Not the full picture. Built from public records, which leave things out.Read by hand, Oct 2026Details

This is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date.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 Wollaston'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.

The money · 2025

How Wollaston's money works

A town is a bit like a household. Money comes in (mostly taxes and grants), and money goes out to pay for services like roads, fire trucks and the arena. Here is what that looked like in 2025, the latest year the town has reported to the Province.

Why 2025 and not this year? A budget is a plan. These figures are what actually happened, checked by an auditor and reported to Ontario.

Money in: $3.5M

Where the town's money came from in 2025.

58%

29%

Property taxes$2.0M58%
Money from Ontario (no strings)$1.0M29%
Grants for specific projects$155K4%
Other$145K4%
Everything else$159K5%

Show as a table

Category	Amount	Share
Property taxes	$2,034,306	57.7%
Money from Ontario (no strings)	$1,030,500	29.2%
Grants for specific projects	$155,418	4.4%
Other	$144,754	4.1%
Everything else	$159,410	4.5%
Total	$3,524,388	100%

What each source means

Property taxes: What home and business owners pay each year, based on what their property is worth.
Money from Ontario (no strings): A yearly grant from the Province that the town can spend on anything. Small rural towns get more.
Grants for specific projects: Money from Ontario or Canada that must be spent on a certain thing, often a road or building.
Other: Interest earned, donations, sales of land and equipment.

Money out: $3.0M on services

Day-to-day spending in 2025, by service. On top of this, the town recorded $507K of "wear and tear" on things it owns. That is an accounting cost, not cash out the door, so it is left out here.

21%

24%

43%

Running the town office$617K21%
Police, fire and safety$723K24%
Roads and snow$1.3M43%
Water, sewers and garbage$239K8%
Parks, arena and library$116K4%

Show as a table

Category	Amount	Share
Running the town office	$616,861	20.8%
Police, fire and safety	$722,998	24.4%
Roads and snow	$1,268,314	42.8%
Water, sewers and garbage	$239,162	8.1%
Parks, arena and library	$115,960	3.9%
Total	$2,963,295	100%

Roads and snow

$1.3M

Fixing and paving roads, bridges and culverts, ploughing snow, and street lights.

+75% since 2019 (prices rose 21%)

Paved roads$1.0M+75%
Fixing and repaving paved roads.
Snow ploughing$146K+53%
Ploughing, salting and sanding roads in winter.
Gravel roads$55,172
Grading and fixing gravel roads.
Street lights$18,038
Power and repairs for street lights.
Bridges and culverts$15,091−42%
Keeping bridges and the pipes under roads safe.

Show as a table

Item	Amount	Change
Paved roads	$1,033,637	+74.7%
Snow ploughing	$146,376	+52.9%
Gravel roads	$55,172	–
Street lights	$18,038	–
Bridges and culverts	$15,091	−42.1%

Police, fire and safety

$723K

Paying for police, the fire department, building inspectors and by-law officers.

+86% since 2019 (prices rose 21%)

Police (OPP contract)$322K+23%
What the town pays for policing.
Fire department$288K+399%
Firefighters, trucks and fire halls.
By-law and animal control$61,791+102%
Enforcing town rules, like noise, parking and dogs.
Conservation authority$49,608+39%
A regional group that manages rivers, flooding and wetlands.
Emergency planning$1,429
Getting ready for floods, storms and other emergencies.

Show as a table

Item	Amount	Change
Police (OPP contract)	$322,232	+22.9%
Fire department	$287,938	+398.9%
By-law and animal control	$61,791	+102.4%
Conservation authority	$49,608	+38.9%
Emergency planning	$1,429	–

Running the town office

$617K

Council, managers, the clerk, accounting, computers, insurance and the town hall itself. Every town needs some of this, but it does not fix a road or put out a fire.

−1% since 2019 (prices rose 21%)

Senior management$553K−4%
The top managers who run the town day to day.
Council$58,410+19%
Pay and expenses for the mayor and councillors, and council meetings.
Office and administration$5,727
Office staff, finance, IT, insurance, legal and the town hall. Towns share this cost out across other services.

Show as a table

Item	Amount	Change
Senior management	$552,724	−3.8%
Council	$58,410	+19.1%
Office and administration	$5,727	–

Water, sewers and garbage

$239K

Clean tap water, the sewer system, garbage pickup, the dump and recycling.

+11% since 2019 (prices rose 21%)

The dump (landfill)$188K+7%
Running the landfill, and saving up to close it safely one day.
Recycling$50,704+25%
Recycling and composting.

Show as a table

Item	Amount	Change
The dump (landfill)	$188,458	+7.3%
Recycling	$50,704	+24.8%

Parks, arena and library

$116K

Parks, the arena, the pool, sports fields, programs and the library.

+49% since 2019 (prices rose 21%)

Library$57,767+59%
The public library.
Parks$51,085+90%
Parks, beaches, trails and green spaces.
Arena and buildings$7,108
The arena, pool, community centre and halls.

Show as a table

Item	Amount	Change
Library	$57,767	+58.6%
Parks	$51,085	+90.1%
Arena and buildings	$7,108	–

What the money bought

The same 2025 spending, sorted by what it paid for rather than which service.

Staff pay and benefits$1.2M
Wages, benefits and pensions for town workers.
Supplies and utilities$1.1M
Gravel, salt, fuel, electricity, heating, office supplies and repairs.
Outside companies$493K
Work the town pays other companies to do, like policing, paving or consultants.
Interest on loans$123K
The extra money paid to lenders for money the town borrowed.
Money given to others$52,358
Grants and payments to other groups, like the conservation authority.

Show as a table

Item	Amount
Staff pay and benefits	$1,224,196
Supplies and utilities	$1,081,812
Outside companies	$492,594
Interest on loans	$123,220
Money given to others	$52,358

Staff

People on the town's payroll at the end of each year, as reported to the Province.

Year	Full-time	Part-time	Seasonal
2019	7	2	3
2020	7	3	3
2021	7	4	2
2022	7	4	1
2023	8	4	0
2024	8	3	0
2025	9	3	2

How things have changed since 2019

Money in compared with day-to-day spending, each year. When the orange line is above the blue one, the town spent more than it took in and made up the difference from savings or loans. Grants for big projects arrive in some years and not others, which makes "money in" jump around.

$3.5M

Show as a table

Year	Money in	Day-to-day spending
2019	$2.7M	$2.0M
2020	$2.7M	$2.3M
2021	$3.0M	$2.5M
2022	$3.2M	$2.8M
2023	$3.4M	$2.9M
2024	$3.5M	$3.1M
2025	$3.5M	$3.0M

Town property tax

Up 44% since 2019. Prices rose 21%.

$2.0M

Show as a table

Year	Town property tax
2019	$1.4M
2020	$1.5M
2021	$1.5M
2022	$1.6M
2023	$1.7M
2024	$1.9M
2025	$2.0M

Savings (reserves)

Money set aside for repairs, equipment and emergencies.

$2.3M

Show as a table

Year	Savings
2019	$2.0M
2020	$2.0M
2021	$2.5M
2022	$2.7M
2023	$2.2M
2024	$2.4M
2025	$2.3M

What the town owes

Long-term loans plus short-term (temporary) loans at year end.

$2.7M

Show as a table

Year	Long-term loans	Temporary loans
2019	$418K	$0
2020	$322K	$0
2021	$260K	$0
2022	$212K	$0
2023	$2.9M	$0
2024	$2.8M	$0
2025	$2.7M	$0

Building new things

Spending on new or rebuilt roads, pipes, buildings and equipment, compared with how fast existing ones wear out.

$206K

Show as a table

Year	Built or bought	Wore out (amortization)
2019	$144K	$727K
2020	$12,533	$710K
2021	$198K	$482K
2022	$310K	$493K
2023	$3.6M	$583K
2024	$245K	$511K
2025	$206K	$507K

Source: Ontario Financial Information Return (FIR), Schedules 10, 40, 51, 60, 70, 74 and 80 (archived copy). Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Retrieved 2026-10-01. Figures are what the municipality reported to the Province for each year, prepared on the same basis as its audited financial statements.