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 2025 for Vaughan, and 2025 for 4 similar places. Figures are what the municipality reported to the Province for each year, prepared on the same basis as its audited financial statements.

2. City of Vaughan, budget documents

   City of Vaughan · retrieved 2026-10-01

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

3. Consolidated Financial Statements, year ended December 31, 2025 (KPMG LLP)

   City of Vaughan · retrieved 2026-10-03

   Audited statements and notes. Used for the statement of operations and note 6(b).

4. Consolidated Financial Statements, year ended December 31, 2024 (KPMG LLP)

   City of Vaughan · retrieved 2026-10-03

   Audited statements and notes. Used for the statement of operations, note 6(b) and note 14.

5. Consolidated Financial Statements, year ended December 31, 2023

   City of Vaughan · retrieved 2026-10-03

   Used for general government expenses for 2022 and 2023.

6. Consolidated Financial Statements, year ended December 31, 2022

   City of Vaughan · retrieved 2026-10-03

   Used for general government expenses for 2021.

7. 2026 Budget and 2027-2030 Capital Plan (budget book)

   City of Vaughan · retrieved 2026-10-03

   Volumes 1 and 2 (383 PDF pages).

8. 2025 Budget and 2026 Financial Plan (budget book)

   City of Vaughan · retrieved 2026-10-03

   The 2025 budget book (388 PDF pages).

9. 2024 Budget and 2025-2026 Financial Plan (budget book)

   City of Vaughan · retrieved 2026-10-03

   The 2024 budget book (415 PDF pages).

10. Integrity Commissioner and Lobbyist Registrar, 2022-2026 Term Report

    City of Vaughan · retrieved 2026-10-03

    The Commissioner's report to Council for the term (24 pages).

11. Council Member Expense Policy 06.C.02

    City of Vaughan · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Effective November 14, 2023, last reviewed November 25, 2025.

12. Internal Audit Reports (list page)

    City of Vaughan · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Titles and Audit Committee dates of internal audits, 2020 to 2026. The reports were not read.

13. Council Expenditure Reports (list page)

    City of Vaughan · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Monthly expense reports for each member of Council.

14. City of Vaughan Internal Audit, 2025 Internal Audit Annual Report (Audit Committee, March 30, 2026)

    City of Vaughan · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Internal Audit 2025 Annual Report: status of management action plans, attached to the March 30, 2026 Audit Committee report.

15. City of Vaughan Internal Audit, 2024 Internal Audit Annual Report (Audit Committee, May 26, 2025)

    City of Vaughan · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Internal Audit 2024 Annual Report: status of management action plans, attached to the May 26, 2025 Audit Committee report.

16. City of Vaughan Internal Audit, Construction Audit of Carrville Community Centre, Library and District Park: Phase 2 (Audit Committee, November 24, 2025)

    City of Vaughan · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Internal Audit report on the construction phase of the Carrville community centre, library and district park (September 2025).

17. City of Vaughan Internal Audit, Recreation Services Audit, Phase 1 (Audit Committee, May 26, 2025)

    City of Vaughan · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Internal Audit report on Recreation Services (May 2025), including community centre reinvestment funding.

18. City of Vaughan Internal Audit, Solid Waste Management Audit (Audit Committee, May 26, 2025)

    City of Vaughan · retrieved 2026-10-03

    Internal Audit report on Solid Waste Management (May 2025), including prepaid bin money held for new homes.

19. 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 city 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 city reported to the Province for that year.

Similar places

Ontario lower-tier municipalities with 60% to 160% of this population that had filed their 2025 return, in 2025. This gives 4 places. "Typical" means the median: half of similar places are above it and half below. The size limits are a judgement call; moving them a little adds or drops a few places, so treat small differences in rank as noise. Per-home figures use the household counts each city reports to the Province. Places 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 places; when a measure of money health is worse than 80% of similar places; or when a one-year tax increase is higher than 80% of similar places and well above inflation. "Needs an answer" means worse than 90% of similar places. When there are fewer than 20 similar places, 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 city'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.