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 2024 for Whitby, and 2024 for 11 similar towns. Figures are what the municipality reported to the Province for each year, prepared on the same basis as its audited financial statements.

2. Town of Whitby, budget documents

   Town of Whitby · retrieved 2026-10-01

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

3. Consolidated financial statements of The Corporation of the Town of Whitby, December 31, 2024

   Town of Whitby (auditor: Deloitte LLP) · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Audited 2024 statements, 30 PDF pages, with the 2023 comparison.

4. Town of Whitby financial statements, December 31, 2023

   Town of Whitby · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Audited 2023 statements. Downloaded and checked against the 2024 comparison figures; the audit report date did not extract.

5. 2026 Adopted Budget

   Town of Whitby · retrieved 2026-10-05

   The adopted 2026 operating and capital budget with reserves, debt and user fees (271 PDF pages).

6. 2025 to 2027 Adopted Budget

   Town of Whitby · retrieved 2026-10-05

   The multi-year budget adopted under strong-mayor rules.

7. Mayoral Direction 01-2025 (Core Services Review)

   Mayor of Whitby · retrieved 2026-10-05

   One-page direction of February 12, 2025 to the Chief Administrative Officer about a third-party Core Services Review.

8. Mayor and Councillor Business Expense Summary, year to date June 2026

   Town of Whitby · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Quarterly spending against annual budget for each member of council.

9. 2027 Council and Committee Meeting Schedule

   Town of Whitby · retrieved 2026-10-05

   Calendar of 2027 meetings. It does not label any meeting as a budget meeting.

10. Accountability and Transparency (web page)

    Town of Whitby · retrieved 2026-10-05

    Integrity Commissioner, closed meeting complaints, policies.

11. 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 town 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 town reported to the Province for that year.

Similar towns

Ontario lower-tier municipalities with 60% to 160% of this population that had filed their 2024 return, in 2024. This gives 11 towns. "Typical" means the median: half of similar towns are above it and half below. The size limits are a judgement call; moving them a little adds or drops a few towns, so treat small differences in rank as noise. Per-home figures use the household counts each town reports to the Province. Towns 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 towns; when a measure of money health is worse than 80% of similar towns; or when a one-year tax increase is higher than 80% of similar towns and well above inflation. "Needs an answer" means worse than 90% of similar towns. When there are fewer than 20 similar towns, 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 town'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.