Not the full picture. Built from public records, which leave things out.Older reportDetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date. Check the sources, and tell us if you spot a mistake. What this site can't tell you An older report. We have no 2024 report for Thames Centre in the Province's latest release, so these pages use its 2023 report. It may simply be filed late. Read by hand. We read Thames Centre's own documents for this site in October 2026; the Sources page lists which ones. The comparisons with other places still come from the Province's yearly reports.
Questions · 7 so far
Things worth asking about
We read Thames Centre's financial reports and meeting minutes, and compared its numbers with 85 similar Ontario towns. These are the things that stood out.
What these are, and what they are not. A question here means a number or practice is unusual, or harder to see than it should be. It does not mean anyone did anything wrong. Most unusual numbers turn out to have ordinary explanations, and every question lists some. The only way to know is to ask.
Worth asking
Worth asking
There may well be a good reason. It is still worth asking what it is.
September 3, 2026date of the auditor's report on the 2024 statements (the 2023 report was dated October 7, 2024)
Each year an outside firm of accountants (the auditor) checks the Municipality's yearly financial statements and signs a report saying whether they are fair. KPMG LLP signed its report on the year ended December 31, 2024 on September 3, 2026, almost twenty months after that year ended. The statements say the 2023 statements were audited by a different firm, whose report was dated October 7, 2024. The Municipality's statements page lists 2021 to 2024 and we did not find 2025 statements there. The 2024 statements carry a clean opinion, which means the auditor found them fair.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$2,647,500taken off the 2023 accumulated surplus when the statements were corrected
Accumulated surplus is the total of what the Municipality owns over what it owes, built up over the years. The 2024 statements say the Municipality "identified certain prior period errors" in its 2023 statements and corrected them. The 2023 accumulated surplus first reported as $155,906,000 became $153,258,500. The Municipality names three causes: debt and a receivable booked for the Seniors' Centre financing before it was issued, development charge funds shown as negative deferred revenue, and a liability and asset booked for a project not yet started. The statements explain what went wrong. They do not say how it was found or what changed so it does not repeat.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$240,000the 2025 Capital Infrastructure Levy (2.0% of the tax levy), against 1% in 2024
A levy is an extra amount added to the property tax bill. Thames Centre adds a Capital Infrastructure Levy to pay for roads and buildings and to cover loans it planned to repay with development charges, the one-time fees builders pay. The 2025 budget book says in one passage that the levy is 1%. Council's resolution, the price table and the budget notes say 2%, worth $240,000. The 2024 budget used 1%. The overall 2025 tax rate increase is 3.9%, of which the levy is 2.0 points. The Municipality's own explanation is that development charges "are no longer coming in at predicted levels".
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$4,195,008annual surplus in 2024, against a budget the statements show as "-"
The 2024 budget shown in the audited statements planned an annual surplus of nothing (the statement prints "-"). The actual annual surplus was $4,195,008. Government grants came in at $2,668,793 against a budget of $1,544,444. Developer contributions (property that builders hand over, such as roads) were $2,186,886 against $530,325. Environmental services (water, wastewater, waste) spent $5,370,729 against a budget of $6,743,835, which is $1,373,106 less (worked out by us). The statements say only the operating budget is shown, so the budget and actual columns are not measured the same way.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$4,812,786capital budget remaining from 2024 and earlier, carried into 2025
A capital project is a one-off build such as a road or a pump station. The 2024 budget's CAO message says there had been a "significant increase in capital projects that were not completed" and promises project management practices to fix it. The 2025 budget book lists $4,812,786 of budget remaining from 2024 and earlier projects, beside the new 2025 capital budget of $10,797,383. In the 2024 audited statements, spending on tangible capital assets was $12,005,319 against a budget of $9,262,797.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$1,854,106OPP policing cost in 2024; the 2025 budget expects about $2.2 million from 2026
Thames Centre pays the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) for policing. The 2024 statements say the 2024 cost was $1,854,106. The 2025 budget book says a new collective agreement raised OPP pay, that the province gave $318,490 to cover one year of the increase, and that the 2025 budget adds $180,000 (1.5% of the levy) in advance. It says OPP billings are expected to be "approximately $2.2 million in 2026 onwards". The Municipality has explained the increase.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
3%cost of living increase to Council's wages carried in the 2025 budget debate
During the 2025 budget debate, Council passed Resolution 348-2024, which moved to "propose a 3% cost of living increase to their current wages in 2025" and amended the budget to match. The record shows the vote carried. Pay is set by Council, so a vote on it is public and recorded. The budget book does not say how many dollars the 3% adds.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 1 source
September 3, 2026date of the auditor's report on the 2024 statements (the 2023 report was dated October 7, 2024)
Each year an outside firm of accountants (the auditor) checks the Municipality's yearly financial statements and signs a report saying whether they are fair. KPMG LLP signed its report on the year ended December 31, 2024 on September 3, 2026, almost twenty months after that year ended. The statements say the 2023 statements were audited by a different firm, whose report was dated October 7, 2024. The Municipality's statements page lists 2021 to 2024 and we did not find 2025 statements there. The 2024 statements carry a clean opinion, which means the auditor found them fair.
Why it matters
Residents and lenders use audited statements to see whether the Municipality is living within its means. The later they arrive, the longer decisions are made on unchecked numbers. The same statements also correct errors in the 2023 numbers (see the restatement question).
It could be because…
Changing auditors (the statements say 2023 was audited by another firm) can slow a first audit.
The auditor also had to audit the corrections made to the 2023 numbers, which adds work.
The Municipality may have posted statements on another page or may be about to post 2025.
Questions you could ask
Why did the 2024 audit finish in September 2026, and when did the audit start?
When will the 2025 audited statements be posted, and has Council set a date for them?
Did the change of auditor or the restatement of 2023 cause the delay?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Thames Centre?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The auditor's report is signed "London, Canada" and dated "September 3, 2026". Opinion: the statements "present fairly, in all material respects" the Municipality's position at December 31, 2024.
"The financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023 ... were audited by another auditor who expressed an unmodified opinion on those financial statements on October 7, 2024."
$2,647,500taken off the 2023 accumulated surplus when the statements were corrected
Accumulated surplus is the total of what the Municipality owns over what it owes, built up over the years. The 2024 statements say the Municipality "identified certain prior period errors" in its 2023 statements and corrected them. The 2023 accumulated surplus first reported as $155,906,000 became $153,258,500. The Municipality names three causes: debt and a receivable booked for the Seniors' Centre financing before it was issued, development charge funds shown as negative deferred revenue, and a liability and asset booked for a project not yet started. The statements explain what went wrong. They do not say how it was found or what changed so it does not repeat.
Why it matters
A restated year means the first published numbers were wrong. The correction took about 1.7 percent off the reported surplus (worked out by us: 2,647,500 divided by 155,906,000), and it shows that some development charge fund balances were in deficit. Council and residents relied on the first figures when they were published.
It could be because…
Errors like these are what an auditor is meant to find, and the new auditor found and fixed them in the open.
Several of the changes are about where a number is shown, not about money spent.
Accounting for development charge funds and unfinished projects is hard, and many small municipalities have had to correct it.
Questions you could ask
How were the three errors found, and by whom?
What review step has been added so unissued debt and unstarted projects are not booked early again?
Were Council or its finance committee told before the 2023 statements were first published that these items were uncertain?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Thames Centre?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
Note 16: "During the year, the Municipality identified certain prior period errors within the December 31, 2023 financial statements." Accumulated surplus, as reported 155,906,000, adjustment (2,647,500), adjusted balance 153,258,500. Deferred revenue, as reported 9,688,821, adjustment 2,647,500, adjusted 12,336,321. Accounts receivable, as reported 7,330,470, adjustment (880,095), adjusted 6,450,375.
The note lists the errors as (i) debt and a receivable for "financing for the Seniors' Centre project that had not yet been issued", (ii) "development charge reserve fund deficit balances" shown as negative deferred revenue, and (iii) a liability and asset for "a project where construction had not commenced as at December 31, 2023".
$240,000the 2025 Capital Infrastructure Levy (2.0% of the tax levy), against 1% in 2024
A levy is an extra amount added to the property tax bill. Thames Centre adds a Capital Infrastructure Levy to pay for roads and buildings and to cover loans it planned to repay with development charges, the one-time fees builders pay. The 2025 budget book says in one passage that the levy is 1%. Council's resolution, the price table and the budget notes say 2%, worth $240,000. The 2024 budget used 1%. The overall 2025 tax rate increase is 3.9%, of which the levy is 2.0 points. The Municipality's own explanation is that development charges "are no longer coming in at predicted levels".
Why it matters
The levy doubled in a year while the book that explains it is inconsistent. A resident reading page 13 would think the levy had not changed. The town says the levy is needed because growth fees fell short.
It could be because…
Page 13 may be wording left over from the 2024 budget book, which said 1%.
Council may have raised the levy from 1% to 2% at the December 2024 meeting after the book text was written.
The levy replaces money that development charges were expected to bring in.
Questions you could ask
Is the levy 1% or 2%, and which pages of the book are right?
How much of the levy is going to repay loans originally meant to be paid from development charges?
Until when will the levy be needed, and what level of development charges would let it end?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Thames Centre?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
Under Sustainability: "1% annual Capital Infrastructure Levy to address both risk of Capital and Development Charge (DC) reserve depletion as well as loan repayments previously committed to be funded through anticipated future DC (DCs) that are no longer coming in at predicted levels."
Resolution 351-2024: "THAT Council APPROVE a 2% Capital Infrastructure Levy." Carried. Resolution 352-2024 approved an operating budget "including a tax levy of increase of 1.9%".
"Capital Infrastructure Levy (2%)" $240,000, 2.0%. The table of external cost increases and the levy totals $548,251, 3.9%. The page before says the budget "results in a tax rate increase of 3.9% over 2024".
2025 Annual Budget · Significant Items & Priorities, PDF pages 16 to 17; "set at 2.0%" on PDF page 18
"a 1% annual Capital Infrastructure Levy is applied to address both the risk of Capital and Development Charge (DC) reserve depletion" in the 2024 budget, which had an "overall inflationary tax levy increase of 3.4%".
Obligatory reserve funds held as deferred revenue: "Development charges and contributions" 6,771,237 at the end of 2024, against 7,287,390 at the end of 2023 (as restated).
$4,195,008annual surplus in 2024, against a budget the statements show as "-"
The 2024 budget shown in the audited statements planned an annual surplus of nothing (the statement prints "-"). The actual annual surplus was $4,195,008. Government grants came in at $2,668,793 against a budget of $1,544,444. Developer contributions (property that builders hand over, such as roads) were $2,186,886 against $530,325. Environmental services (water, wastewater, waste) spent $5,370,729 against a budget of $6,743,835, which is $1,373,106 less (worked out by us). The statements say only the operating budget is shown, so the budget and actual columns are not measured the same way.
Why it matters
A budget is the promise made to taxpayers. When actual results are far from it, residents cannot tell how much of the gap is planned timing and how much is slack in the budget.
It could be because…
Note 12 says the operating budget is the one shown, while the actual column includes capital grants and gifts of assets that no operating budget plans for.
Developer contributions depend on when builders finish work, which no budget can time.
Environmental services may have spent less because projects slipped to a later year.
Questions you could ask
How much of the $4,195,008 surplus is capital grants and gifts of assets, and how much is operating?
What did environmental services not spend in 2024, and was the money carried to 2025?
Would the Municipality publish a table that reconciles the budget to the statements?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Thames Centre?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
Statement of operations, 2024 budget and actual: Government grants 1,544,444 and 2,668,793; Developer contributions 530,325 and 2,186,886; Environmental services 6,743,835 and 5,370,729; Annual surplus "-" and 4,195,008.
$4,812,786capital budget remaining from 2024 and earlier, carried into 2025
A capital project is a one-off build such as a road or a pump station. The 2024 budget's CAO message says there had been a "significant increase in capital projects that were not completed" and promises project management practices to fix it. The 2025 budget book lists $4,812,786 of budget remaining from 2024 and earlier projects, beside the new 2025 capital budget of $10,797,383. In the 2024 audited statements, spending on tangible capital assets was $12,005,319 against a budget of $9,262,797.
Why it matters
If projects take longer than planned, cost estimates and tax levies can drift from what residents were told. A large carried-over amount is also money already raised or reserved.
It could be because…
Roads and plants often take more than one year, so unspent money from a multi-year project is normal.
Projects may have waited on grant approvals or on tenders.
The Municipality has said it is adding project management tools to catch this, and the 2025 book shows the carry-over openly.
Questions you could ask
Which projects make up the $4,812,786, and when is each expected to finish?
Did the project management practices promised for 2024 start, and has Council seen results?
Will the Municipality publish a yearly list of capital projects started, finished and carried over?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Thames Centre?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
"Project Management principles, practices, templates, tracking, accountability and project teams/charters will be implemented in 2024 to directly address the significant increase in capital projects that were not completed and ensure they are property financed."
$1,854,106OPP policing cost in 2024; the 2025 budget expects about $2.2 million from 2026
Thames Centre pays the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) for policing. The 2024 statements say the 2024 cost was $1,854,106. The 2025 budget book says a new collective agreement raised OPP pay, that the province gave $318,490 to cover one year of the increase, and that the 2025 budget adds $180,000 (1.5% of the levy) in advance. It says OPP billings are expected to be "approximately $2.2 million in 2026 onwards". The Municipality has explained the increase.
Why it matters
Policing is among the biggest single costs and the Municipality does not set the price. Residents should know what they will carry once the province's one-year payment ends.
It could be because…
The increase comes from a province-wide contract, not from a local decision.
The 2025 phase-in lets the Municipality spread the rise over two budgets.
Questions you could ask
What is the 2026 OPP bill, and how much of the rise is covered by the $180,000 already in the base budget?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Thames Centre?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
Note 13: agreement with the Ontario Provincial Police for policing. "The total cost incurred for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $1,854,106 (2023 - $1,822,395)."
"While the provincial government has provided $318,490 to cover one year of the pay increase, Budget 2025 includes a Phase-in so that the associated 1.5% levy ($180,000) would be embedded in the base budget ... overall OPP billings of approximately $2.2 million in 2026 onwards."
3%cost of living increase to Council's wages carried in the 2025 budget debate
During the 2025 budget debate, Council passed Resolution 348-2024, which moved to "propose a 3% cost of living increase to their current wages in 2025" and amended the budget to match. The record shows the vote carried. Pay is set by Council, so a vote on it is public and recorded. The budget book does not say how many dollars the 3% adds.
Why it matters
Council pay is paid from the same tax levy as everything else. When members vote on their own pay, residents benefit from seeing the amount and the reason together.
It could be because…
A cost of living increase keeps pay in line with what staff and other towns receive.
Votes on pay are public and the book prints the resolution, which is what openness looks like.
Questions you could ask
What is the dollar cost of the 3% increase for all five members, and is the increase set by a policy each year?
You can ask during the public part of a council meeting, by writing to the clerk, or by contacting your councillors. How to reach council.
Speak for Thames Centre?Send us your answer and we will publish it with this question.
The evidence
Resolution 348-2024: "THAT Council ADJUST their wages to propose a 3% cost of living increase to their current wages in 2025". Carried.
Can we count your visit? With your OK, we use Google Analytics to see which pages help people. It sets cookies and sends visit data to Google. Nothing loads unless you say yes. Privacy