked by an outside auditor. The auditor's reports on the statements now posted by the Municipality are dated September 9, 2025 for the year ended December 31, 2023, December 3, 2025 for 2024, and August 14, 2026 for 2025. We worked out that this is about 20 months, 11 months and 7 and a half months after year end. All three give a clean opinion (the statements "present fairly"). We did not find an explanation for the delay in the documents we read.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
+55%roads and snow, 2019 to 2025
North Perth spent $3.4M on roads and snow in 2019 and $5.2M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time. Only 7 of 41 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
+54%water, sewers and garbage, 2019 to 2025
North Perth spent $3.7M on water, sewers and garbage in 2019 and $5.7M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
7.15%total 2026 tax increase after the April 2026 amendment, up from 6.61% adopted on December 2, 2025
The Mayor's 2026 budget was adopted on December 2, 2025 under the strong mayor rules, with a total increase of 6.61% (about $160 on a median home). In March 2026 the Treasurer reported that two outside bills had come in higher than budgeted: the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority levy and the Ontario Provincial Police contract. The amendment adopted in April 2026 raised the total increase to 7.15% ($173.82 on a median home) and added $118,025 to the levy. The Treasurer's report also says the Province's cap on the 2026 police bill defers part of the cost, so at least $325,182 more is expected in 2027. The Municipality has explained both changes in its own report.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$2,711,521rise in budgeted staffing costs for 2026 (13.9%)
The 2026 budget book says staffing costs across the Municipality rise from $19,442,578 to $22,154,099, up $2,711,521 or 13.9%. The same book says "No additional staff or new resources have been included in the 2026 budget." It gives reasons for the rise: pay increases tied to the cost of living, more hours for volunteer firefighters to reach a full crew of 70, step increases for positions added in 2025, and the opening of a new childcare centre. Grants are budgeted to rise by $1,449,307, which the book says relates mainly to the childcare centre.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
A property tax bill in North Perth pays for three governments. Only part of it goes to the town, and that part is what North Perth council controls.
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We ask questions. Every one lists ordinary reasons a number could look odd.
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