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 2024 for Tay Valley, and 2024 for 73 similar towns. Figures are what the municipality reported to the Province for each year, prepared on the same basis as its audited financial statements.

2. Township of Tay Valley, budget documents

   Township of Tay Valley · retrieved 2026-10-01

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

3. Consolidated Financial Statements of The Corporation of Tay Valley Township, year ended December 31, 2024 (KPMG LLP, December 2, 2025)

   Tay Valley Township (auditor: KPMG LLP) · retrieved 2026-10-07

   Audited 2024 statements with a clean opinion ("present fairly"). 43 PDF pages. Used for the landfill estimate, reserves, capital spending, investment income and the auditor's report date.

4. Consolidated Financial Statements of The Corporation of Tay Valley Township, year ended December 31, 2023 (KPMG LLP, March 25, 2025)

   Tay Valley Township (auditor: KPMG LLP) · retrieved 2026-10-07

   Audited 2023 statements. Used only for the auditor's report date.

5. 2026 Reeve's Budget - Final (operating and capital budget book)

   Tay Valley Township · retrieved 2026-10-07

   56 PDF pages: summary, levy history, impacts on the levy, revenues, detailed expenses, capital and reserves. Deemed adopted November 25, 2025.

6. Media release: Tay Valley Township Approves 2026 Budget under New Strong Mayor Powers (November 26, 2025)

   Tay Valley Township · retrieved 2026-10-07

   The Township's own summary of the 2026 budget.

7. Media release: Tay Valley Township Approves 2025 Budget (December 11, 2024)

   Tay Valley Township · retrieved 2026-10-07

   The Township's own summary of the 2025 budget.

8. Committee of the Whole "Special" Minutes, October 29, 2024 (2025 operating budget)

   Tay Valley Township · retrieved 2026-10-07

   The Treasurer's explanation of the draft 2025 levy increase.

9. Committee of the Whole "Special" Minutes, October 28, 2025 (2026 operating budget)

   Tay Valley Township · retrieved 2026-10-07

   The Treasurer's explanation of the draft 2026 levy increase.

10. Committee of the Whole "Special" Minutes, November 6, 2025 (2026 capital budget and operating update)

    Tay Valley Township · retrieved 2026-10-07

    The Treasurer's account of how the levy fell from the draft, and the Clerk's account of the strong mayor budget steps.

11. "Special" Council Meeting Agenda, November 25, 2025

    Tay Valley Township · retrieved 2026-10-07

    The agenda for the meeting at which the 2026 budget was deemed adopted. Pages after the cover pages are images; only the typed cover pages were used.

12. Integrity Commissioner Annual Report, 2025 (March 19, 2026)

    Cunningham Swan Carty Little & Bonham LLP, for Tay Valley Township · retrieved 2026-10-07

    Requests for advice, complaints and costs for 2025.

13. Reeve Decisions/Direction (web page)

    Tay Valley Township · retrieved 2026-10-07

    A numbered list of the Reeve's written decisions since May 2025.

14. 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 town 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 town reported to the Province for that year.

Similar towns

Ontario lower-tier municipalities with 60% to 160% of this population that had filed their 2024 return, in 2024. This gives 73 towns. "Typical" means the median: half of similar towns are above it and half below. The size limits are a judgement call; moving them a little adds or drops a few towns, so treat small differences in rank as noise. Per-home figures use the household counts each town reports to the Province. Towns 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 towns; when a measure of money health is worse than 80% of similar towns; or when a one-year tax increase is higher than 80% of similar towns and well above inflation. "Needs an answer" means worse than 90% of similar towns. When there are fewer than 20 similar towns, 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 town'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.