Your town, in plain words
A clear, checkable guide to Wellesley's budget, taxes and council decisions. A rural township in the Region of Waterloo, with a mayor and four ward 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.
$127per home on council, 2024
Wellesley spent about $127 per home on council in 2024. The typical similar town spent $51. Only 8 of 92 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
$1,658,382spent on capital assets in 2025, against a budget of $2,864,820
Capital spending is money for roads, buildings and equipment that last many years. A reserve is money the Township sets aside for later. The 2025 budget planned $2,864,820 of capital work, all paid from reserves. The audited statements show $1,658,382 spent on tangible capital assets (a figure that is 58% of the budget, worked out by us). Over the same year the reserves on the Township's books rose from $6,576,447 to $7,988,508 (a rise of $1,412,061, worked out by us). The 2026 budget again says all capital spending will be paid from reserves.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 5 sources
$1,668,711annual surplus in 2025, of which $2,539,475 was money for capital projects
The Township's 2025 budget planned for no surplus. The audited statements show an annual surplus of $1,668,711. But the same statements show $2,539,475 of "grants and transfers related to capital": money that can only be spent on building and fixing things. Without it, the year would have been a shortfall of $870,764 (worked out by us). In 2024 the same sum was worked out by us as a shortfall of $1,229,173 (a surplus of $5,970,002 less $7,199,175 of capital grants and gifts). One large cost in the statements is amortization, which is the yearly share of what the Township's buildings and roads are said to lose in value. It was $3,361,643 in 2025 and is not a cash payment.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$708,184left in the tax rate stabilization reserve at the end of 2025, against a $277K draw in the 2026 budget
A tax-rate stabilization reserve is a savings account that lets a town smooth out tax increases. The balance fell from $858,021 at the end of 2023 to $795,019 at the end of 2024 and $708,184 at the end of 2025. The 2026 budget slides say general revenue includes a "$277K Tax Rate Stabilization draw". The 2025 slides listed the same $277K but called it a "Reserve Contribution". At $277,000 a year, the $708,184 balance would last about two and a half years (worked out by us).
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$1,015,653operating fund deficiency to be recovered in future years, end of 2025
The audited statements list, among the pieces that make up the Township's accumulated surplus, a negative line called "Operating fund deficiency to be recovered in future years": $1,015,653 at the end of 2025 and $2,342,233 at the end of 2024. The notes do not say what it is made of or when it will be recovered. In the 2024 statements the same pieces were shown differently: a single line of $12,926,233 called "Operating fund deficiency", which also covered the Township's long-term debt (worked out by us: $10,584,000 plus $2,342,233).
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$5,567,472spent on salaries, wages and benefits in 2025, up from $5,051,646 in 2024
Salaries, wages and employee benefits were $5,567,472 in 2025, against $5,051,646 in 2024 and $4,583,037 in 2023. That is a rise of 10.2% in 2025 and 21.5% over two years (both worked out by us). The Township paid into the OMERS pension plan for 63 staff in 2025 (60 in 2024). Its pension contribution rose from $290,175 to $347,337 (worked out by us: 19.7%).
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
$5,136,661owed to the Township at the end of 2025, up from $1,935,154 two years earlier
Accounts receivable is money other people or governments owe the Township. It was $1,935,154 at the end of 2023, $3,954,511 at the end of 2024 and $5,136,661 at the end of 2025. That is more than two and a half times the 2023 balance (worked out by us). The cash-flow statement shows the Township had $1,182,150 less cash in 2025 because of this rise.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 3 sources
+75%parks, arena and library, 2019 to 2024
Wellesley spent $1.5M on parks, arena and library in 2019 and $2.6M in 2024. Prices only went up about 18% in that time. Only 13 of 92 similar towns had faster growth here.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 3 sources
$3,085per home on long-term debt, 2024
Wellesley spent about $3,085 per home on long-term debt in 2024. The typical similar town spent $1,237. Only 13 of 92 similar towns spent more.
Found automatically from the town's financial reports · 1 source
$4,801,244transportation cost in 2025, against a budget column of $3,839,659
The statements compare each service's actual 2025 cost with a budget. For transportation (roads, bridges and the roads crew) the budget column shows $3,839,659 and the actual cost $4,801,244. The gap of $961,585 is worked out by us. The Township's explanation is not in a note, but the numbers point to a likely reason. Its budget slides show the same $3,839,659 for public works, and the budget also lists $2,401,962 for reserves and $935,582 for debt repayments as spending. The statements' actual costs include amortization ($1,889,930 for transportation). The two sets of numbers are on different bases, so the gap does not mean the roads crew overspent by that much.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
$12,108,608the Township's investment in Enova at the end of 2025
Wellesley owns 2.78% of Enova Energy Corporation, a local electricity company formed in 2022. The Township's books value its stake at $12,108,608, 47% of the $25,934,974 of financial assets the Township holds (worked out by us). In 2025 it received a dividend of $336,000 and interest of $81,798 on a loan to Enova. The 2026 budget slides expect $338K of interest and dividends, "down from $403K" in the 2025 budget.
Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources
2024 tax year · Wellesley, Ontario
Enter your home's assessed value to see roughly what you pay in property tax each year, who gets it, and what Wellesley'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 Wellesley.
a year in property tax, at 2024 rates
Wellesley 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 Wellesley'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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