Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

Burk's Falls is run by an elected council of 5 people. They set the budget, approve big purchases and hire the senior staff who run the town day to day.

Current council

• MayorChris Hopemayor@burksfalls.ca
• Deputy MayorSean Cotton
• CouncillorRyan Baptiste
• CouncillorAshley Brandt
• CouncillorNancy Kyte

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

• Partly
  Budgets posted online

  The finance page posts a two-page "2026 Budget Highlights", the by-law that adopted the 2026 budget on May 12, 2026 (it carries the line-by-line budget as Appendix A) and the report required by Ontario Regulation 284/09. We did not find a full budget book, or the 2025 budget, on the page. Source

• Partly
  Audited financial statements

  The 2024 consolidated statements (clean opinion, "present fairly", auditor's report dated December 2, 2025), the 2024 arena statements and the 2024 trust fund statements are posted. We did not find 2025 statements on the page on October 7, 2026. Source

• Partly
  Agendas and minutes

  Agenda packages for 2026 meetings through September 15 are posted as large PDFs. The typed minutes of the previous meeting are printed inside the next agenda package. The stand-alone minutes files we opened are scanned pictures with no text, and a posted file dated September 21, 2026 is also a scan, so we did not use them. Source

• Partly
  Council pay and expenses statement (Municipal Act s. 284)

  We found the 2025 statement only inside the February 17, 2026 agenda package, not as a separate posting on the finance page. We did not fill the pay table because the table's text comes out scrambled when read by machine. Source

• Unknown
  Meeting video

  The council page says a Zoom link to observe meetings is available on request. We did not find posted meeting videos. Source

• Partly
  Tender results

  Some staff reports in agenda packages list each bidder and its price (for example the theatre flooring and painting tenders in March 2026). We did not look for a single list of results. 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

• Water reserve use and repayment schedule for Yonge Street

  Council's April 21, 2026 resolution 2026-113 says the extra cost of the Yonge Street rehabilitation will be taken from water reserves with a repayment schedule. The amounts and schedule are not in the papers we read. Related question: Every bid for the Yonge Street rebuild came in over budget. How much of the water reserve will cover the difference, and when is it paid back?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Please provide the repayment schedule and any staff report or calculation prepared under council resolution 2026-113 (April 21, 2026) showing how much will be taken from the water reserve for the Yonge Street rehabilitation, and the engineer's pre-tender estimate for the project.

  Copy the wording

• Almaguin Manor Residence loan payment record

  The 2024 statements say the Manor has been unable to make all payments since 2019 and that the loan was reworked on December 31, 2022. We did not find a payment record for 2025 or 2026. Related question: How much of the Village's debt really belongs to the Almaguin Manor Residence, and is the Manor keeping up its payments?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Please provide a record of payments received from the Almaguin Manor Residence on its loan from the Village for 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 to date, and the current agreement between the Village and the Manor.

  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

   The Village's 2026 budget has a line for an Integrity Commissioner contract and a yearly transfer to an Integrity Commissioner reserve (budget by-law 20-2026, Appendix A, page 6). The council page posts the Code of Conduct and a complaint form. We did not find any Integrity Commissioner reports on the pages we read.