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 2023 for Stratford, and 2023 for 10 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 Stratford, council remuneration and expense statements

   City of Stratford · retrieved 2026-10-05

   What each council member was paid, and spent on benefits and expenses, 2024 to 2025. One statement a year; the link is the latest, and the council page links each year.

3. City of Stratford, budget documents

   City of Stratford · retrieved 2026-10-01

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

4. The Corporation of the City of Stratford, Consolidated Financial Statements, December 31, 2024 (auditor's report June 15, 2026)

   City of Stratford (auditor: a Brantford chartered professional accountants firm) · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Audited 2024 statements. Clean opinion dated June 15, 2026. 41 PDF pages.

5. The Corporation of the City of Stratford, Consolidated Financial Statements, December 31, 2023 (with management report)

   City of Stratford · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Audited 2023 statements, auditor's report dated September 8, 2025. Used for the report dates.

6. City of Stratford, 2026 Mayor's Budget (released November 19, 2025)

   City of Stratford · retrieved 2026-10-05

   The 2026 budget book as issued by the Mayor on November 19, 2025. 591 PDF pages.

7. Mayoral Direction DI-2025-01, 2026 City Budget (July 18, 2025)

   Mayor of the City of Stratford · retrieved 2026-10-05

   The Mayor's direction for the 2026 budget.

8. Closed Meeting Investigation Report, April 29, 2025

   Closed meeting investigator for the City of Stratford · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Review of 25 closed sessions from May 31, 2023 to September 9, 2024. 22 PDF pages.

9. City of Stratford, Treasurer's Statement of Council Remuneration and Expenses, December 31, 2025

   City of Stratford · retrieved 2026-10-05

   The Municipal Act s. 284 statement for 2025.

10. City of Stratford, Annual Statement of Council Remuneration and Expenses, December 31, 2024

    City of Stratford · retrieved 2026-10-05

    The Municipal Act s. 284 statement for 2024.

11. 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 single-tier municipalities with 60% to 160% of this population that had filed their 2023 return, in 2023. This gives 10 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.