Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

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

• Partly
  Budgets posted online

  The 2026 budgets (operating and a 321-page capital book, "draft" and "final" versions) are in the Municipality's document library, and a one-page budget summary is on the budgets page. The budget book pages are scans, so we read figures only from the summary pages and Council Highlights. Source

• Yes
  Audited financial statements

  The document library has a folder for each year from 1999 to 2025. We opened 2023, 2024 and 2025. The 2025 statements carry a clean opinion ("present fairly") from Graham Scott Enns LLP, dated May 21, 2026. The pages are scans with machine-read text, so we used no figure from them. Source

• Unknown
  Council pay and expenses (s. 284)

  Council Highlights for February 6, 2025 and February 5, 2026 say the Treasurer reported on Council remuneration and expenses. We did not find the statement as its own page, and did not read the full agenda packages. Source

• Yes
  Meeting agendas and minutes

  Agendas and minutes are in the Municipality's document library, and a short "Council Highlights" summary is posted after each regular meeting. Meetings are live-streamed on YouTube. Source

• Unknown
  Council member list

  The council page says there are five members (a Mayor, a Deputy Mayor and three ward councillors) but its text does not list their names, so we did not list them here. Source

• Yes
  Tender results

  Council Highlights name the winner and amount for most tender awards, for example a $361,845 (+HST) breathing apparatus award in 2025. Source

• Municipality of Bayham on YouTube

  The Municipality links this channel from its website and says council meetings are live-streamed there. We did not check which past videos are kept.

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

• List of every reserve and reserve fund at December 31, 2025

  The town says published claims about its reserves are inaccurate. A list with balances and purposes would show the real total. Related question: How large are Bayham's reserves, now that the town says published claims exaggerate them?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the schedule of every reserve and reserve fund held by the Municipality of Bayham at December 31, 2025, with the balance of each, its purpose and the 2025 transfers in and out, and the Treasurer's 2025 Investments report to Council.

  Copy the wording

• Amounts paid for Integrity Commissioner and closed-meeting investigator services, 2022 to 2025

  Council discussed the cost of these services on May 7, 2026. A yearly total shows what residents pay. Related question: What has the Municipality paid for Integrity Commissioner and closed-meeting investigations, and will Council's May 2026 resolution change them?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the total amount paid in each of 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 to Aird & Berlis LLP for Integrity Commissioner and Closed Meeting Investigator services, the number of complaints received and the number of decisions issued each year (no names), and the correspondence Council resolved on May 7, 2026 to include in future discussions.

  Copy the wording

• Clerk's report on the 2026 method of vote, with cost estimates

  The highlights say paper ballots cost twice the recommended option. The report has the dollar figures. Related question: Why did Council choose paper ballots for 2026 when staff recommended internet and telephone voting and said paper would cost twice as much?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the Clerk's reports to Council on the method of vote for the 2026 municipal election (considered April 17 and May 1, 2025), including the cost estimates for each method.

  Copy the wording

• Yearly transfers into the Guarantorship Reserve and total interest on the HMCS Ojibwa loan

  Residents helped pay off the debt over several years. One table would show the full cost. Related question: What did it cost residents to pay off the HMCS Ojibwa debt 15 years early?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request a table of every transfer into the Guarantorship Reserve (or any reserve used to pay the HMCS Ojibwa loan) by year and source, the interest paid on the loan each year, and the Treasurer's March 6, 2025 report on retiring the debt.

  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. Integrity Commissioner and Closed Meeting Investigator

   The Municipality says its Integrity Commissioner and Closed Meeting Investigator is Aird & Berlis LLP, and that the cost is billed back to the Municipality. The page links the Code of Conduct and the firm's contact sheet. We did not find any Integrity Commissioner reports.