$30,849,818annual surplus in 2024, against a budget of $19,735,109
A surplus is what is left when a year's revenue is more than its spending. The City's 2024 audited statements show an annual surplus of $30,849,818. The budget in the same statements planned $19,735,109, so the result was $11,114,709 higher (worked out by us). Revenue came in $18,918,649 above the budget figure and spending $7,803,940 above it (both worked out by us). Grants ("conditional grants") were budgeted at $36,303,220 and came in at $46,325,975. The City explains that these statements count the whole cost of capital projects (roads, buildings) in the budget column, and its accumulated-surplus note says the cash-basis operating result was a deficit of $194,691. So most of the surplus is probably money tied to capital projects, not spare operating cash. We could not tell from the statements alone how much was grants received ahead of projects.
June 15, 2026date of the auditor's report on the 2024 statements
Audited financial statements are the City's yearbook of money. The auditor's report on the 2023 statements is dated September 8, 2025. The report on the 2024 statements is dated June 15, 2026. That is roughly 20 and 18 months after each year ended (worked out by us). When we read the City's finance reports page on October 5, 2026, the latest audited statements posted were for 2024; we did not find 2025. The 2024 statements also restated 2023: the 2023 annual surplus was changed from $12,187,378 to $14,965,745. The City has said in its own 2026 budget that it wants these statements to "become timelier", so it knows about the gap. One restatement table prints a 2023 tangible capital assets figure of 365,414,123 that does not match the balance sheet (356,414,123), which looks like a typing slip.
$109,111,97410-year capital funding shortfall, after all identified sources
A 10-year capital plan lists what the City expects to spend on things like roads, sewers and buildings, and how it will pay for them. The 2026 Mayor's Budget says the plan totals $529,214,392 and, after counting reserves, grants, development charges, yearly transfers, planned borrowing and growth in tax revenue, leaves a "Revised Shortfall" of $109,111,974, or $10,911,197 a year. The City published this itself and says its infrastructure is "underfunded". It plans to close the gap slowly: the 2026 levy includes $1,182,800 for the plan, a "slower phase in" than the $5,008,000 increase in 2024. The City also shows it could borrow much more: its debt limit is about $191,202,346 against $56,998,062 now drawn or authorized.
$2,446,001projected Tax Stabilization Reserve balance at December 31, 2025 (was $7,931,001)
The Tax Stabilization Reserve is a savings account the City uses to smooth tax increases using past surpluses. The 2026 Mayor's Budget projects its balance at December 31, 2025 as $2,446,001, down from $7,931,001 a year earlier. The 2026 budget takes a further $661,200 from it "for one-time costs". The council chamber audio and broadcasting upgrade ($500,000) lists its funding as "Tax Stabilization Reserve/ to be determined". If both were taken from the reserve, about $1,284,781 would be left (worked out by us). The City says it has used the reserve for "temporary variances, or one-time costs" and that "reducing dependence" on it for permanent cost increases is "strongly recommended". Different pages of the same document show the 2026 draw as $1,550,000, $661,200 and $661,220.