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 Sarnia, and 2025 for 11 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 Sarnia, budget documents

   City of Sarnia · retrieved 2026-10-01

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

3. The Corporation of the City of Sarnia, Financial Statements for the Year Ended December 31, 2025 (BDO Canada LLP, July 22, 2026)

   City of Sarnia (auditor: BDO Canada LLP) · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Audited consolidated statements for 2025. Clean opinion dated July 22, 2026. 55 PDF pages.

4. The Corporation of the City of Sarnia, Financial Statements for the Year Ended December 31, 2024 (BDO Canada LLP, August 18, 2025)

   City of Sarnia (auditor: BDO Canada LLP) · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Audited statements for 2024. Opinion dated August 18, 2025. Used for the 2024 budget and actual recreation costs.

5. City of Sarnia, 2026 Approved Budgets (Operating, Water, Sewer, Capital and Reserves)

   City of Sarnia · retrieved 2026-10-05

   The 2026 budget book, 233 PDF pages, with 2024 actuals, 2025 budget and mid-year forecast beside the 2026 budget.

6. City of Sarnia, 2024 Financial Report

   City of Sarnia · retrieved 2026-10-05

   A short yearly summary of 2024. Used for the City's statement about its reserves.

7. BMA Management Consulting, Municipal Study 2025, Executive Summary: City of Sarnia

   BMA Management Consulting for the City of Sarnia · retrieved 2026-10-05

   A consultant's comparison of Sarnia with other Ontario municipalities, posted by the City. Used for reserve and debt comparisons.

8. City of Sarnia, Members of Council (CivicWeb portal)

   City of Sarnia · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Council members, terms (November 15, 2022 to November 14, 2026) and official contact details.

9. City of Sarnia, Council Members' Expenses

   City of Sarnia · retrieved 2026-10-05

   A table of expenses paid for council members from November 2022.

10. 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 11 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.