Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Strathroy-Caradoc's budget, taxes and council decisions. A municipality in Middlesex County, Ontario, with a mayor, a deputy mayor and seven councillors, formed on January 1, 2021 when the Town of Strathroy and the Township of Caradoc amalgamated. Every figure links back to the public record.
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Questions worth asking
Each one is a question, not an accusation. Every one lists ordinary reasons it could be true, and the documents it comes from.
+79%roads and snow, 2019 to 2025
Strathroy-Caradoc spent $2.5M on roads and snow in 2019 and $4.5M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time. Only 3 of 33 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$2,101,855proposed 2026 tax money for capital, down from $3,088,650, against about $13.18 million a year the slides say is needed
Capital means roads, buildings, pipes and other things that last many years. The Mayor's budget slides say the Municipality's Asset Management Plan means it "must allocate approximately $13.18 million annually" to capital needs, and that it "Have been allocating $3 million annually". The budget then lowers the tax money for capital from $3,088,650 in 2025 to $2,101,855 in 2026. The report explains that it used reserve funds, grants and debt where it could. That means part of the gap is being covered by borrowing, and the cost of borrowing sits in the operating budget.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$20,090,003of "proposed" debt in the 2026 debt schedule, plus $9,500,000 for the police annex, against $8,483,135 in audited long-term debt
A debenture is a long-term loan the Municipality takes out and repays over many years. The audited statements show long-term debt of $8,483,135 at the end of 2025, down from $9,199,793. The 2026 budget's debt schedule lists a separate group of "proposed" debt of $20,090,003 for projects that are "completed projects not yet debentured", including $10,000,000 for Fire Station #1, and then a new $9,500,000 loan for a police building annex. Added together, that is about $29.6 million of loans on top of the existing $700,634 in the schedule (worked out by us). The Mayor himself asked for a report on these "proposed" debentures on May 19, 2026. We did not find that report.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 6 sources
$24,890,868allocated to wastewater projects, against a reserve fund of $11,770,063 at the start of 2025
Wastewater means the sewers and plants that clean used water. The budget's reserve analysis lists the Wastewater Reserve Fund opening 2025 at 11,770,062.87, with 24,890,867.66 allocated to projects, leaving (13,120,804.79) "before additions/interest". The list of water and wastewater projects it refers to labels them "allocated but unspent", and notes that two plant upgrades were updated in 2025 "to 11 million from 6m" (Mount Brydges) and "to 14m from 10m" (Strathroy). The audited statements say 13,433,332 of contracts for wastewater projects were still unfinished at the end of 2025. The documents we read do not say how the difference will be paid.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$1,102,548investment income in 2025, against a budget of $2,140,179
The audited statement of operations shows investment income of $1,102,548 for 2025 against a budget of $2,140,179, and $1,683,727 in 2024. The 2026 budget again counts on about $2 million of investment interest. Part of the gap may be accounting. The audited statements say $1,488,150 of investment income in 2025 was earned on externally restricted money (for example development charges) and was added to deferred revenue instead of being counted as 2025 revenue. The Municipality's cash at the end of 2025 was $68,082,424.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$(2,379,432)accumulated deficit from operations at the end of 2025, down from a surplus of $5,527,191
The accumulated surplus is the net value the Municipality has built up. The audited statements split it into parts. The part that comes from operations went from a surplus of $5,527,191 to a deficit of $(2,379,432), even though the Municipality reported an annual surplus of $12,280,454. At the same time the Transportation reserve went from $(1,368,411) to $(1,624,448). A negative reserve means money has been spent from a savings account that has nothing left in it. The same note shows the money tied up in unfinished capital projects growing from $16,981,943 to $30,613,042.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$10,940,283proposed 2026 Police Services operating budget, up $1,942,787 from $8,997,496
The police budget is the largest department in the 2026 operating budget. It goes from $8,997,496 to $10,940,283. About $1,209,577 of that rise is paid by non-tax revenue (grants, fees and payments from others), and $733,210 (10%) by the tax levy. The budget detail shows full-time pay rising from $4,106,734 to $4,854,188 and payroll benefits from $1,362,060 to $1,885,401, while two workers' compensation (WSIB) lines of $50,000 and $25,000 go to nil. A note on the full-time pay line reads "Split x2 (7.4%) *3%*", which we could not interpret.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
+48%police, fire and safety, 2019 to 2025
Strathroy-Caradoc spent $8.4M on police, fire and safety in 2019 and $12.5M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
4.53%proposed 2026 municipal tax rate increase, against an 11.48% rise in the operating levy
The Municipality's own budget report gives three percentages for the same year. The operating levy (the tax money that pays for day-to-day services) rises 11.48%, from $23,361,952 to $26,044,139. The whole levy, which also includes tax money for capital projects, rises 7.37%, to $26,227,594. The tax rate, which is what a homeowner's bill is built from, rises 4.53%, because the assessed value of the town's properties grew 2.72%. The report says this 4.53% is only the municipal part of the bill. County and school taxes are added to it. The Municipality has explained all three numbers in the report, so this is context rather than a gap.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$6,127,150capital assets bought in 2025, against a budget of $40,660,500 (plus $13,631,099 added to work in progress)
The budget column of the audited statements plans $40,660,500 for new capital assets in 2025. The statements show $6,127,150 bought, but also an increase of $13,631,099 in work in progress, which is the cost of projects that are not finished yet. Together that is about $19.8 million (worked out by us), roughly half of the budget. The Municipality explains in its statements that capital budgets are project-based and can run over more than one year, and the statements list $23,605,095 of contracts still to be paid at the end of 2025.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
A property tax bill in Strathroy-Caradoc pays for three governments. Only part of it goes to the town, and that part is what Strathroy-Caradoc council controls.
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