Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to The Blue Mountains' budget, taxes and council decisions. A town in Grey County, Ontario, with a mayor, a deputy mayor and five councillors. 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.
+198%running the town office, 2019 to 2025
The Blue Mountains spent $4.0M on running the town office in 2019 and $11.8M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time. Only 0 of 47 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$220per home on council, 2025
The Blue Mountains spent about $220 per home on council in 2025. The typical similar town spent $50. Only 2 of 47 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
$82.4 million to about $6.7 millionprojected reserves and reserve funds, 2021 to the end of 2026, in the Town's 2026 budget book
Reserves are savings that council sets aside for future needs, such as replacing roads and pipes. The Town's own 2026 budget book says its reserves and reserve funds are projected to fall from $82.4 million in 2021 to about $6.7 million by the end of 2026. The audited statements show the reserves total dropped in 2025, and the budget book's table shows far more money planned to go out of reserves in 2026 than the Town expects to hold. The Town has explained why and has added a $345,000 yearly transfer, which it calls a step in the right direction.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 6 sources
$29,849,250recorded cost of closing the landfill and removing asbestos, at December 31, 2025
Under accounting rules the Town must record what it will cost to close its landfill, care for it afterwards and remove asbestos from some buildings and pipes. That total is $29,849,250. The Town's accumulated surplus note lists the same kind of amount as 'unfunded', meaning no money has been set aside for it. We did not find this obligation mentioned in the 2026 budget book.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
150%increase in waste management costs over 2023, per the Town's 2026 budget book
The Town's budget book says waste management costs have risen 150% over 2023 and are rising again. Council took out a proposed $4 fee on each bag of garbage that would have raised about $750K, so the cost stays on the property tax levy. The Town says collecting commercial blue box recycling costs almost $3,500 per tonne.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$380K to just over $1 millionthe salary vacancy factor in the 2026 budget
A 'salary vacancy factor' is an amount taken off the pay budget because some jobs are usually empty. Council raised it from $380K to just over $1 million. That cut the levy but only works if positions stay unfilled. The Town's own forecast says the 2027 tax increase would be 5.50%, driven mainly by lowering this factor again. Salaries and benefits grew from 19,376,318 in 2024 to 21,251,439 in 2025 (about 9.7%, worked out by us).
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$645,000of the Town's accommodation tax share set aside for 2026 projects, against an estimated $2.8M generated in 2025
The Town began a 4% Municipal Accommodation Tax on short stays of less than 30 days on January 6, 2025. The Town estimated it would generate $2.8M in 2025 and splits it with the local destination marketing group. For 2026 council set aside $645,000 of the Town's share for named projects, including $175,000 to run transit so that it no longer falls on the property tax levy.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
+8%town property tax, 2024 to 2025
In 2025, The Blue Mountains collected $1.9M more in its own property tax than in 2024. That is a 8% jump, while prices went up about 2.1%. Only 8 of 47 similar towns raised theirs by more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$27.4Min savings at the end of 2025
Towns keep savings (called reserves) to pay for new trucks, roof repairs and surprises. The Blue Mountains had $27.4M saved at the end of 2025, down from $47.8M in 2019. That is 66% of one year's spending. Only 8 of 47 similar towns had less, compared with what they spend.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
$50,753,745annual surplus in 2025, while cash fell from $24,343,518 to $22,174,329
The audited statements show an annual surplus of $50,753,745 for 2025. Most of it is not cash the Town can spend. Almost all of it is two things that are not spendable cash: assets such as roads and pipes handed over to the Town ($26,310,664), and restricted money such as development charges counted as revenue ($23,178,341). Together, worked out by us, that is $49,489,005, close to the whole surplus. Cash in the bank went down over the year.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
September 16, 2026date of the auditor's report on the 2025 statements (2024: June 30, 2025)
The auditor, KPMG LLP, gave a clean opinion on the Town's 2025 statements, saying they 'present fairly, in all material respects' the Town's position. The auditor's report is dated September 16, 2026. The 2024 report was dated June 30, 2025, about two and a half months earlier in the calendar year. We did not find the Town's explanation on the pages we read.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
26%increase in council's budgeted expenses, 2025 to 2026, as printed in the budget book
The 2026 approved budget for Council as a whole is $687,642 in expenses, up from $546,502 in 2025. The Town's budget book shows large jumps in communications and in personnel and training. Council added $20,000 in extra training, paid from the Council Reserve.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
−$8.0Mnet financial position, 2025
In 2019, The Blue Mountains had $33.9M more in cash and money owed to it than it owed to others. By 2025 it was −$8.0M. About 71% of that change ($29.8M) is a new accounting rule from 2023: towns must now record the future cost of closing things like a landfill. That is not new spending or borrowing. Even leaving that out, only 25 of 47 similar towns are in a weaker position.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
$385per home on garbage, dump and recycling, 2025
The Blue Mountains spent about $385 per home on garbage, dump and recycling in 2025. The typical similar town spent $159. Only 1 of 47 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
A property tax bill in The Blue Mountains pays for three governments. Only part of it goes to the town, and that part is what The Blue Mountains council controls.
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We ask questions. Every one lists ordinary reasons a number could look odd.
Towns are only compared with places of a similar size and kind, from the same yearly reports.
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