Your city, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Owen Sound's budget, taxes and council decisions. A city of about 21,600 people in Grey County, on the shore of Georgian Bay, with a mayor, a deputy mayor and seven councillors, all elected at large. Every figure links back to the public record.
Follow Owen Sound in one tapWhere it goes
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.
$123per home on council, 2024
Owen Sound spent about $123 per home on council in 2024. The typical similar city spent $46. Only 4 of 51 similar places spent more.
Found automatically from the city's financial reports · 1 source
December 23, 2024date the auditor signed the report on the year ended December 31, 2023
An audit is a check of the City's yearly accounts by an outside accounting firm. The auditor's report is signed when the check is finished. The 2023 report was signed on December 23, 2024. The 2024 statements the City posts print the report date as "TBD, 2025", which means "to be decided". When we read the City's page on October 5, 2026, the 2024 statements were the newest posted, and there were none for 2025.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 4 sources
5.5%the 2026 limit set by the Mayor, against first requests of 8.39% (police) and 10.97% (library)
Since May 2025 the Mayor of Owen Sound has had "strong mayor" powers over the budget. In a written direction dated December 1, 2025, Mayor Ian Boddy said staff's starting point was a 7.56 per cent rate increase for City operations, 8.39 per cent for the police service and 10.97 per cent for the library. He directed that police and library increases be no more than 5.5 per cent. The budget he tabled on December 22, 2025 raises the municipal levy by 5.20%. The City publishes the direction and says what it was based on. Worked out by us, the amount to be raised from taxation grew by $3,341,873, or 9.6%, between the 2024 and 2026 budgets.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 5 sources
50.6%of own-source revenues owed as debt at the end of 2024 (BMA Municipal Study 2025)
Debt is money the City borrowed and has still to repay. At the end of 2024 the City owed $30,512,141 on debentures, which are long-term loans repaid in set payments. A consultant's study of Ontario municipalities puts that debt at 50.6% of Owen Sound's own revenues, in the top few of the list it prints (the highest it prints is 55.4%). The City says the cost of repaying debt is now at a "low risk" level. The 2026 budget book names the next planned loan: the fire hall renovation.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 4 sources
$8,536,922of the planned 2024 capital purchases not made (worked out by us: $27,183,641 budget less $18,646,719 actual)
Capital spending is money spent on things that last: roads, pipes, buildings and equipment. The 2024 budget planned to buy $27,183,641 of these assets. The audited statements show $18,646,719 was bought. That leaves $8,536,922 not spent in 2024, worked out by us. The statements do not say which projects were not finished.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 3 sources
$1,838,160investment income earned in 2024, against a budgeted $354,000
The City earns interest on its bank balance and investments. In 2024 the budget for "investment income" was $354,000. The City actually earned $1,838,160, which is $1,484,160 more (worked out by us). In 2023 it earned $1,502,198. For 2026 the budget line for general interest income is $100,000, down from $200,000 in 2024.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 3 sources
$3,000,000claim against the City named in the 2024 statements
A contingency is money the City might have to pay, depending on how something turns out. The 2024 statements say the City "has been named in a claim for $3,000,000" and that its liability "is not determinable at this time". The 2023 statements mention claims being handled through the City's insurer but we did not find this claim there. The statements do not say what the claim is about or whether insurance would pay.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 3 sources
7 cents vs about 12schools' share of each tax dollar in the 2026 guide, against 2024 audited statements (worked out by us)
The City's 2026 budget guide says that of each dollar of tax collected, Grey County gets 20 cents, the Province (for schools) gets 7 cents and the City keeps 73 cents. The 2024 audited statements show how much was collected for each. Worked out by us, the schools' share was about 11.9%, the County's about 18.7% and the City's about 69.5%. The guide may be using a different year or a different basis, and it does not say.
Found by reading the city's own documents · 2 sources
$142per home on snow ploughing, 2024
Owen Sound spent about $142 per home on snow ploughing in 2024. The typical similar city spent $63. Only 6 of 51 similar places spent more.
Found automatically from the city's financial reports · 1 source
2024 tax year · Owen Sound, Ontario
Enter your home's assessed value to see roughly what you pay in property tax each year, who gets it, and what Owen Sound's share pays for.
Ontario still uses property values from January 1, 2016 for tax, so your assessed value is probably well below what your home would sell for today.
It is on your property assessment notice from MPAC, and on your tax bill. We filled in the typical value in Owen Sound.
a year in property tax, at 2024 rates
Owen Sound council sets only its own share. County or region sets its share, the Province sets the school rate.
An estimate. It uses the residential tax rate, and splits Owen Sound's share by what each service cost in 2024 after its own fees and grants (for example, water bills pay for much of a water system). Real bills also depend on your property class, local charges and any rebates.
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Each number links to the public document it came from. Check it yourself.
We ask questions. Every one lists ordinary reasons a number could look odd.
Places are only compared with places of a similar size and kind, from the same yearly reports.
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