Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

Lambton Shores 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

• MayorDoug Cookdcook@lambtonshores.ca
• Deputy MayorDan Sagemandsageman@lambtonshores.ca
• Councillor, Ward 1Glen Bailliegbaillie@lambtonshores.ca
• Councillor, Ward 2Dave Maguiredmaguire@lambtonshores.ca
• Councillor, Ward 3Lorie Scottlscott@lambtonshores.ca
• Councillor, Ward 4Ronn E Dodgerdodge@lambtonshores.ca
• Councillor, Ward 5Scott Fergusonsferguson@lambtonshores.ca
• Councillor, Ward 6Dave Marshdmarsh@lambtonshores.ca
• Councillor, Ward 7Jeff Wilcoxjwilcox@lambtonshores.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 Municipality's yearly Statement of Remuneration, Expenses and Per Diems (Municipal Act, 2001, s. 284), Appendix A, for 2025 and 2024. "Pay" is the "Remuneration" column. "Other" is benefits (CPP and EHT), per diems, expenses and conferences, worked out by us as each member's printed total less pay. Every row's parts add up to its printed total. The statements print surnames only ("Councillor Baille"); full names are as the Municipality's council page prints them. The statements also list committee and board members (not shown here).

• Yes
  Budgets posted online

  The 2026 Mayor's Budget (deemed adopted January 13, 2026, under the Mayor's strong mayor powers) and the budgets for 2021 to 2025 are posted as PDFs on one page. Source

• Partly
  Audited financial statements

  The 2024 statements (MNP LLP, clean opinion, September 9, 2025) and 2023 statements are posted as readable PDFs. The 2025 statements are posted, but the file is an 8-page image-only PDF with no text, so we could not read it and used no figure from it. Source

• Yes
  Council pay and expenses (s. 284)

  Statements for 2024 and 2025 are posted. Read from the text layer, and every member's row adds up. Source

• Unknown
  Meeting agendas and minutes

  The Municipality says agendas and minutes are in the council meeting calendar, back to 2012. We did not read any of them. Source

• Yes
  Council meeting video

  The Municipality says it livestreams regular council meetings and posts recordings within a few days. Source

• Yes
  Declarations of interest registry

  A public registry is posted with the meeting, member, agenda item and reason. Source

• Yes
  2022 candidate financial statements

  Each 2022 candidate's statement is linked from one page. We did not read them. Source

• Lambton Shores on Facebook

  The Municipality links this page from its website. We did not read it.

• Lambton Shores on Instagram

  The Municipality links this page from its website. We did not read it.

• Livestream of council meetings

  The Municipality says it livestreams all regular council meetings and posts recordings within a few days, through the council meeting calendar. We did not check which recordings are posted.

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

• Total cost and funding of the new administration office

  The statements show an "Admin Building" loan at 4.90% to December 2054, and the budgets say a Green Municipal Fund loan was not yet finalized. We did not find the building's total cost. Related question: How much did the new administration office cost, and how is the loan for it being repaid?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the final cost of the new administration building, the sources of funding used (loans, reserves, grants), the loan agreement terms for the "Admin Building" loan, and any report to Council on the Green Municipal Fund loan.

  Copy the wording

• How 2024 investment income was divided

  Investment income was $2,060,804 against a budget of $136,470. The statements do not say how much went to reserves and how much to the operating budget. Related question: Why did Lambton Shores earn $2,060,804 of investment income in 2024 when its budget expected $136,470?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the breakdown of the Municipality's 2024 investment income by destination (operating fund, each reserve and reserve fund, each restricted fund), and the investment policy report to Council for 2024.

  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. Integrity Commissioner

   The Municipality says Council has appointed an Integrity Commissioner (a lawyer at an outside law firm) to handle Code of Conduct complaints. We did not find any reports from the Integrity Commissioner on the pages we read.

2. Closed meeting investigator: Ontario Ombudsman

   The Municipality says the Ontario Ombudsman is its closed meeting investigator. We did not look for reports about Lambton Shores.

3. Registry of declarations of pecuniary interest

   The Municipality posts a public registry listing the meeting, member, agenda item and reason for each declaration. The entries we saw run from January 12, 2026 to August 11, 2026.

4. Joint Compliance Audit Committee (2026 election)

   The Municipality has a page for the joint compliance audit committee for the 2026 municipal election. We did not read it.