Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

Hastings Highlands 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

• MayorTony Fitzgeraldtfitzgerald@hastingshighlands.ca
• Deputy MayorTammy Davistdavis@hastingshighlands.ca
• CouncillorKeith Buckkbuck@hastingshighlands.ca
• CouncillorRoger Davisrdavis@hastingshighlands.ca
• CouncillorTracy Hagarthagar@hastingshighlands.ca
• CouncillorNancy Mathesonnmatheson@hastingshighlands.ca
• CouncillorJoan Niemanjenieman@hastingshighlands.ca

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. From the yearly Statement of Remuneration & Expenses presented to council under Municipal Act s.284 (the statements name Bylaw 2023-081 and Bylaw 2023-080 as authority). “pay” is the honorarium. “other” is mileage, plus professional development and conferences, plus statutory employer costs and benefits, so pay plus other equals each member’s total in the statement. Each member’s total is the town’s own figure; added together, our rows differ from the statements’ printed totals by $0.01 (2025) and $0.03 (2024) because the town rounds each line. Employer costs and benefits were $62,957.30 in 2025 and $61,586.16 in 2024. We did not find statements for 2023 or earlier.

• Yes
  Budgets posted online

  Approved operating budgets for 2024, 2025 and 2026 are posted account by account (with the year’s actuals), along with a Province-format summary and the capital budget. Draft budget presentations, with a short note on each department’s change, are in the council agendas. Source

• Partly
  Meeting agendas and minutes

  Full agenda packages are on the portal for the 24 council meetings we downloaded (December 2024 to September 2026), and each package includes the draft minutes of the previous meeting (for example, the April 15, 2026 minutes are in the May 20, 2026 agenda). The portal’s “Published Minutes” folders we found stop at 2022, and the meeting pages we opened showed an agenda but no minutes, so we did not find a separate set of adopted minutes after 2022. Source

• Yes
  Meeting videos posted

  The YouTube channel carried the September 16, 2026 and August 5, 2026 regular meetings and the Committee of Adjustment. We could see only the newest 15 uploads (back to the March 18, 2026 meeting), so we do not know how far back the archive goes. Source

• Yes
  Council pay and expenses

  The yearly statement required by Municipal Act s.284 goes to council in the agenda as a one-page table for each member. We read 2024 (February 19, 2025 agenda) and 2025 (March 18, 2026 agenda). We did not find the 2023 or earlier statements. Source

• Yes
  Conflicts of interest registry online

  The town’s page lists 28 declarations from January 18, 2023 to September 16, 2026, with the meeting, the item, whether the interest was direct or indirect, and the reason. Declarations for 2019 to 2022 are available through the clerk. Source

• Yes
  Closed meetings reported in public

  When a closed session is planned, the agenda gives the Municipal Act clause and a general subject (for example “Sale of approved municipal surplus properties”), and a later item reports back. At least eight of the 19 regular council agendas we read listed one: March 19, May 21, June 18 and July 16, 2025; February 18, May 20, August 5 and September 16, 2026. This count comes from the agenda front pages and may miss some. Source

• Yes
  Open tenders and bids posted

  Bids are run through the Hastings County bids and tenders site. The town’s page lists the 2025 and 2026 results with the winner and amount, often every bidder’s price, and a link to the council report. Source

• Partly
  List of contracts awarded

  Tender and proposal results are listed (see above). We found no single list of all purchases over a set amount, or of purchases made without a competition (for example the single-source rink boards approved March 18, 2026). Source

• Yes
  Audited financial statements

  Statements for 2012 to 2025 are posted. The auditor’s opinion for 2022 to 2025 says the statements “present fairly”. The auditor’s report was signed September 22, 2023 (2022), July 31, 2024 (2023), July 23, 2025 (2024) and April 17, 2026 (2025). Source

• Yes
  Mayor’s decisions under strong-mayor powers

  The Mayor’s written decisions are listed with a link to each: 6 for 2025 and 8 for 2026 when we looked. The titles we saw all say they give written notice of approval of by-laws. Source

• Yes
  Integrity Commissioner and closed-meeting reports

  Annual reports from 2019 to 2025 and a May 30, 2023 investigation report are posted. They show costs for 2023 and 2024. We found no closed-meeting investigator reports. Source

• Unknown
  Candidates’ campaign finances

  We did not find the 2022 candidates’ financial statements or results on the town’s site. The “2022 Election Results” page now reads “The 2026 Election results will be posted on October 27, 2026.” A records request for the 2022 statements is suggested below. Source

• Council and committee portal

  Agendas for council and committees (the agenda package includes the draft minutes of the last meeting), the document centre, and the calendar. Run on CivicWeb.

• YouTube

  Council and Committee of Adjustment meetings are streamed live and kept here, as the town’s council recordings page says. The newest regular meeting (September 16, 2026) was up when we looked.

• News and media releases

  Official notices, road closures and media releases, on the town’s website.

• Have Your Say Hastings Highlands

  The town’s online engagement page. It said there were no active surveys when we looked.

• Facebook

  The town’s Facebook page, linked from its website.

• Instagram

  The town’s Instagram account, linked from its website.

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

• Every payment the town made

  The budgets and statements give totals by service, not who was paid. A list of payments is the most useful single record for spotting repeat suppliers, purchases split into smaller pieces and payments to businesses linked to council or staff.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: A list of all payments made by the Municipality of Hastings Highlands from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2025, showing for each payment the date, the name of the payee, the amount, and the description or account it was charged to (for example, the cheque register, EFT register or accounts payable listing). An electronic copy, such as a spreadsheet, is preferred.

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• How the Highway 62 design contract was chosen

  The council report gives the two prices and total scores, but not how each firm scored on each criterion or who the five invited firms were. Related question: Why did council skip an open competition for the $2.0 million Highway 62 design contract, and how was the lower price weighed?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: For Request for Proposal HH-2026-01 (Road and Bridge Design Including Contract Administration, Maynooth to Combermere): the list of firms invited; the proposals received, including the fee schedules; the evaluation score sheets for each criterion; and any report to council on the choice of an invitational process (December 17, 2025, Resolution 258-2025), other than the content of legal advice. I am not asking for any solicitor-client communication.

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• How the landfill closing cost was worked out

  The audited statements show the estimated closing cost of the landfills doubling in 2024, but do not say why. The estimate itself is not posted. Related question: Is Hastings Highlands saving enough for the cost of closing its nine landfill sites?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: The reports, workings or consultant estimates used to calculate the landfill closure and post-closure obligation in note 17 of the Municipality of Hastings Highlands’ 2024 audited financial statements and note 14 of its 2025 statements, for each landfill site, with the assumptions on timing, discount rate and inflation; and any report to council since January 1, 2023 on planning or paying for landfill closing costs.

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• What the town paid its law firm, and for what

  The Integrity Commissioner’s reports show small costs for that role. The firm is also the town’s legal counsel, and the total paid and for what kind of work is not published. Related question: Why does Hastings Highlands still use the same lawyer as its legal counsel and its integrity commissioner after the Ombudsman asked it to separate the roles?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: For each year 2022 to 2025 and 2026 to the date of this request, the total paid by the Municipality of Hastings Highlands to Cunningham, Swan, Carty, Little & Bonham LLP, split between integrity commissioner services and legal counsel services, with the general type of work for each (for example planning, land, labour, procurement or general advice); and any report, motion or correspondence by the Municipality in response to the Ontario Ombudsman’s letter of January 23, 2025. I am not asking for the content of any legal advice.

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• The 2023 road transfer and development agreements

  The public registry lists the matters in which the Mayor declared an interest because of a relative, but not what was agreed. Related question: How does Hastings Highlands handle matters where the Mayor has a relative with an interest?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: The signed agreements, council reports and by-laws for the items declared on March 1, 2023 (item 15 a) vi), transfer of part of Hillsview Road), May 3, 2023 (item 15 a) i), amendment to the Comprehensive Zoning By-law) and June 28, 2023 (item 14 c) ix), Transfer of Road and Development Agreement), including any appraisal or valuation of the lands and any amounts paid by or to the Municipality.

  Copy the wording

• The 2022 candidates’ campaign finance statements

  The 2022 results and candidate financial statements are not on the town’s website. Candidate statements are public documents.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Copies of the financial statements (Form 4) filed by all candidates in the October 24, 2022 municipal election in the Municipality of Hastings Highlands, and the Clerk’s report to council on filing and any over-contribution, if one was prepared.

  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 the clerk to put you on the agenda as a delegation (10 minutes, up to 2 speakers; form due by 4:00 p.m. on the Monday of the week before the meeting), send a petition (at least 25 original signatures), or write or phone any member.

2. Ask for the records

   Anyone can ask the town for its records under freedom-of-information law, for a $5 fee. Suggested wording for requests is below.

3. Integrity Commissioner

   For complaints that a council member broke the Code of Conduct or the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. Complaints go to the clerk in writing with a $150 non-refundable fee. The town’s page names a lawyer at Cunningham Swan Carty Little & Bonham LLP. See the question below about the Ombudsman’s letter on this arrangement.

4. Closed meeting investigation

   Anyone can ask for an investigation into whether a closed meeting was allowed. The town has named Local Authority Services as its investigator and links a request form.

5. Public registry of declared conflicts

   Council members’ declared conflicts of interest from 2023 to now are listed on the town’s site. Earlier years (2019 to 2022) are available from the clerk.

6. Ontario Ombudsman

   Looks into complaints about how Ontario municipalities treat people and run their affairs, once local options are used up. Free.