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by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date.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

Gravenhurst 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 Gravenhurst?

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

  • Yes
    Budgets posted online

    The approved 2024, 2025 and 2026 operating and capital budget books are posted as PDFs on one page. Source

  • Yes
    Audited financial statements

    The 2025 consolidated statements carry a clean opinion ("present fairly") from Pahapill and Associates Professional Corporation, dated July 21, 2026. The 2024 statements carry the same kind of opinion, dated September 16, 2025. Statements for 2023, 2024 and 2025 are posted. Source

  • Partly
    Council pay and expenses (s. 284)

    The council page lists yearly statements for 2016 to 2023 (the newest is Report No. FIN 2024-01). We did not find statements for 2024 or 2025 on that page. The statements are on the civicweb document site, which asks automated tools not to read it, so we did not open any and the pack has no pay table. The 2026 budget book says a Council Compensation Review was deferred in 2025 and "will remain on hold pending Council direction". Source

  • Unknown
    Meeting agendas and minutes

    The Town points to events.gravenhurst.ca for agendas and minutes. That site refused a plain scripted request (HTTP 403) and the civicweb site asks automated tools not to read it, so we read no minutes. We cannot say how current they are. Source

  • Yes
    Meeting videos

    The Town says it livestreams Council and Committee meetings and posts recordings on its YouTube channel. We did not check the channel. Source

  • Yes
    Mayor's decisions under strong-mayor powers

    The Town lists each decision with its number, date and subject: four in 2025 and two in 2026. The 2027 budget decisions are dated July 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026. The September decision is a scanned image, so we did not read it and cannot give 2027 budget dates. Source

Where the town speaks for itself

Gravenhurst'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.

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

  • Schedule of loans from the Community Reinvestment Reserve

    The 2026 budget book shows $14,855,491 owed to the reserve. A schedule shows each loan, its rate and its repayment dates. Related question: Is the Town replacing bank debt with loans from its own savings, and can the savings keep up?.

    Show the request wordingHide the wording
    Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the Town's schedule of all internal loans from the Community Reinvestment Reserve outstanding at December 31, 2025, showing for each loan the project, amount borrowed, interest rate, repayment term, and the Council report or by-law that approved it.

  • Assets recorded as contributed in 2025

    The 2025 statements record $4,551,800 of contributed assets, primarily buildings, without saying which. Related question: Why did Gravenhurst finish 2025 with a surplus of $9,190,450 when it budgeted for $802,809?.

    Show the request wordingHide the wording
    Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the list of tangible capital assets recorded as contributed in 2025 (Note 13(a) of the 2025 consolidated financial statements), showing for each the asset, its location, the value recorded, the date received and the agreement or Council report under which it was received.

  • Reconciliation of reserve balances at December 31, 2024

    The 2026 budget book and the audited statements give different totals (19,136,530 and 19,529,723) and different tax stabilization balances for the same date. Related question: Is the Town's tax stabilization reserve nearly empty, and why do two Town documents give different balances for the end of 2024?.

    Show the request wordingHide the wording
    Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the working paper or reconciliation that explains the difference between the reserve and reserve fund balances at December 31, 2024 shown in the 2026 budget book (Reserves, Reserve Funds and Endowments continuity schedule) and in the 2024 audited statements (Supplementary Unaudited Schedule of Surplus), including the tax stabilization reserve.

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's council page links the Code of Conduct, yearly Integrity Commissioner reports for 2019-2020 to 2024-2025 and several individual complaint reports. Most are on a Town document site (civicweb) that asks automated tools not to read it, so we did not open them. The 2026 budget book says the Integrity Commissioner resigned and an Interim Integrity Commissioner was appointed.

  2. Registry of declarations of pecuniary interest

    The council page links a registry for each year from 2018 to 2026. They are on the same civicweb site, so we did not open them.

  3. Council attendance reports

    The council page links attendance reports for 2023, 2024 and 2025. We did not open them.