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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by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date.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 Woodstock'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 / WoodstockUpdated Oct 5, 2026

Your city, in plain words

How Woodstock uses the money we share.

A clear, checkable guide to Woodstock's budget, taxes and council decisions. A city in Oxford County, in southwestern Ontario, with a mayor and six councillors. Every figure links back to the public record.

Property tax raised in 2025$135Mall property in Woodstock63% City25% County13% SchoolsSee where your tax bill goes →
City spending, 2025$90.2MAbout $4,443 per household, up 2.4% from 2024.See the money →
Property tax change+8.0%Woodstock's own property tax came to $84.2M in 2025, against $77.9M in 2024.What changed →

Where it goes

Most of every dollar supports the everyday city.

Explore every service →
Police, fire and safety$38M · 42%
Parks, arena and library$19.8M · 22%
Roads and snow$16.8M · 19%
Running the city office$12.1M · 13%
Show all 7 servicesShow fewer
Planning and business$2.3M · 3%
Water, sewers and garbage$923K · 1%
Social services$193K · 0%

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

A fair comparisonHow does Woodstock compare?Among 14 similar Ontario cities, Woodstock's day-to-day spending per household is near the middle.Woodstock is here · 7 of 14, lowest to highestCompare Woodstock →

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 7 questions
Worth askingMoney health

How much of Woodstock's money depends on selling industrial land?

$8,000,000of industrial land sales budgeted in each of 2025 and 2026

A city can sell land it owns to businesses that want to build. The City of Woodstock budgets for $8,000,000 of land sales in both 2025 and 2026, and almost all of it ($7,787,500 in 2025 and $7,812,800 in 2026) is set aside in an industrial land reserve fund (a savings account for one purpose). The 2024 audited statements show reserve funds rising from $40,951,228 to $69,716,136, an increase of $28,764,908 (worked out by us). They also show planning and development spending of $10,927,028 against a budget of $3,011,055, and "Other" revenue of $34,452,621 against a budget of $27,993,500. The statements do not say what is in "Other", so we have not shown that it is land sales. The capital plan then leans on the same reserve fund: $60,540,000 for the Northeast Industrial Park.

Found by reading the city's own documents · 6 sources

Worth askingMoney health

How will Woodstock pay for an $85,000,000 community centre?

$85,000,000Cowan Fields Community Centre in the 2026 to 2030 capital plan, funded by debentures

The City's 2026 to 2030 capital plan lists a Cowan Fields Community Centre at 85,000,000, with one funding line: "LONG TERM DEBT (Debentures)". Debentures are loans repaid over many years. For comparison, the City's net long-term liabilities at the end of 2024 were $15,037,180 (the 2025 figures are in a scanned file we did not use for numbers). The City tells us in its 2026 budget slides that it has issued new debt for the downtown, the South Gate Centre and a public works office, and that "where possible" it pays some growth debt from development charges (fees on new buildings). We did not find any explanation of the community centre in the documents we read.

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

Worth askingRising costs

How much of the 6.99% rise in the City's main tax line is higher rates, and how much is new homes and businesses?

$5,758,699increase in the 2026 general purposes tax line (6.99%)

The 2026 operating budget shows the "GENERAL PURPOSES" taxation line going from $82,381,340.00 to 88,140,039.00, a rise of $5,758,699.00 or 6.99%. That line is the tax money the City collects for itself, not the County or schools. In 2025 the budget also used $2,983,450.00 of the previous year's surplus, and in 2026 it uses none. At the same time the transfer to the capital reserve falls from $8,533,810.00 to 4,504,930.00. The City's slides explain the reserve side: the 2024 surplus was put into the capital reserve, which raised the 2025 amount. We did not find the tax rate increase for the average home in the documents we read.

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

Show 3 more questionsShow fewer
Good to knowSpending level

How long will Woodstock keep making boundary adjustment payments to neighbouring municipalities, and how much more is owed?

$1,896,320boundary adjustment payments in the 2026 budget (four lines added by us)

The 2026 operating budget has four "boundary adjustment" lines: $150,000.00 (Norwich Township), 115,770.00 (Zorra), 108,000.00 (Southwest Oxford) and 1,522,550.00 (Blandford-Blenheim). Together they come to $1,896,320 in 2026 (worked out by us). The City explains this: the payments are due under agreements with neighbouring municipalities and rise as development happens in the adjusted area. The City does not say when the payments end or how much is owed in all.

Found by reading the city's own documents · 2 sources

Good to knowRecord-keeping

Why do two statements in the City's 2024 audited accounts show different year-end surpluses?

$5,794difference between two year-end surplus figures in the 2024 statements (worked out by us)

The 2024 consolidated statements give the City's accumulated surplus (what it owns less what it owes, all years added up) at the end of 2024 as $347,905,369 on the statement of financial position and in note 10, but $347,911,163 on the statement of operations. The opening figure for 2024 differs by the same amount: $305,118,872 against $305,124,666. Net financial assets at the end of 2024 are $88,568,705 on one statement and $88,574,499 on another. Each pair differs by $5,794 (worked out by us). It is small, about 0.002% of the surplus, but audited statements should agree with themselves.

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

Good to knowOpenness

Where is the City's yearly statement of what each member of council is paid and spends?

$524,780total 2026 budget for the Council department, up from $516,940.00

Ontario cities must publish a yearly statement of pay and expenses for each member of council (Municipal Act, section 284). We did not find one on the budget, Mayor and Council or accountability pages. It may be filed with a council agenda, which we could not search because the City's meeting pages refused our scripted requests. What we can read is the 2026 budget: "COUNCIL - REMUNERATION" is $284,140.00 in 2025 and $294,090.00 in 2026, and the whole Council department is $516,940.00 and then $524,780.00. The budget includes $22,000.00 a year for the Integrity Commissioner.

Found by reading the city's own documents · 2 sources

Where your tax bill goes

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

Tax bill split: Woodstock 63%, County or region 25%, Schools 13%
$135Mraised in 2025
  • Woodstock63%
  • County or region25%
  • Schools13%

  • 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.

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