Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

East Zorra - Tavistock 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

• MayorPhil Schaeferpschaefer@ezt.ca
• Deputy MayorBrad Smithbsmith@ezt.ca
• Councillor, Ward 1Steven Van Wyksvanwyk@ezt.ca
• Councillor, Ward 1Scott Zehrszehr@ezt.ca
• Councillor, Ward 2Scott Rudysrudy@ezt.ca
• Councillor, Ward 3Matthew Gillespiemgillespie@ezt.ca
• Councillor, Ward 3Jeremy Smithjsmith@ezt.ca

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 2026 draft budget (updated March 11, 2026) and the by-law that adopted the 2026 budget on April 1, 2026 are posted, as are the budgets and by-laws back to 2015. The page says the 2026 budget was passed by By-law 2026-10 on April 1, 2026. The draft is a larger document than the by-law, so the by-law's figures are used wherever both print the same line. Source

• Yes
  Audited financial statements

  The 2025 consolidated statements are posted. The auditor's report says the statements "present fairly", in all material respects, the Township's position, and is dated June 3, 2026. Statements back to 2015 are posted. The auditor's report pages of the 2024 statements have no readable text in the file, so we did not read that opinion. Source

• Partly
  Council pay and expenses (s. 284)

  We did not find the yearly statement on the budget, financial reports or mayor and council pages. The council agendas list it: the February 5, 2025 agenda has a "2024 Council Remuneration and Expense Report" and the March 18, 2026 agenda has "CAO-2026-05 Council Remuneration 2025" and a table. The meeting portal returned HTTP 403 when we asked for those files with plain curl, so we did not read them and have not filled the pay table. Source

• Partly
  Meeting agendas and minutes

  Agendas are on the eSCRIBE portal from May 1, 2024; the Township's page says to ask the Clerk for earlier ones. We read the agenda lists. The attached documents (reports and minutes) returned HTTP 403 to plain curl, so we did not read any minutes or staff reports. Of the 50 agendas we read, 16 list items under the closed-session heading; we could not see what was decided. Source

• Partly
  Integrity Commissioner reports

  The page lists no annual reports and two investigation reports from 2019. Nothing newer is posted. Source

• Unknown
  Registry of declarations of interest

  We did not find a registry on the pages we read. Each council agenda has a "Disclosure" item, but we could not read the minutes to see what was declared. Source

• Township of East Zorra-Tavistock on Facebook

  The Township links this Facebook page from its website. We did not read it.

• Council meeting videos on the eSCRIBE portal

  The Township's meeting portal shows a video link beside most meetings. On October 5, 2026 it listed 50 regular council meetings from May 1, 2024 to September 16, 2026, and 38 of them had a video link.

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

• 2025 roads and winter control spending against budget, by account

  The statements show transportation at $4,234,807 against a budget of $2,404,688. A by-account report shows what the money was for. Related question: Why did roads and transportation cost $4,234,807 in 2025 when the budget was $2,404,688?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the Township's general ledger budget-to-actual report for the transportation services accounts (including winter control, bridges, roads and equipment) for 2025, and any report to Council during 2025 about winter control spending.

  Copy the wording

• Reserve balances and contributions forecast, 2026 to 2030

  The capital summary shows draws from reserves each year. The forecast shows what is put back. Related question: Is the Township using up its savings faster than it is putting money back?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the Township's reserve and reserve fund continuity schedule for 2026 to 2030, showing opening balance, contributions, draws and closing balance for each reserve, as used in the 2026 budget.

  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 Township says it has appointed an Integrity Commissioner, an independent person who reports to Council and looks into Code of Conduct complaints. The page says "Annual Reports: None at this time" and lists two investigation reports signed May 17, 2019. We did not read them.

2. Code of Conduct

   Council's Code of Conduct is posted as a PDF on the accountability page. We did not read it.