WHEN POLITICIANS ASK YOU FOR MONEY, THEY SHOULD SHOW YOU THE MATH.

Property taxes pay for the services we rely on every day. But residents shouldn’t need to dig through hundreds of pages of budget documents to understand where their money goes.

You pay the bill. You should be able to understand it.

A SIMPLE, PERSONALIZED TAX BREAKDOWN

If your County property tax bill is $5,000, you should be able to see how that $5,000 is allocated across the services and priorities the County funds.

Roads and infrastructure. Emergency Services. Libraries. Parks and recreation. Waste collection. Administration. Major capital projects.

Not an accounting textbook. A simple breakdown residents can actually understand.

YOUR COUNTY TAX CONTRIBUTION

$5,000.00

Roads, waste & infrastructure$1,071.15
Capital financing & major projects$964.44
Administration, Council & corporate services$573.42
Parks, recreation & community facilities$539.83
Other external/community services$500.95
Fire, paramedic & protective services$491.03
Policing$357.71
Planning, transit & strategic initiatives$336.47
Library$165.00
TOTAL$5,000.00

Illustrative example based on the County of Brant’s approved 2026 budget. Categories have been simplified for presentation. A real tax breakdown would calculate amounts using each property’s County tax contribution and the approved municipal budget.

AND WHEN YOUR TAXES GO UP, SHOW WHAT CHANGED.

If a resident’s County tax bill rises from $5,000 to $5,250, they should be able to see what drove that increase.

YOUR NEW COUNTY TAX CONTRIBUTION: $5,250

WHERE THE $250 INCREASE WENT

Roads, waste & infrastructure+$53.56
Capital financing & major projects+$48.22
Administration, Council & corporate services+$28.67
Parks, recreation & community facilities+$26.99
Other external/community services+$25.05
Fire, paramedic & protective services+$24.55
Policing+$17.89
Planning, transit & strategic initiatives+$16.82
Library+$8.25
TOTAL INCREASE+$250.00

Illustrative example only. This shows how a $250 increase could be explained category by category. Actual year-over-year changes would reflect the County’s approved budget and each property’s County tax contribution.

That $250 increase shouldn’t just appear on your bill. You should be able to see which services, projects and budget decisions caused it — in plain language.

Residents may not agree with every decision Council makes. But they should never have to guess why their bill changed.

TRANSPARENCY SHOULD MEAN MORE THAN POSTING A PDF.

Budgets are complicated. That doesn’t mean the information we give residents has to be.

I want the County of Brant to make property tax information useful, accessible and understandable for the people paying the bill.

WHEN POLITICIANS ASK YOU FOR MONEY, THEY SHOULD SHOW YOU THE MATH.