Council BooksWaterlooOntarioSign inSubscribe
Not the full picture. Built from public records, which leave things out.Read by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date.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
Read by hand. We read Waterloo'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.
Ontario / WaterlooUpdated Oct 5, 2026

Your city, in plain words

How Waterloo uses the money we share.

A clear, checkable guide to Waterloo's budget, taxes and council decisions. A city in Waterloo Region with a mayor and seven ward councillors. It passes a three-year budget once every four-year council term; the current one covers 2024 to 2026. Every figure links back to the public record.

Property tax raised in 2025$377Mall property in Waterloo29% City56% County16% SchoolsSee where your tax bill goes →
City spending, 2025$207MAbout $3,908 per household, up 11.5% from 2024.See the money →
Property tax change+6.0%Waterloo's own property tax came to $111M in 2025, against $105M in 2024.What changed →

Where it goes

Most of every dollar supports the everyday city.

Explore every service →
Water, sewers and garbage$57.3M · 28%
Parks, arena and library$47.9M · 23%
Police, fire and safety$32.9M · 16%
Running the city office$30.6M · 15%
Show all 8 servicesShow fewer
Roads and snow$20.9M · 10%
Planning and business$11.9M · 6%
Social services$2.2M · 1%
Health$2.1M · 1%

Day-to-day spending in 2025, from Waterloo's report to the Province.

A fair comparisonHow does Waterloo compare?Among 10 similar Ontario cities, Waterloo's day-to-day spending per household is near the middle.Waterloo is here · 5 of 10, lowest to highestCompare Waterloo →

Questions worth asking

A closer look at the numbers.

Each one is a question, not an accusation. Every one lists ordinary reasons it could be true, and the documents it comes from.

All 8 questions
Worth askingMoney health

Waterloo’s Industrial Land fund is overdrawn by $31,204,000. Why is it further down than the city’s own plan said, and when will it be paid back?

($31,204,000)balance of the Industrial Land purchases reserve fund at the end of 2025, against a planned ($27,175,000) (amounts printed in thousands)

A reserve fund is money a city sets aside for a purpose. Waterloo’s Industrial Land reserve fund is the opposite: it owes money. The audited statements show it at minus $31,204,000 at the end of 2025. The city’s 2024-2026 budget book planned a balance of minus $27,175,000 for the end of 2025 and minus $28,952,000 for the end of 2024, so the real hole is about $4 million deeper than planned in 2025. The same plan expects the fund to turn positive in 2028, helped by large “Recovery” amounts in 2026 and 2027.

Found by reading the city's own documents · 3 sources

Worth askingRising costs

Waterloo budgeted $174,987,000 for buying and building assets in 2025 and spent $38,698,000. Is the capital plan too big to deliver?

$38,698,000spent on capital assets in 2025, against a budget of $174,987,000 in the audited statements (amounts printed in thousands)

Capital spending means building and replacing things that last: roads, pipes, buildings, parks. The 2025 budget figures in the audited statements show $174,987,000 for acquiring capital assets, against $38,698,000 actually spent. The city’s capital budget book planned $137,402,000 of capital spending for 2024 and $114,266,000 for 2025, and the statements show $48,082,000 and $38,698,000 spent. The same book planned new borrowing of $35,076,000 in 2024 and $33,742,000 in 2025; the statements show a single new loan of $8,750,000 in 2025 and none in 2024.

Found by reading the city's own documents · 5 sources

Worth askingMoney health

Waterloo’s own plan has its development-charge fund going from $14,591,000 to minus $45,606,000 by 2033. How will the shortfall be covered if builders pay in less than hoped?

($45,606,000)forecast balance of the consolidated development-charge funds in 2033, from $14,591,000 in 2023 (amounts printed in thousands)

Development charges are fees builders pay when they build, kept in a separate fund to pay for the roads, pipes and parks that growth needs. The city’s 2024-2026 budget book forecasts that the combined development-charge funds go below zero in 2027 and keep falling, to minus $45,606,000 in 2033. It also plans $76,669,000 of development-charge borrowing over 2024 to 2026. In 2025 the statements show only $8,922,000 of development charges and contributions recognised as revenue, against a budget of $20,357,000.

Found by reading the city's own documents · 4 sources

Worth askingOpenness

Waterloo’s budget has a $2,742,304 line named only “In Camera”. What is it for, and why is it not described in public?

$2,742,304budgeted for 2024 on a line titled “In Camera”, 2.96% of the 2024 tax rate

“In camera” means a council discussion held in private. In the 2024-2026 operating budget, one tax-supported line is titled “B15 In Camera”: $2,742,304 in 2024, $2,698,696 in 2025 and $2,655,930 in 2026. In 2024 the budget book counts it as 2.96% of the property tax rate, which is about half of that year’s whole 6.14% increase. The budget book also lists parts of the same line charged to the water, building, cemetery, parking and rental housing budgets, and a separate “Fire In Camera Revised” line of minus $428,000 in 2024.

Found by reading the city's own documents · 3 sources

Show 4 more questionsShow fewer
Worth askingMoney health

Does Waterloo have enough saved for repairs and emergencies?

$82.3Min savings at the end of 2025

Places keep savings (called reserves) to pay for new trucks, roof repairs and surprises. Waterloo had $82.3M saved at the end of 2025, up from $70.5M in 2019. That is 40% of one year's spending. None of the 9 similar places had less, compared with what they spend.

Found automatically from the city's financial reports · 2 sources

Good to knowSpending level

Waterloo’s property tax rate went up 6.14%, 6.34% and 6.41% in three years, while its own inflation guide is 4.3%. Is the city’s plan for the gap working?

$114,990,811net tax levy planned for 2026, up from $99,609,666 in 2024

The city’s 2024-2026 budget set tax increases of 6.14% for 2024, 6.34% for 2025 and 6.41% for 2026, taking the net tax levy from $99,609,666 to $114,990,811. The budget book says its inflation guide for the budget is about 4.3%, and the city’s website says increases above inflation are needed “to maintain or improve our service levels and support infrastructure renewal”. The city has explained where the money goes: base costs, the effect of new capital projects, new services and infrastructure renewal.

Found by reading the city's own documents · 4 sources

Good to knowHow decisions are made

Two Waterloo council members were paid $27,202.54 in 2024 on top of council pay for serving on the Enova power company. Is that pay set and checked in public?

$27,202.54paid for 2024 to two council members for Enova service, shown apart from the $496,454.22 council remuneration total

Waterloo owns 30.83% of Enova Energy Corporation, the local power company. The city’s yearly statement of council pay lists a separate “Enova” amount for two members: $13,833.77 for the Mayor and $13,368.77 for Councillor Diane Freeman in 2024. The amount is left out of the “Total Remuneration” of $496,454.22 and appears only in the grand total of $570,037.04. The 2023 statement shows $16,479.96 and $14,314.96. In 2022 the same page showed $13,272.88 and $11,572.88, under the older Waterloo North Hydro name, for the then-Mayor and a then-councillor.

Found by reading the city's own documents · 5 sources

Good to knowRising costs

Waterloo’s salary and benefit costs rose from $99,406,000 to $109,553,000 in one year. Is that more than the budget planned for?

$109,553,000salaries, wages and benefits in 2025, up from $99,406,000 in 2024 (amounts printed in thousands)

The audited statements show salaries, wages and benefits of $109,553,000 in 2025 and $99,406,000 in 2024, a rise of about 10% in one year. The 2024-2026 budget planned 57.0 extra tax-base positions over three years (about 2.7% a year) and said its inflation guide was 4.3%. The budget book explains that much of the staffing growth is for the Fire Master Plan, winter sidewalks and planning and legal staff needed after provincial law changes. The statements do not say how much of the 2025 rise is pay rates, new positions or one-time items.

Found by reading the city's own documents · 4 sources

Where your tax bill goes

A property tax bill in Waterloo pays for three governments. Only part of it goes to the city, and that part is what Waterloo council controls.

Tax bill split: Waterloo 29%, County or region 56%, Schools 16%
$377Mraised in 2025
  • Waterloo29%
  • County or region56%
  • Schools16%

  • Every fact, sourced

    Each number links to the public document it came from. Check it yourself.

  • No accusations

    We ask questions. Every one lists ordinary reasons a number could look odd.

  • Compared fairly

    Places are only compared with places of a similar size and kind, from the same yearly reports.

Council meetings are open to the public, and councillors answer to you. How to reach Waterloo's council · Council Books is free and paid for by readers: support this work.