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by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date.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

Hornepayne is run by an elected council of 5 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 Hornepayne?

What a resident can find online without asking, as of October 7, 2026.

  • Partly
    Budgets posted online

    The budget page lists budgets for 2018 to 2025. The 2025 budget (by-law passed February 12, 2025) is the newest. We did not find a 2026 budget on the page on October 7, 2026. Source

  • Partly
    Audited financial statements

    Statements for 2017 to 2024 are posted. The 2023 statements are readable and carry a qualified opinion dated September 18, 2024. The posted 2024 and 2022 statements are scanned pages with no readable text, so we did not use them. Source

  • Partly
    Council pay and expenses (s. 284)

    Yearly statements for 2019 to 2024 are posted. We did not find one for 2025. The 2024 statement is a scan with no readable text and the 2023 statement's text is scrambled, so we did not copy any member's pay. Source

  • Unknown
    Meeting agendas, minutes and video

    Agendas, minutes and recordings are on a CivicWeb portal. We did not read any minutes. Source

Where the town speaks for itself

Hornepayne'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.

  • Township of Hornepayne YouTube channel

    The Township's meetings page says council meetings are shown live on this channel, and that past recordings are on its meeting portal. We did not check which recordings are kept.

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

  • Arena project funding and borrowing records

    The 2025 budget plans $2,148,720 of borrowing and $3,433,980 of federal grants for the arena. Related question: How will Hornepayne pay back $3,770,220 of new borrowing in its 2025 capital plan, when its debt was $1,426,324 at the end of 2023?.

    Show the request wordingHide the wording
    Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the Township's records of the arena repair and expansion project's funding agreements, grant approvals, any borrowing by-law, and the most recent Annual Repayment Limit statement.

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 Township has a page for its Integrity Commissioner and a public report dated March 26, 2026 is posted. We did not use that report as the basis of any question here.