Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Tiny's budget, taxes and council decisions. A township in Simcoe County on the shore of Georgian Bay, with a mayor, a deputy mayor and three councillors, all elected by the whole township. 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.
$7.5Min savings at the end of 2024
Towns keep savings (called reserves) to pay for new trucks, roof repairs and surprises. Tiny had $7.5M saved at the end of 2024, up from $7.4M in 2019. That is 37% of one year's spending. Only 3 of 81 similar towns had less, compared with what they spend.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
$28 millionestimated project budget and construction loan limit, as stated in the 2024 statements
The Township is building a new administration centre. The 2024 audited statements say the project has an estimated budget of approximately $28 million, paid for first by an interest-only construction loan with a limit of $28 million (the loan is later meant to become a long-term debenture, which is a loan repaid over many years). The 2026 budget book shows the project in two places with different totals: a summary line of $9,741,000, and a detail page with expenses of $15,500,892 and a loan of $14,713,857. The Township's tax sheet says 2 cents of every tax dollar the Township keeps goes to "TTAC (debt financing)". We did not find a total cost, a total loan or a yearly repayment figure that matches across these pages.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$5,038,000cost of two properties, financed by donations and a $4.5 million two-year bank loan
The 2024 statements say that after year-end the Township agreed to buy two properties for $5,038,000, financed by donations and by a two-year bank loan of $4.5 million with monthly instalments of $21,250, including interest at 3.91% a year. Over 24 months those instalments add up to about $510,000 (worked out by us), far less than $4.5 million, so most of the loan would still be owing at the end of the two years unless it is repaid another way. The statements do not say how. The 2026 budget has a capital project called "Axler Block Development" with loan interest of $166,950. The pages we read do not say whether that is the same purchase.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$900,000put into the debt-financing reserve in 2026, against $925,904 of interest taken out (worked out by us)
A reserve is money saved for a set purpose. The Township keeps a debt-financing reserve to pay interest on its building loans. The 2026 budget puts $900,000 into it. The same budget takes out $758,954 for interest on the administration building and $166,950 for the Axler Block Development, which comes to $925,904 (worked out by us), $25,904 more than goes in. The loans are still growing, so the interest bill may grow with them. The Township pays this interest from the reserve rather than directly from the year's taxes.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 1 source
$811,494"Other" revenue in 2024, against a budget of $201,135
The 2024 budget for "Other" revenue was $201,135. The audited actual was $811,494. Investment income was also well above plan: budgeted at $197,000, it came in at $458,696. The notes break down the "other" line: "Donations, rents, sale of publications, etc." was $445,577, up from $61,768 in 2023. Total revenue was $26,859,839 against a budget of $25,839,674. The statements do not say what the donations were for.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources
$2,468,425general government salaries, wages and benefits in 2024, up from $2,122,334 in 2023
The "general government" part of the budget covers council, human resources and general administration. Its salaries, wages and benefits were $2,468,425 in 2024, up from $2,122,334 in 2023, a rise of about 16.3% (worked out by us). Its operating expenses rose about 16.6% (worked out by us), from $727,640 to $848,685. For the whole Township, salaries, wages and benefits rose about 6.9% (worked out by us), from $9,681,714 to $10,353,154. We did not find the Township's own explanation in the statements or the budget book.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
3.99per cent blended tax rate increase for 2026, as stated by the Township
In 2024 "net municipal taxation" (the Township's own share of the tax bill, after what it collects for the County and the school boards) was $17,204,881, up from $15,848,771, a rise of about 8.6% (worked out by us). For 2026 the Township says Council approved a 3.99 per cent increase in the blended rate (Township, County and school taxes together). The 2026 budget also uses $508,000 transferred from prior years' surplus. The Township's own explanation is that the budget is built on its Asset Management Plan, and its web page says the increase may be reduced in the spring once the 2025 surplus is known. We did not find a posted update to say whether it was.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
+75%water, sewers and garbage, 2019 to 2024
Tiny spent $1.7M on water, sewers and garbage in 2019 and $2.9M in 2024. Prices only went up about 18% in that time.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
5recommendations from the Ombudsman, including accurate meeting notices, complete minutes and training
The Ontario Ombudsman is the independent officer who checks whether councils follow the rules for open meetings. In October 2023 the Ombudsman found that the Town of Midland, the Town of Penetanguishene and the Township of Tiny broke the open-meeting rules on April 19, 2022. The public notice for a joint airport task force presentation did not give up-to-date information on how to watch it online, and no minutes were kept. Tiny's council, with Penetanguishene's, disagreed with the Ombudsman's view that the task force was a committee of the municipalities. The Ombudsman made five recommendations, including training for committee members. The Township posts the report on its website.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
2024 tax year · Tiny, Ontario
Enter your home's assessed value to see roughly what you pay in property tax each year, who gets it, and what Tiny's share pays for.
Ontario still uses property values from January 1, 2016 for tax, so your assessed value is probably well below what your home would sell for today.
It is on your property assessment notice from MPAC, and on your tax bill. We filled in the typical value in Tiny.
a year in property tax, at 2024 rates
Tiny council sets only its own share. County or region sets its share, the Province sets the school rate.
An estimate. It uses the residential tax rate, and splits Tiny's share by what each service cost in 2024 after its own fees and grants (for example, water bills pay for much of a water system). Real bills also depend on your property class, local charges and any rebates.
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Each number links to the public document it came from. Check it yourself.
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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