Not the full picture. Built from public records, which leave things out.Read by hand, Oct 2026Details
This is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date.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 youRead by hand. We read Cochrane'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
Cochrane 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
- MayorPeter Politis
- CouncillorDaniel Brunet
- CouncillorSylvie Charron-Lemieux
- CouncillorHeather Decevito
- CouncillorSusan Nelson
- CouncillorMarck Recoskie
- CouncillorRod Reimer
Names and official email addresses from the town's council page. None of the members lists a public social media account there.
What council is paid
Every year the town has to publish what each council member was paid, and what was spent on their benefits and expenses. These are the totals from those statements, 2023 to 2023.
| Member | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Peter Politis Mayor | $27,900+ $25,410 |
| France Bouvier Councillor | $12,350+ $3,019 |
| Daniel Brunet Councillor | $11,850+ $7,112 |
| Sylvie Charron Councillor | $11,100+ $1,191 |
| Rodney Hoogenhoud Councillor | $11,100+ $3,295 |
| Susan Nelson Councillor | $11,975+ $3,005 |
| Marck Recoskie Councillor | $11,725+ $4,211 |
Top number: pay. Second number: benefits and expenses together, such as health cover, mileage, conferences and training. Exactly what goes in it differs a little from town to town; the note below says what this town’s statement includes. Some members take the town’s health plan and some do not, so a higher second number is not a problem by itself. The statements give only totals; the receipts behind them can be requested from the clerk.
Each year links to the town's statement. Read from the text layer of the Town's 2023 Annual Treasurer's Statement; each member's figures sit on one line with the name. "pay" is the printed remuneration plus per diem; "other" is the printed benefits plus expenses. Board and police board amounts are left out because that part of the table does not read reliably. The 2024 and 2025 statements were not found.
How open is Cochrane?
What a resident can find online without asking, as of October 7, 2026.
- PartlyBudgets posted online
The Town posts the 2021 to 2025 budgets as PDFs. We did not find a 2026 budget on its budget page on October 7, 2026. The 2025 budget book (adopted by By-law 2025-74) is a scan, so we could not read its figures reliably. Source
- UnknownAudited financial statements
The Town's budget page sends readers to a document centre on its CivicWeb site for its financial statements. That site's robots.txt asks automated tools to stay out, so we did not read any statements and say nothing here about their dates or opinions. Source
- PartlyCouncil pay and expenses (s. 284)
The council page lists the yearly statement for 2023 as the newest one (marked "Updated: October 18, 2024"). We did not find 2024 or 2025 statements there on October 7, 2026. Source
- UnknownMeeting agendas and minutes
Agendas and minutes are on the Town's CivicWeb portal, which asks automated tools to stay out. We did not read any minutes. The Town posts quarterly meeting attendance summaries on its council page. Source
Where the town speaks for itself
Cochrane'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 Cast (live streams of council meetings)
The Town says all budget meetings are live streamed, and that regular council meetings are also shown on community channel 327. We did not check how long the recordings are kept.
How to raise a concern
From the gentlest step to the most serious. Start at the top.
Closed meeting investigator: Ontario Ombudsman
The Ombudsman of Ontario is the Town's closed meeting investigator. The Town posts two Ombudsman reports from November 2024 on its council page (one on a February 2024 meeting, one on two October 2023 meetings).
Integrity Commissioner
The Town's council page links an Integrity Commissioner annual report for 2021, several inquiry decisions and a protocol for the office. We did not read the decisions, because they concern named members and the pack does not build on them.