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by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date.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 Perth East'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 · 8 so far
Things worth asking about
We read Perth East's financial reports and meeting minutes, and compared its numbers with 49 similar Ontario towns. 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.
$427,627increase in the police line of the 2026 levy, out of a total levy increase of $597,451
The Township pays the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) a contract fee for policing. The Township's own slides show that the line for police raised the tax levy by $427,627 (29%) in 2026, out of a total levy increase of $597,451 (5.33%). The Township says the cost is only an estimate: it assumed the 11% cap on the yearly OPP increase and said it would adjust once the OPP sent its real bill. Part of the large percentage is that the 2025 budget counted a $266,109 Ontario grant on the police lines, and the 2026 budget counts $11,218.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$6,370,414annual surplus in 2025, against $3,258,683 in the budget figures
A surplus is what is left when a year's revenue is more than its spending. The audited statements show an annual surplus of $6,370,414 for 2025, against $3,258,683 in the budget figures printed beside them, and $1,400,734 in 2024. Spending came in close to the budget ($17,027,730 against $17,136,788). The gap came from revenue: $23,398,144 against $20,395,471. Three lines stand out: user fees and service charges, investment income, and development charges earned. The Township has explained part of this: its note says the budget figures are restated to the accounting basis, and the capital budget was far bigger than the capital actually spent in the year.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$766,696investment interest received to October 2025, against $115,000 budgeted for 2025 and for 2026
The Township keeps savings in investments ($11,686,728 at the end of 2025). The audited 2025 statements show investment income of $1,236,333 against a budget of $328,418. The 2026 budget package shows the line for investment interest at $115,000 for both 2025 and 2026, while the same table shows $766,696 received by the end of October 2025. The budget package's figures run to October 2025, and they cover one account line, so they are not the same measure as the audited statement.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$24,780,915reserves and reserve funds at December 31, 2025, up from $20,369,972
A reserve is money set aside for later use, like a savings account for roads, water and fire trucks. The audited statements show reserves and reserve funds grew from $20,369,972 to $24,780,915 in 2025, after $6,347,983 was put in from operations and $1,937,040 was used. The Township's November 2025 budget package had expected the total of all reserves to end 2025 at $22,414,914 and to fall to $20,200,256 by the end of 2026. The Township has explained part of the reason: staff say the corporate budget includes a transfer to the asset reserves "per Asset Management Plan", and the Plan says current funding is well short of what the Township's assets will need.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$21.1 millionten-year funding gap for tax-supported assets at the Township's proposed levels of service
An asset management plan estimates what it costs to keep a town's roads, bridges, buildings and water systems working. The Township's 2025 plan says that to meet its own proposed levels of service, existing funding falls $21.1 million short over 2025 to 2034 for assets paid from taxes. To close it, the Township would have to raise capital contributions by about $468,400 a year (4.8% of the 2025 levy of $9.7 million) for each of ten years, plus inflation. For water and wastewater assets paid from rates, the gap is $26.8 million. Against the stricter benchmark, the plan puts the gap at $116.5 million and calls closing it "unrealistic" in the short term.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$(100,479)forecast Bridge Capital Reserve balance at December 31, 2026
The budget package's reserve schedule forecasts the Bridge Capital Reserve at $(100,479) on December 31, 2026, after using $275,000 that year. It also shows the Water development charges reserve at $(1,061) at the end of 2025. The Township does not explain the negative balances on the pages we read.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 1 source
December 8, 2025date the 2026 Mayor's Budget was deemed adopted, with no council amendments
Since May 1, 2025, Perth East has been under the Ontario "strong mayor" rules. The Mayor now writes and proposes the budget. The Township explains that the Mayor released the 2026 budget to council on November 24, 2025, council had 15 days to amend it, no member did, and the budget was deemed adopted on December 8, 2025. The Township's page does not mention a council vote. A written Mayoral Decision dated June 10, 2025 shortens the time for a mayoral veto of a budget amendment to less than 1 day, expiring on December 9, 2025.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$427,627increase in the police line of the 2026 levy, out of a total levy increase of $597,451
The Township pays the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) a contract fee for policing. The Township's own slides show that the line for police raised the tax levy by $427,627 (29%) in 2026, out of a total levy increase of $597,451 (5.33%). The Township says the cost is only an estimate: it assumed the 11% cap on the yearly OPP increase and said it would adjust once the OPP sent its real bill. Part of the large percentage is that the 2025 budget counted a $266,109 Ontario grant on the police lines, and the 2026 budget counts $11,218.
Why it matters
Policing is now the biggest single reason a typical home's Township tax goes up. The budget was deemed adopted on December 8, 2025. A resident cannot tell from the budget whether the OPP's real bill matched the estimate, or where any difference went.
It could be because…
The OPP bill really did rise by about the capped 11%, and the 29% is mostly the loss of a one-time grant that offset the 2025 bill.
The Township said it would adjust the number once the OPP sent its 2026 costing. A lower real bill may already have been used in the property tax rates.
Policing costs are set by the Province, not the Township, and the Township has little say over them.
Questions you could ask
What was the OPP's actual 2026 bill, and how did it compare with the $1,927,610 in the budget?
Was the Ontario grant in the 2025 police lines a one-time payment, and did the Township expect it to end?
If the real bill was lower than the estimate, what would the difference be used for (the police reserve, the general surplus, or the 2027 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 Perth East?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
Levy change at a glance: "OPP – Increase (11% cap for 2026) $427,627 29%". Total levy change of $597,451 or 5.33%. "OPP costs still estimated for 2026".
"OPP Policing Costs Increased estimated at $191,024 (11% cap)". "OPP - 2026 Cost are estimated at the 11% increase cap and will be adjusted once costing is received."
$6,370,414annual surplus in 2025, against $3,258,683 in the budget figures
A surplus is what is left when a year's revenue is more than its spending. The audited statements show an annual surplus of $6,370,414 for 2025, against $3,258,683 in the budget figures printed beside them, and $1,400,734 in 2024. Spending came in close to the budget ($17,027,730 against $17,136,788). The gap came from revenue: $23,398,144 against $20,395,471. Three lines stand out: user fees and service charges, investment income, and development charges earned. The Township has explained part of this: its note says the budget figures are restated to the accounting basis, and the capital budget was far bigger than the capital actually spent in the year.
Why it matters
A budget is the promise made to taxpayers about what the year will cost. When the result is much better than the promise, residents may have paid more tax than the year needed, or the budget may be written in a way that hides money that is really there. A surplus is not lost money. The open question is how much of it was planned.
It could be because…
The budget Council adopts balances to zero ($ -, note 14). The $3,258,683 only appears after the budget is restated to the accounting basis, so some of the gap is bookkeeping, not cash.
The capital budget was $8,483,999 and the capital spent was $4,426,132. Projects carried into the next year are paid for later from money already raised. The 2026 budget package lists $3,487,500 of 2025 carry-forward projects.
Development charges earned ($877,641) are fees paid by builders that are counted as revenue only when the matching project is built. They can only be spent on growth projects.
Questions you could ask
How much of the $6,370,414 surplus is cash the Township holds, and how much is accounting (development charges recognized, contributed assets, carry-forward projects)?
Does Council see a budget-to-actual report during the year that shows revenue running above budget?
How does the Township decide the user fee and investment income lines when it sets the 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 Perth East?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
Statement of operations: "Annual surplus (deficit)" 2025 budget 3,258,683, 2025 actual 6,370,414, 2024 actual 1,400,734. Total revenue budget 20,395,471, actual 23,398,144. Total expenditure budget 17,136,788, actual 17,027,730.
Same statement: "User fees and service charges" budget 3,661,989, actual 4,759,277. "Investment income" budget 328,418, actual 1,236,333. "Development charges earned" budget -, actual 877,641.
Note 14, Budget amounts: "Approved budget annual surplus (deficit) $ -"; "Acquisition of tangible capital assets 8,483,999"; "Budgeted surplus (deficit) reported on consolidated statement of operations $ 3,258,683". The note says the budget amounts "have been restated to conform to the basis of presentation".
$766,696investment interest received to October 2025, against $115,000 budgeted for 2025 and for 2026
The Township keeps savings in investments ($11,686,728 at the end of 2025). The audited 2025 statements show investment income of $1,236,333 against a budget of $328,418. The 2026 budget package shows the line for investment interest at $115,000 for both 2025 and 2026, while the same table shows $766,696 received by the end of October 2025. The budget package's figures run to October 2025, and they cover one account line, so they are not the same measure as the audited statement.
Why it matters
Investment income that is not in the budget flows into the year-end surplus. Counting it low may reflect caution, but it also means the budget does not show how much of the tax levy the Township's savings could cover.
It could be because…
Interest rates and markets move, so the Township may budget low on purpose and let any gain go into reserves.
A large part of the 2025 figure may be one-time gains on investments that matured or were sold, not regular interest.
Some interest is credited straight to reserves and shown on its own lines, not in the general budget.
Questions you could ask
What part of the $1,236,333 of 2025 investment income was regular interest, and what part was gains from selling investments?
Why is the budget line left at $115,000 for 2026?
Does the Township have a written investment policy, and does Council see a report on what it holds?
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 Perth East?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
Note 4, Investments: "Other long-term investments" 11,624,950; total 11,686,728 (2024: 11,301,179). "GIC's, equity securities and other fixed income instruments with interest rates ranging from 1.5% to 5.55% with maturity dates from June 2026 to December 2033."
$24,780,915reserves and reserve funds at December 31, 2025, up from $20,369,972
A reserve is money set aside for later use, like a savings account for roads, water and fire trucks. The audited statements show reserves and reserve funds grew from $20,369,972 to $24,780,915 in 2025, after $6,347,983 was put in from operations and $1,937,040 was used. The Township's November 2025 budget package had expected the total of all reserves to end 2025 at $22,414,914 and to fall to $20,200,256 by the end of 2026. The Township has explained part of the reason: staff say the corporate budget includes a transfer to the asset reserves "per Asset Management Plan", and the Plan says current funding is well short of what the Township's assets will need.
Why it matters
Reserves are the Township's savings for repairing infrastructure. Saving for future repairs is a common practice, but residents are also asked to pay a levy increase of 5.33%. They are entitled to know how much saving is planned, and why actual saving ran ahead of the plan.
It could be because…
Projects planned for 2025 were not finished and their money stayed in reserves. The 2026 budget carries $3,487,500 of 2025 projects forward.
The Asset Management Plan says funding is below what the Township's assets will need, so building reserves is the Township's chosen answer.
The two documents do not measure the same moment: the budget package figures are a forecast written in November 2025.
Questions you could ask
Why were 2025 reserve uses ($1,937,040 in the statements) so far below the $5,463,228 in the budget package forecast?
Is there a target level for reserves, and when does the Township expect to reach it?
Will Council publish a reserve report in the 2027 budget showing the forecast and the result side by side?
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 Perth East?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
Schedule of Continuity of Reserves and Reserve Funds: "Total reserves and reserve funds" balance at beginning of year 20,369,972; from operations 6,347,983; utilized (1,937,040); end of year $ 24,780,915.
Staff notes for the corporate budget: "Increase in budgeted property tax supplementals & Transfer to Corporate Asset Reserves per Asset Management Plan & Grant/Funding Changes (OMPF, OCIF, etc.)".
$21.1 millionten-year funding gap for tax-supported assets at the Township's proposed levels of service
An asset management plan estimates what it costs to keep a town's roads, bridges, buildings and water systems working. The Township's 2025 plan says that to meet its own proposed levels of service, existing funding falls $21.1 million short over 2025 to 2034 for assets paid from taxes. To close it, the Township would have to raise capital contributions by about $468,400 a year (4.8% of the 2025 levy of $9.7 million) for each of ten years, plus inflation. For water and wastewater assets paid from rates, the gap is $26.8 million. Against the stricter benchmark, the plan puts the gap at $116.5 million and calls closing it "unrealistic" in the short term.
Why it matters
This is the Township's own warning that today's tax levy is not enough to keep its assets up. The 2026 levy increase of 5.33% is larger than this plan's 4.8% a year, but the Township's own slides trace most of it to the OPP bill and other costs, not to saving for assets.
It could be because…
A funding gap on paper is common in Ontario. Roads and bridges often last longer than their design life, as the plan itself says.
Grants (such as the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund and the Canada Community-Building Fund) may close part of the gap.
The plan was written in 2025, before the 2026 budget added to reserves.
Questions you could ask
How much of the $468,400 a year has the Township added to capital contributions since the plan was written?
Is the 2027 budget going to show a ten-year plan to close the gap?
Which assets are most at risk if the gap is not closed?
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 Perth East?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
"a funding gap of $21.1 million exists over the same period". "the Township would be required to increase capital contributions by approximately $468,400 (4.8% of 2025 tax levy of $9.7 million) per year in each of the next 10 years, plus inflation."
$(100,479)forecast Bridge Capital Reserve balance at December 31, 2026
The budget package's reserve schedule forecasts the Bridge Capital Reserve at $(100,479) on December 31, 2026, after using $275,000 that year. It also shows the Water development charges reserve at $(1,061) at the end of 2025. The Township does not explain the negative balances on the pages we read.
Why it matters
A reserve that goes below zero means the Township plans to spend money it has not yet saved. That is sometimes done on purpose, but it is a loan from other money, and residents should be told how it will be repaid.
It could be because…
The shortfall may be covered by borrowing between the Township's own funds, to be repaid from future contributions.
The 2026 bridge projects (a shared boundary bridge and a structure replacement) may be partly funded by grants that are not yet counted.
Development charges are collected as houses are built, so a growth reserve can run slightly negative until the next payment.
Questions you could ask
How will the Bridge Capital Reserve deficit be repaid, and from which source?
Does Council have a policy that allows a reserve to be spent below zero?
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 Perth East?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
Reserve continuity schedule: "Bridge Capital Reserve" balance December 31, 2025 $106,138; 2026 contributions 68,383; 2026 utilization 275,000; balance December 31, 2026 $(100,479). "Water DC" balance December 31, 2025 $(1,061).
December 8, 2025date the 2026 Mayor's Budget was deemed adopted, with no council amendments
Since May 1, 2025, Perth East has been under the Ontario "strong mayor" rules. The Mayor now writes and proposes the budget. The Township explains that the Mayor released the 2026 budget to council on November 24, 2025, council had 15 days to amend it, no member did, and the budget was deemed adopted on December 8, 2025. The Township's page does not mention a council vote. A written Mayoral Decision dated June 10, 2025 shortens the time for a mayoral veto of a budget amendment to less than 1 day, expiring on December 9, 2025.
Why it matters
Under the old process Council adopted the budget in a public vote. Under this process a budget can take effect with no vote. The Township's page does not mention a council vote on the budget.
It could be because…
This is the process the Province's rules set out for every strong-mayor municipality, not a choice made by Perth East.
Shortening a veto period is allowed by the regulation and only matters if a council member proposes an amendment. None did.
Staff presented the operating budget in October and the capital budget in November 2025, in public, before the Mayor's budget came out.
Questions you could ask
Did Council discuss or vote on the Mayor's budget in public between November 24 and December 8, 2025?
Why was a decision dated June 10, 2025 used to set a veto period that expires on December 9, 2025?
Will the 2027 budget have a recorded public vote, or the same process?
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 Perth East?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
"On November 24, 2025, Mayor Ehgoetz released the 2026 Mayors Budget to the members of Council, which then became available to the public on December 1, 2025. Council members had 15 days to make amendments if they chose to. There were no Council amendments so the 2026 Mayors Budget was deemed adopted on December 8, 2025."
"Mayoral Decision No. 2025 – 004 ... I, Rhonda Ehgoetz, Mayor of Township of Perth East, hereby shorten the time period for a mayoral veto of a budget amendment pursuant to subsection 7(7) of O. Reg. 530/22, to less than 1 day, expiring on December 9, 2025. Dated at Perth East this 10th day of June 2025."
"On April 9, 2025 the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing announced the expansion of strong mayor powers to the Township of Perth East ... applied to the Township of Perth East on May 1, 2025."
Perth East spent about $303 per home on snow ploughing in 2025. The typical similar town spent $139. Only 2 of 49 similar towns spent more.
Why it matters
Spending more than neighbours is not wrong by itself. It might buy better service. But it is the first place to look for costs that could be lower, such as contracts that were not competitively bid.
It could be because…
Geography: more roads, more snow, a bigger area or a landfill of its own.
Accounting: some towns record the same cost in a different category.
A one-time cost in this year.
Questions you could ask
What makes this cost higher here than in similar towns?
When were the main contracts in this area last put out to competitive tender?
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 Perth East?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
Snow ploughing per home: Perth East $303; typical similar town $139; ranked 3rd highest of 50.
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