Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Wasaga Beach's budget, taxes and council decisions. A town in Simcoe County, Ontario, known for its long freshwater beach on Georgian Bay, with a mayor, a deputy mayor and five councillors. Every figure links back to the public record.
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Each one is a question, not an accusation. Every one lists ordinary reasons it could be true, and the documents it comes from.
+191%running the town office, 2019 to 2025
Wasaga Beach spent $3.8M on running the town office in 2019 and $11M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time. Only 2 of 24 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
+120%parks, arena and library, 2019 to 2025
Wasaga Beach spent $4.7M on parks, arena and library in 2019 and $10.4M in 2025. Prices only went up about 21% in that time. Only 1 of 24 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$805,792.30spent on the corporate "Legal" line by September 30, 2025, against a $180,000 budget for the year
The 2026 budget book shows how each budget line did against its 2025 budget. Under corporate financing (costs that belong to the whole Town, not one department) there is a line called "Legal". It was budgeted at $180,000 for 2025. The book shows $805,792.30 spent by September 30, 2025, which is nine months of the year. It then budgets $350,000 for 2026. The book is marked as an internal report that has not been audited or reviewed. We did not find a note in the documents we read that says what the legal work was.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$5,676,828price of phases 2 and 3 of the beachfront lands, with a 24-month Town mortgage and $250,000 down
After the end of 2025 the Town agreed to sell beachfront lands to Sunray Beach Drive Inc. for $7,680,000 in three phases. Phase 1, the hotel lands, is $2,003,172 plus HST. Phases 2 and 3 together are $5,676,828 plus HST. On phases 2 and 3 the Town is holding a "Vendor Take Back Mortgage" for 24 months at 5.75%. That means the Town is lending the buyer part of the price. The statements do not say how much. The down payment on those lands is $250,000, with a further $250,000 six months after closing and $500,000 at 12 months. There is an option to extend the mortgage a year at 8.75%. The Town says Sunray Group is contributing $1,500,000 toward development of festival square. The 2026 budget plans $5,323,000 of land sales and puts it into the Land reserve, which was forecast to be below zero at the end of 2025. The Town also holds a note receivable of $3,593,545 from a building company under a purchase agreement for "Phase 1 Lands". It carries no interest unless payment is demanded.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 6 sources
$17,000,000arena and library advances turned into a 25-year debenture at 4.79% after year end
A debenture is a long-term loan the Town pays back with interest. The Town built the Twinpad Arena and the Library partly with short-term advances from Ontario Infrastructure and Lands Corporation (OILC). At December 31, 2025 it owed $17,000,000 on those advances. After year end the advances were turned into a 25-year debenture at 4.79%, maturing April 2051. The Town's budget forecast shows "Debenture principal and interest" of $3,365,350 in 2026, falling each year to $2,613,943 in 2030. The Town's other long-term debts at year end were $12,874,613, and the payment table in the audited statements does not include the new debenture. For 2026 the Town also plans to borrow $6,200,000 more, and its Beach Drive project is $32.0 million over several years. We could not tell from the documents whether the forecast includes a full year of payments on the new debenture.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 7 sources
-6,765,414.96estimated balance of the Library Service development charge account at December 31, 2025
A reserve is money the Town sets aside for a purpose. The Town's 2025-2026 reserves forecast shows eight accounts that are below zero at the estimated end of 2025. The six largest are Beachfront Rental Properties at -3,646,101.58, Internal Capital Financing at -5,928,797.83, Land at -1,771,349.79, and three accounts funded by development charges and grants: Indoor Recreation at -5,707,277.47, Library Service at -6,765,414.96 and the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program at -1,262,460.00. Together the total of all reserves, reserve funds and deferred revenue falls from 51,825,870.88 at September 30, 2025 to an estimated 41,029,244.62 at the end of 2025. The Town's own plan for the term of Council lists "Build the Town reserves back up". The Town explains that development charge collections have slowed because the housing market has not recovered. The audited statements show the development charges reserve fund fell from $4,749,308 to $521,062 in 2025.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$9,608,090forecast policing cost in 2030, against $6,337,880 budgeted for 2026
Wasaga Beach is policed by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), and the Town pays for it through the budget line "Police Services". The Town's five-year forecast has that line growing every year: $6,337,880 in 2026, $7,032,230 in 2027, $7,802,960 in 2028, $8,658,470 in 2029 and $9,608,090 in 2030. That is an increase of 51.6% over four years (worked out by us). In the same forecast the part of the budget paid from taxes goes from $37,716,070 to $47,164,877. The 2026 budget is lower than 2025: the 2025 budget was $6,790,360. But the revenue offsetting it was cut from $1,018,330 to $260,000. The audited statements say the Town cannot estimate its yearly OPP adjustment. We did not find a note in the documents we read explaining the forecast.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$8.5Mowed in unpaid property tax, end of 2025
At the end of 2025, $8.5M of property tax had been billed but not paid. That is 13% of everything billed. Only 3 of 24 similar towns had a higher share. A year earlier it was $6.8M.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 2 sources
$17Min temporary loans, end of 2025
At the end of 2025, Wasaga Beach owed $17M on temporary loans. That is like putting 16% of a year's income on a line of credit. This is short-term borrowing for building projects, which is normal while waiting for a grant or a long-term loan. But it was already $17M a year earlier, so it has lasted more than a year. Only 3 of 24 similar towns had any temporary loans at the end of 2025.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
10 dayspay suspension the Integrity Commissioner recommended on February 24, 2026
The Integrity Commissioner is an independent officer who decides whether a member of council broke the Town's Code of Conduct. In a report dated February 24, 2026, the Commissioner found that Councillor Sasha-Rose Dileo broke three rules of the Code in dealings with two staff members, and recommended that Council suspend her pay for 10 days. The report says it is the first time the Commissioner has found a member of Council in breach since the Commissioner's appointment in February 2023. The Code says Council must respond within 90 days of the day the report is laid before it. The Town posts the report on its Clerk's Office page. We could not read Council's minutes, so we do not know what Council decided. The councillor's written comments in the report say she disagrees with the accuracy of the accounts but accepts the decision.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$34,726.58printed total of council expenses for 2025, against $23,400.61 when the printed column totals are added (worked out by us)
The Treasurer's statement of council pay and expenses for 2025 (required by section 284 of the Municipal Act) lists each member's expenses in columns. For each member the column called "Total" at the end of the row is larger than the printed parts add up to. For the mayor the printed parts are $1,157.96 for meeting and conference expenses, no per diems, $600.00 for cellular and internet service, and no other items. Those add to $1,757.96 (worked out by us). The printed total is $2,915.92. The difference is $1,157.96, which is the meeting and conference figure again. The same gap shows in every row. The printed total of that column is $34,726.58, while the printed column totals for meetings, per diems, cellular service and other items add to $23,400.61 (worked out by us). The statement also shows the mayor was paid $34,800.12 by Wasaga Distribution & Resources, a company the Town owns, on top of $81,362.75 from the Town.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
26.1%rise in the Town's municipal tax rate between 2022 and 2026, as the Town reports it
The Town published a page in September 2026 because of "recent inquiries from the public" about how property taxes have changed. It says the total tax bill on a home with the same assessment rose 19.2% from 2022 to 2026, and that 15.1 percentage points of that came from the Town's part and 4.1 from the County's. It says the Town's municipal tax rate rose 26.1% between 2022 and 2026, and explains why that is a bigger number than 15.1%: the Town's part is only part of the bill. The Town's 2026 budget letter calls it "a status quo budget". The budget snapshot still shows a 3.43% increase in the Town's part, or $118.87 for the average household. The Town has explained how the numbers fit together. We did not find what caused the rise.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
A property tax bill in Wasaga Beach pays for three governments. Only part of it goes to the town, and that part is what Wasaga Beach council controls.
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