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by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date.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

Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

Bracebridge is run by an elected council of 9 people. They set the budget, approve big purchases and hire the senior staff who run the town day to day.

Current council

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

How open is Bracebridge?

What a resident can find online without asking, as of October 5, 2026.

  • Partly
    Budgets posted online

    The Town's budget page links the 2026 Budget and Business Plan and older budgets, all on the Town's document site (bracebridge.civicweb.net). That site's robots.txt asks every automated reader to stay out, so we did not open them and have not used any budget figure in this pack. A Town release says the 2026 budget was officially adopted on November 25, 2025. Source

  • Yes
    Audited financial statements

    The 2025 consolidated statements are posted as a PDF. BDO Canada LLP gave a clean opinion ("present fairly") in a report dated September 15, 2026. Earlier years are on the document site we could not read. Source

  • Unknown
    Council pay and expenses (s. 284)

    We did not find the yearly statement of council pay and expenses on the Town's own pages. It may be on the document site we could not read, so there is no pay table in this pack. Source

  • Unknown
    Meeting agendas and minutes

    Agendas and minutes are on a calendar site (events.bracebridge.ca) and the document site. The calendar site refused our request for its robots.txt (HTTP 403) and the document site asks all automated readers to stay out, so we read no minutes. Source

  • Yes
    Meeting videos

    The Town's webcast page says meetings are shown live and recorded videos are posted within three days. We did not check the archive. Source

  • Partly
    Tender opportunities

    The Bids and Tenders page lists open bids and says the Town joins several buying groups. We did not find awarded contracts (who won, and for how much) on the page. Source

Where the town speaks for itself

Bracebridge's official channels, as linked from its own website. Council members may also post on their own pages; we link only to official municipal channels.

  • Council and committee webcasts

    The Town's webcast page says council, general committee and planning and development committee meetings are shown live, and that each recorded video is available on demand within three days of the meeting. We did not check the archive.

Ask for the records

Anyone can ask the town for its records under Ontario's Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). You do not have to say why. Here is how it works, and the wording for the records that would answer the questions on this site.

  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

  • Reserve balances and movements for 2025

    Note 12 shows reserves falling from $10,551,322 to $6,118,091. A schedule of what went in and out of each reserve shows which projects used them. Related question: Why did the Town's reserves fall from $10,551,322 to $6,118,091 in one year?.

    Show the request wordingHide the wording
    Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the Town's schedule of reserve and reserve fund balances for 2025, showing for each reserve the opening balance, contributions, withdrawals with the project or purpose for each, and the closing balance, and the council report that approved the transfers.

  • Money set aside for the hospital commitment

    Note 13 commits up to $10,000,000 by July 2037, but Note 12 names no hospital reserve. Related question: How will the Town find up to $10,000,000 for two new Muskoka hospitals by July 2037 when its reserves are falling?.

    Show the request wordingHide the wording
    Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the amount the Town has set aside to date for its commitment toward the local share of two new hospitals in Muskoka, the reserve it is held in, and the council report that sets out the yearly contributions planned to July 2037.

  • Investment policy and holdings at December 31, 2025

    Note 3 shows $9,099,740 held in 12 pooled funds, most of them equity funds, after the Town sold its earlier investments. Related question: Why did the Town move its $9,099,740 of savings into stock-market funds, and will Theatre Muskoka repay the $862,930 it owes?.

    Show the request wordingHide the wording
    Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the Town's investment policy, the council report that approved moving the Town's temporary investments to Royal Trust Pooled Funds Group, and the schedule of investments held at December 31, 2025.

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

How to raise a concern

From the gentlest step to the most serious. Start at the top.

  1. Integrity Commissioner

    The Town says it has appointed an independent Integrity Commissioner, who handles Code of Conduct complaints about council members and gives council a yearly report. The Town's page links the Code of Conduct and a 2026 election-year bulletin, which sit on a document site we could not read. We did not read any reports.

  2. Registry of pecuniary interest declarations

    The Town's council page says the law requires the Town to keep a registry of declarations of pecuniary interest (a money interest in a matter before council) and to make it open to the public. We did not find the registry itself on the pages we could read.

  3. Mayoral Decision/Direction Registry (strong mayor powers)

    Ontario gave the Mayor of Bracebridge extra powers (called strong mayor powers) on May 1, 2025. The Town keeps a public list of each written decision and direction, with a number and date. The list runs from May 14, 2025 to September 14, 2026 as we read it.