Sources and method

Where this comes from

Everything on these pages comes from public documents. Here they are, with how we used them, so anyone can check our work.

Documents

1. Ontario Financial Information Return (FIR)

   Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing · retrieved 2026-10-01

   The numbers behind the money and compare pages: 2019 to 2025 for Richmond Hill, and 2025 for 6 similar places. Figures are what the municipality reported to the Province for each year, prepared on the same basis as its audited financial statements.

2. City of Richmond Hill, budget documents

   City of Richmond Hill · retrieved 2026-10-01

   The city’s published budgets. Used to check its plans against what it reported.

3. City of Richmond Hill 2026 Budget Book

   City of Richmond Hill · retrieved 2026-10-03

   Operating and capital budget, outlook, infrastructure gap, water rates (426 PDF pages).

4. 2025 audited consolidated financial statements

   City of Richmond Hill (auditor: KPMG LLP, opinion dated June 10, 2026) · retrieved 2026-10-03

   Statements and notes for 2025 (48 PDF pages).

5. 2025 Annual Financial Report

   City of Richmond Hill · retrieved 2026-10-03

   Financial discussion, policies and statements (85 PDF pages).

6. 2024 audited consolidated financial statements

   City of Richmond Hill · retrieved 2026-10-03

   Opened and used only for cross-checks (46 PDF pages).

7. SRCFS.25.025, 2024 Development Charges, Cash in Lieu of Parkland and Community Benefits Charge Reserve Funds Statement

   City of Richmond Hill, Financial Services · retrieved 2026-10-03

   Staff report to Budget Committee of the Whole, June 24, 2025 (18 PDF pages).

8. Mayoral Decision 26-24, proposed 2025 operating budget

   Mayor, City of Richmond Hill · retrieved 2026-10-03

   Decision of December 6, 2024 with staff report SRCFS.24.058 attached (29 PDF pages).

9. Mayoral Decision 21-24, direction to staff regarding the 2025 budget

   Mayor, City of Richmond Hill · retrieved 2026-10-03

   Decision of November 5, 2024 (one page).

10. Mayoral Decisions 01-23, 02-23 and 03-23

    Mayor, City of Richmond Hill · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Delegations of strong-mayor powers, July 4, 2023 (one page each; 02-23 and 03-23 are linked in the notes).

11. Ombudsman Ontario, investigation into meetings held by the City of Richmond Hill (March 31, 2021)

    Ombudsman of Ontario · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Closed meeting investigation report.

12. Procedure By-law 125-23

    City of Richmond Hill · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Rules for council meetings (74 PDF pages).

13. Council Meeting Minutes C#26-25, September 24, 2025

    City of Richmond Hill · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Minutes (21 PDF pages) with the Integrity Commissioner annual report items.

14. Member of Council expense reports, January to June 2026

    City of Richmond Hill · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Nine reports plus the Council Engagement and Marketing report, posted August 31, 2026.

15. Report of the City of Richmond Hill Council Compensation Review Committee (May 18, 2022)

    City of Richmond Hill · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Opened; not used in a finding (it sets 2022 pay, not what was paid).

16. Statistics Canada, Consumer Price Index, annual average (table 18-10-0005-01)

    Statistics Canada · retrieved 2026-10-01

    How much prices went up each year, so cost growth can be compared with inflation.

How the numbers are worked out

Day-to-day spending

Total expenses as reported, minus amortization ("wear and tear"), which is an accounting cost rather than cash spent that year. Costs are shown in the service where they were recorded, before the city spreads its office overhead across services, so the cost of running the office stays visible.

Per home

An amount divided by the number of households the city reported to the Province for that year.

Similar places

Ontario lower-tier municipalities with 60% to 160% of this population that had filed their 2025 return, in 2025. This gives 6 places. "Typical" means the median: half of similar places are above it and half below. The size limits are a judgement call; moving them a little adds or drops a few places, so treat small differences in rank as noise. Per-home figures use the household counts each city reports to the Province. Places do not all count the same way: some include seasonal homes, so per-home comparisons are a guide, not exact.

Faster than prices

Growth is compared with Canada's Consumer Price Index over the same years.

When a question is raised automatically

When a cost grew at least 25 percentage points faster than prices and faster than 80% of similar places; when a measure of money health is worse than 80% of similar places; or when a one-year tax increase is higher than 80% of similar places and well above inflation. "Needs an answer" means worse than 90% of similar places. When there are fewer than 20 similar places, automatic questions go no higher than "Worth asking", because one rank moves a lot in a small group.

What this cannot see

These records show totals by category, not individual payments. They cannot show whether a particular contract was fair, whether a purchase was split to avoid tendering, or who was paid. That needs the city's list of payments (its cheque register or accounts payable list), which residents can ask for under Ontario's freedom-of-information law (MFIPPA). That is the next thing we plan to add.