Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

Greater Napanee 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

• MayorTerry Richardsontrichardson@greaternapanee.com
• Deputy MayorBrian Calverbcalver@greaternapanee.com
• Councillor, Ward 1Michael Schenkmschenk@greaternapanee.com
• Councillor, Ward 2Angela Hicksahicks@greaternapanee.com
• Councillor, Ward 3Shawn Daveysdavey@greaternapanee.com
• Councillor, Ward 4Bob Norriebnorrie@greaternapanee.com
• Councillor, Ward 5Bill Martinbmartin@greaternapanee.com

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

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. Typed by hand from the treasurer’s yearly statements of council remuneration and expenses (Municipal Act, s. 284), which are printed in the February council agenda package. Pay is the wage or “Remuneration” column. Other is the rest of each member’s total: benefits, mileage, conservation authority board pay, cell phone, conferences and training. The statements cover what the town paid; the town says they leave out pay from the County of Lennox and Addington, and the mayor and deputy mayor also sit on county council. Pay is set by By-law 2022-0066 and rises each January 1 by the same percentage as non-union staff. Council voted against a pay increase in 2022 and again on July 14, 2026 (resolution #315/26), when it chose “no changes” and to put a pay review on the 2027 budget agenda. The 2025 line for Dave Pinnell Jr, the former Ward 3 councillor, is lower than the other councillors’; the Ward 3 seat was filled by a by-election on January 19, 2026.

• Partly
  Budgets posted online

  The budget page has the 2025 budget summary and capital summary and older summaries back to 2017. For 2026 it has a one-page “Budget Highlights” and a property tax breakdown, not the full budget. The full 2026 budget presentations are in the agendas of the January 7, January 8 and February 3, 2026 special council meetings, which are on the meeting portal. Source

• Yes
  Meeting agendas and minutes

  On the CivicWeb portal (meetings from 2022 to today are listed, and older ones too), as one agenda package per meeting with the staff reports attached. Minutes are printed in the next meeting’s package. The September 22, 2026 package was posted by the time of the meeting. A one-page Council Highlights summary is also posted for each meeting. Source

• Yes
  Meeting videos kept online

  The town says council meetings are livestreamed on its YouTube channel and stay available there after each meeting. We did not open the channel ourselves. The July 14, 2026 minutes record the livestream dropping out more than once during that meeting. Source

• Partly
  Council pay and expenses

  The yearly statement required by the Municipal Act (section 284) is given to council each February and printed in that meeting’s agenda package. We found the statements for 2023, 2024 and 2025 there. We did not find them on a page of their own on the town’s website. They leave out pay from the County of Lennox and Addington. Source

• Yes
  Conflicts of interest registry online

  The meeting portal links a “Conflict of Interest Registry”: a folder of Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest forms with a file for each year from 2019 to 2026. Each form names the member, the meeting, the agenda item and the reason. We opened the three 2026 forms from the Ward 3 councillor. Source

• Yes
  Open tenders posted

  The purchasing page links the town’s Bids & Tenders site for current bid opportunities. We did not check the site’s archive. Source

• Yes
  Awards and the list of payments

  Purchases over $100,000 go to council in a report. Smaller awards between $50,000 and $100,000 are reported to council each month with the finance activity report. That report also carries a “Council Board Report” list of payments (supplier, date and a short description, for example the 18-Jun-2026 to 21-Jul-2026 list in the July 28, 2026 package). Descriptions are cut off after about 40 characters. Source

• Partly
  Audited financial statements

  Statements for 2017 to 2024 are posted. The 2024 statements carry a clean opinion signed March 6, 2026, and the 2023 statements a clean opinion signed October 14, 2025, almost two years after the year ended. The 2025 statements went to council in draft on September 22, 2026 and were not yet on the website on October 1, 2026. Source

• Unknown
  Integrity Commissioner and closed-meeting reports

  The commissioner’s page explains how to complain and lists no past reports. We did not find a closed-meeting investigator named in the agendas we read; the town’s June 2026 report points residents to the Ontario Ombudsman. We do not know whether there have been any reports. Source

• Partly
  Closed sessions

  A July 14, 2026 staff report counts closed meetings: 26 in 2023, 28 in 2024, 22 in 2025 and 11 so far in 2026, against 21, 22, 22 and 12 regular meetings. The town says each closed item now comes with a report that states the legal reason for closing and when the matter will be reported in public, and that council votes in open session to confirm what it directed. The clerk told council on June 9, 2026 that the closed-session transparency goal in the mayor’s mandate letter was complete. Source

• Partly
  Candidates’ campaign finances

  The January 19, 2026 Ward 3 by-election candidates’ statements are posted, with a compliance report. For the 2022 election the town says its reports “are available by contacting the Clerk’s office”; we did not find them online. Source

• Yes
  Mayor’s strong-mayor decisions

  Since May 1, 2025 the mayor has special powers under the Municipal Act. The town lists each written mayoral decision with a link: three so far (May 1, 2025, July 31, 2025 and February 4, 2026). Under these rules the 2026 budget was “deemed adopted” on February 5, 2026 without a council vote, after three public budget meetings. Source

• Meeting portal (agendas and minutes)

  Every council and committee agenda package, with the staff reports, and the minutes (printed in the next meeting’s package). Runs on CivicWeb. Council meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. (one meeting in August and one in December).

• Meeting livestream and recordings (YouTube)

  Council meetings are livestreamed on the town’s YouTube channel. The town says they “remain available on our channel for the public to view after each meeting”. We did not open the channel.

• Council Highlights

  A short summary of each council meeting’s main decisions, posted as a PDF for each meeting.

• Newsroom

  News releases, public notices and tender notices from the town.

• E-Updates (meeting notices)

  Residents can sign up on the meeting portal to be told about the meetings they care about.

• Facebook

  The town’s official Facebook page, listed on its Policies page as officially run by the town.

• Instagram

  The town’s official Instagram page, listed on its Policies page as officially run by the town.

• LinkedIn

  The town’s official LinkedIn page, listed on its Policies page as officially run by the town.

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

• The two KPMG reviews: what they cost and what came of them

  The town posted both reports, but not the engagement letters, the total cost, a final version of the second report, or any report to council on which recommendations were carried out. The payments list shows $129,353.92 to KPMG on June 19, 2026 for a “FORENSIC REVIEW OF THE PRO…”, with the description cut off. Related question: How did the town buy a $200,845 sidewalk machine in 2022 without a budget line or a report to council, and have the fixes been made?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: For the two reviews by KPMG Forensic Inc. dated October 31, 2024 (Forensic Review of the Trackless Procurement) and November 11, 2024 (Procurement Process Review): the engagement letters, all invoices and the total fees paid by the Town of Greater Napanee; any final version of the November 11, 2024 report; and any staff report, work plan or tracker showing which of the reviews’ recommendations have been carried out. I am not asking for the content of any legal advice or solicitor-client communication.

  Copy the wording

• The wastewater plant: cost to date and the numbers behind the financing

  The staff report gives a budget and a funding plan. These records would show whether the cost has changed since the tender and what the rate study says customers will pay. Related question: How will water and sewer customers pay for the new $87,959,480 wastewater plant, and what will it do to their bills?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: For the Napanee wastewater pollution control plant project (tender RFT-UT-2025-01): the signed construction contract; all change orders and amendments to date; the latest project cost-to-complete report; the Annual Repayment Limit worksheet attached to report SR-1282-2026; the construction loan and financing agreement terms with Ontario Infrastructure and Lands Corporation; and the terms of reference and any draft of the 2026 water and wastewater rate study.

  Copy the wording

• The auditor’s planning and findings reports, 2022 to 2025

  The 2023 audit was signed on October 14, 2025. The auditor’s planning reports, findings reports and management letters would show what slowed it down. Related question: Why was the 2023 audit not signed until October 2025, and when will the 2025 statements be final?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: The audit planning reports, audit findings reports and management letters (reports on internal control) from the auditor to the Town of Greater Napanee for the 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 fiscal years, and any report to council or senior staff that explains why the audit of the 2023 financial statements was not completed until October 14, 2025.

  Copy the wording

• 1388 Bridge Street: quotes, invoices and total cost

  The town says the clean-up cost $227,000 and will be billed to the owner. These records would show how the contractor was chosen and what it all cost, including legal fees. Related question: Why did the clean-up of 1388 Bridge Street cost $227,000, and how much will the town get back?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: For the clean-up work at 1388 Bridge Street under the Superior Court order: the quotes obtained, the contract or purchase order awarded, all contractor invoices, all legal invoices for the court action, the staff-time tracking, the total cost to date, and the amount billed to the property owner and paid so far. Personal information about people who lived on the property can be removed.

  Copy the wording

• The sale of the former CN spur line lands north of Highway 401

  Staff say only one neighbour asked to buy the land and no appraisal was needed. These records would show the notices, any other interest shown, and how the price was set. Related question: How were the buyer and the $100,000 price chosen for the old CN rail line north of Highway 401, when a councillor had declared a conflict?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Records about the 2026 sale of the former CN spur line lands north of Highway 401: the notices sent to abutting owners and any replies, offers or expressions of interest received; any valuation, appraisal or price analysis; the signed agreements of purchase and sale; and the parts of closed-session reports SR-1222-2026, SR-1259-2026 and SR-1263-2026 that can be released.

  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. Speak to council

   Ask to appear before council as a delegation by filling in the deputation request form. About 25 seats are kept in the council chamber, first for registered delegations.

2. Ask for the records

   Anyone can ask the town for its records under freedom-of-information law. The town’s form needs a $5.00 fee. The wording for useful requests is above.

3. Integrity Commissioner

   For complaints that a council member broke the Code of Conduct or the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. Since January 1, 2026 the commissioner is Ellen Fry of ADR Chambers. Complaints use the town’s complaint form and go to the commissioner or the clerk.

4. Ontario Ombudsman

   Looks into complaints about closed meetings and how Ontario municipalities run their affairs, once local options are used up. Free. The town told council in June 2026 that it plans to add a page to its website explaining closed meetings and how to complain to the Ombudsman.

5. Police

   If you have evidence that a crime such as fraud or theft has happened, report it to police. Questions and concerns belong with the options above; evidence of a crime belongs with police.