Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

Aylmer is run by an elected council of 7 people. They set the budget, approve big purchases and hire the senior staff who run the town day to day.

Current council

• MayorJack Couckuyt
• Deputy MayorPete Barbour
• CouncillorArthur Oslach
• CouncillorJamie Chapman
• CouncillorJason Rauhe
• CouncillorKathryn Desrosiers
• CouncillorWilliam Barber

Names and official email addresses from the town's council page. None of the members lists a public social media account there.

• Yes
  Budgets posted online

  The finance page links the final operating budgets for 2022 to 2026 and capital budgets for 2023 to 2026. The 2026 operating budget is deemed adopted without amendment. The line-by-line tables in the operating budget books are images, so we read only their text pages. Source

• Yes
  Audited financial statements

  The 2025 consolidated statements carry a clean opinion ("present fairly") in an auditor's report dated June 17, 2026. The 2022 to 2024 statements and the 2022 to 2025 Financial Information Returns are posted on the same page. The auditor's report page in the 2024 statements is an image, so we did not use it. Source

• Unknown
  Council pay and expenses (s. 284)

  We did not find the yearly statement on the Town's website pages we read. It may be in the Town's meeting portal, which we could not read. Source

• Unknown
  Meeting agendas and minutes

  Agendas and minutes are in the Town's CivicWeb library. CivicWeb's robots.txt disallows all automated access, so we did not read any minutes. The Town's council page lists regular meetings for 2026 and 2027 and marks the January 28, September 2, October 21 and November 4, 2026 meetings as cancelled. Source

• Unknown
  Integrity Commissioner and closed meeting reports

  We did not find any on the pages we read. Source

1. Send the request in writing to the town clerk (the freedom of information coordinator), on the town’s form or in a letter, with the $5 application fee.
2. Describe the records, not the answer you want. Dates, departments and the kind of record (a list, invoices, emails) make a request quicker and cheaper.
3. The town has 45 business days to answer (the law changed in 2026; older guides say 30 days). It can charge for search time and copies, but must send an estimate first if the fees will be over $25.
4. Some parts can be held back, such as legal advice or personal information about other people. The town must say which part of the law it relied on.
5. If you are refused, or the fees seem too high, you can appeal to the Information and Privacy Commissioner within 30 business days of the town’s decision.

The town's request form (on its Forms page) · The law · Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

• Land sales in 2024 and 2025

  "Other" revenue in planning and development was $1,627,500 in 2024 and $3,240,060 in 2025, and the industrial development reserve rose by $2,855,698 in 2025 (worked out by us). Related question: What was the $3,240,060 of "other" revenue under planning and development in 2025, when the budget for all other revenue was $50,000?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request a list of all sales of Town-owned land completed in 2024 and 2025, showing for each the date, the parcel, the sale price, and the account and reserve where the proceeds were recorded.

  Copy the wording

• Bridge from the 2026 starting budget to the final budget

  The budget book gives a 10.35% starting point and a 5.27% final levy increase but not the changes between them, and says expenditures include a reduction offset from reserves. Related question: How did the 2026 tax increase go from a 10.35% starting point to 5.27% on the levy and 2.62% on the rate, and how much reserve money offsets 2026 costs?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the schedule or report that shows the changes between the starting 2026 operating budget presented to the Finance Committee and the final 2026 operating budget, and the amount and source of each transfer from reserves used to offset 2026 operating costs.

  Copy the wording

• Water tower cost and funding

  The water systems reserve fell from $9,405,591 to $4,972,550 in two years and the 2026 budget plans for a debenture of about $6.7 million. Related question: The water reserve has fallen from $9,405,591 to $4,972,550 in two years, and the 2026 budget plans for a debenture of about $6.7 million. What is it paying for, and who repays it?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the final cost of the water tower project and the sources of its funding (reserves, grants and debt), and the repayment schedule and expected 2026 debenture for water infrastructure.

  Copy the wording

The wording is a starting point, not legal advice. Narrow the dates if the town says a request is too broad or too costly.

1. Code of conduct complaints and the Ontario Ombudsman

   The Town's council page links a Code of Conduct formal complaint form and the Ontario Ombudsman's complaint page. We did not find any Integrity Commissioner reports on the pages we read.