Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

Kitchener is run by an elected council of 11 people. They set the budget, approve big purchases and hire the senior staff who run the city day to day.

Current council

• MayorBerry Vrbanovicberry.vrbanovic@kitchener.ca
• Ward 1 CouncillorScott Daveyscott.davey@kitchener.ca
• Ward 2 CouncillorDave SchniderDave.Schnider@kitchener.ca
• Ward 3 CouncillorJason Deneaultjason.deneault@kitchener.ca
• Ward 4 CouncillorChristine Michaudchristine.michaud@kitchener.ca
• Ward 5 CouncillorAyo Owodunniayo.owodunni@kitchener.ca
• Ward 6 CouncillorPaul Singhpaul.singh@kitchener.ca
• Ward 7 CouncillorBil Ioannidisbil.ioannidis@kitchener.ca
• Ward 8 CouncillorMargaret Johnstonmargaret.johnston@kitchener.ca
• Ward 9 CouncillorDebbie Chapmandebbie.chapman@kitchener.ca
• Ward 10 CouncillorStephanie Stretchstephanie.stretch@kitchener.ca

Names and official email addresses from the city'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 city to city; the note below says what this city’s statement includes. Some members take the city’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 city's statement. Municipal Act s. 284 statements published by the city for 2025 and 2024. "pay" is the "Remuneration" column (taxable pay plus employment benefits such as CPP, health tax, health and dental, OMERS and RRSP contributions) as printed in the summary. "other" is the printed total minus pay: conferences and training, meeting expenses, home office and technology, community events and engagement, automobile expenses, and the fees and meeting expenses for sitting on the Enova boards (2025: 51,100 in all). The 2024 statement lists eleven members; the Ward 10 councillor's 2024 pay is lower than the others (taxable pay 53,756) and the city's council page says she has represented ward 10 since 2024. Council pay is set under a city policy (GOV-COU-020).

• Yes
  Budgets posted online

  The 2026 budget summary and appendices are posted, and budgets back to 2020. Source

• Yes
  Audited financial statements

  The 2025 financial report carries a clean opinion ("present fairly") from KPMG LLP dated June 30, 2026. Reports for 2021 to 2025 are posted. Source

• Yes
  Council pay and expenses (Municipal Act s. 284)

  Statements for 2020 to 2025, and a separate home office and technology expenses tracker, are posted. Source

• Partly
  Agendas and minutes

  The eScribe site lists meetings, but its document downloads returned a "Just a moment" browser check page to our reader and calendar.kitchener.ca returned a "blocked for security reasons" message, so we could not read agendas, minutes or staff reports and did not try to get around either. This is about what we could read, not about what the city posts. Source

• Yes
  Conflict of interest declarations

  The disclosures page lists declarations by member for the current term and links registries for 2014 to 2018 and 2018 to 2022. Source

• Unknown
  Integrity Commissioner reports

  The page names ADR Chambers Inc. but lists no reports. The city's Laserfiche repository holds council documents, but we could not search it, so we make no claim about whether reports exist. Source

• Unknown
  Lobbyist registry

  We did not find a lobbyist registry on the kitchener.ca pages we read. Source

• Yes
  Meetings live streamed

  The city says "All council and committee meetings are livestreamed, where possible" and that recordings are stored in its video archive. We did not check how long recordings are kept. Source

• Yes
  Closed meeting investigator

  The Ontario Ombudsman is the investigator; the city's page explains how to complain. Source

• City of Kitchener on YouTube

  Official city channel; council and committee meeting recordings, linked from kitchener.ca.

• City of Kitchener on Facebook

  Official city page, linked from kitchener.ca.

• City of Kitchener on Instagram

  Official city account, linked from kitchener.ca.

• City of Kitchener on X

  Official city account, linked from kitchener.ca.

• City of Kitchener on LinkedIn

  Official city page, linked from kitchener.ca.

1. Send the request in writing to the city clerk (the freedom of information coordinator), on the city’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 city 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 city 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 city’s decision.

The city's request form (on its Forms page) · The law · Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

• 2025 year-end operating and capital variance reports, by division

  The reports go to council and the Finance and Corporate Services Committee, but the meeting portal showed a browser check to our reader, so we could not read them. Related question: Why does the 2026 operating budget table end with $3,683,211 more spending than revenue, and the 2025 projection with $1,199,000?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Please provide the 2025 year-end operating budget variance report and capital variance report presented to council or the Finance and Corporate Services Committee, with any schedule showing 2025 budget, actual and final result against the approved operating budget by division.

  Copy the wording

• Internal audit reports and work plans, 2024 to 2026

  The Audit Committee receives internal audit reports and work plans, but the portal documents were not readable to us.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Please provide every internal audit report, quarterly audit status report and internal audit work plan received by the Audit Committee from January 1, 2024 to date, with management responses.

  Copy the wording

• Integrity Commissioner reports and annual reports, 2022 to 2026

  The integrity commissioner page names the firm but lists no reports.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Please provide every report of the Integrity Commissioner to council since December 1, 2022, including annual reports, complaint summaries and any report on a member of council or a local board, with the council resolution that followed each.

  Copy the wording

• Cowan Recreation Centre approved cost, funding and changes

  The 2025 budget prints $144M for an indoor recreation facility and the 2026 budget $174 million for the Cowan Recreation Centre. Related question: Is the $174 million now quoted for the Cowan Recreation Centre the same measure as the $144 million in last year's budget?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Please provide the most recent project budget and funding report for the Cowan Recreation Centre, showing total approved cost, amounts funded from development charges, grants and borrowing, and every council-approved change since the project was first budgeted.

  Copy the wording

• How the gas utility dividend is set

  The 2026 budget shows a flat dividend of 15,847 thousand dollars a year and a funding gap in the Gas Asset Management Plan. Related question: How is the gas utility's flat payment of 15,847 (thousand dollars) a year to the city set, when the city's own plan found a funding gap for aging gas pipes?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Please provide the policy, by-law or council report that sets the yearly dividend paid by Kitchener Utilities (gas) to the city, and the Gas Asset Management Plan summary of the 10-year funding gap.

  Copy the wording

• Council response to the June 2025 Ombudsman report

  The Clerk said the report would be shared with council at an upcoming meeting. Related question: Did council's closed discussion of its arts and entertainment venues on August 14, 2023 follow the open-meeting rules?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Please provide the council agenda item, minutes and any resolution or procedure change that followed the Ombudsman of Ontario's June 2025 report on the August 14, 2023 closed meeting of council.

  Copy the wording

The wording is a starting point, not legal advice. Narrow the dates if the city says a request is too broad or too costly.

1. Integrity Commissioner

   Investigates formal complaints under the city's code of conduct. The city names ADR Chambers Inc., an outside firm. The page we read lists no reports.

2. Ontario Ombudsman (closed meeting investigator)

   Investigates complaints that council met in private when it should not have. The Ombudsman reported on one Kitchener meeting in June 2025.

3. Audit Committee and Internal Audit

   The audited statements are presented to the Audit Committee, which the city says "provides a focal point for communications between Council, the external auditor, the internal auditor, and management". External auditor: KPMG LLP.

4. Mayoral decisions (strong mayor powers)

   Kitchener is one of the municipalities given strong mayor powers; the Mayor proposes the budget and must make decisions and directions public. The city lists them on its Laserfiche repository.