Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

Loyalist 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

• MayorJim Hegadornjhegadorn@loyalist.ca
• Deputy Mayor (appointed August 11, 2026)Diane Pearce
• CouncillorMike Budarickmbudarick@loyalist.ca
• CouncillorJake Ennisjennis@loyalist.ca
• CouncillorCarol Parkscparks@loyalist.ca
• CouncillorPaul Proderickpproderick@loyalist.ca
• CouncillorLorna Willislwillis@loyalist.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 Councillor Remuneration & Expenses that the treasurer gives council under the Municipal Act, s. 284 (the 2025 statement went to council on March 24, 2026, the 2024 statement on March 25, 2025). "pay" is the Remuneration column. "other" is everything else on the line: benefits, car allowance and mileage, per diem payments, expenses paid to the member and expenses paid to third parties. The statements say the payments were authorized by By-law 2024-105 (the 2025 budget) and By-law 2020-059, Schedule B (the Member of Council Remuneration and Expense Policy). The statements also list people who are not on council (members of the Committee of Adjustment, the Heritage Committee and the Police Service Board); we left them out. Nathan Townend, Deputy Mayor on both statements, resigned on June 15, 2026. Diane Pearce was appointed Deputy Mayor on August 11, 2026, and so is on neither statement. We read the 2024 and 2025 statements and did not look for earlier years.

• Yes
  Budgets posted online

  The 2026 draft budget binder, a 2026 approved budget summary, the property tax insert and the by-laws are posted, with binders and flyers for each year back to 2017. The approved 2026 summary is a scan with no searchable text. The page also explains that council amended the draft on November 18 and 26, 2025, and that the Mayor did not veto any amendment. Source

• Yes
  Meeting agendas and minutes

  Full agenda packages and approved minutes for council and committees are on the CivicWeb portal, back to 2012. The minutes of the September 22, 2026 meeting were posted on September 23. Staff reports and their attachments are attached to each agenda. Source

• Yes
  Meeting videos posted

  Council meetings are streamed live and posted on the Township's YouTube channel, usually the next day (the September 22, 2026 meeting was posted on September 23). The channel's newest 15 uploads reach back to June 17, 2026; we did not look at older ones. Source

• Partly
  Audited financial statements

  The website has the statements for 2017 to 2024. The 2025 statements were approved on June 23, 2026 and council directed that they be posted, but they were not on the website on October 1, 2026. The 2024 file on the website is a scan with no searchable text. The 2023 and 2024 statements were approved later in the year than the 2025 ones (see the question about this). Source

• Yes
  Council pay and expenses

  A staff report with every member's pay, benefits, mileage and expenses goes to council each March, as the law asks. We found the 2024 and 2025 statements in the council agenda packages; we did not find a link to them on the Township's website. Source

• Yes
  Conflicts of interest registry online

  The registry is on the council portal, in a folder for each year, one file for each declaration. The forms are scans of handwritten pages, so the text cannot be searched. The minutes record each declaration and its reason. Source

• Yes
  Closed meetings reported in public

  Council held a closed session at 24 of the 37 regular meetings from January 14, 2025 to September 22, 2026. The agenda lists each closed item with the reason, and the minutes have a "Rise and Report" that says in a sentence what council received or directed. The Ombudsman's 2020 report on a July 2019 closed meeting found that council "contravened the Act" by voting in closed session on a matter that was not procedural, due to "confusion and inadvertence", and praised the Township for reporting back. Source

• Partly
  Integrity Commissioner reports

  The accountability page lists reports from 2021 and 2025. The link to the 2025 report (complaints 2025-01-A and 2025-01-B) returned "page does not exist" on October 1, 2026. Council received the report on February 24, 2026, and the minutes record it. Source

• Unknown
  Tender results published

  Current and past bids and tenders are on the Township's Bids & Tenders portal, which says it covers "current and past procurement opportunities". We did not open the portal and did not check whether winners and prices are shown. Source

• Yes
  Mayor's decisions under the strong mayor rules

  Since May 1, 2025, the Mayor has strong mayor powers. The Township's page lists each Mayoral Decision with its date and number (for example, 2026-1 approving the by-laws of January 13, 2026), and the decisions are filed on the council portal. Source

• Yes
  2022 election candidates' financial statements

  The Township's 2022 election results page lists every candidate and the date the financial statement (Form 4) was filed, with a link to each. We did not read the totals. Source

• Council portal (CivicWeb)

  Agendas, minutes, the online document library, the meeting calendar, the live stream and the conflict of interest registry. The Township's council page links to it.

• YouTube: Loyalist Township

  Council and committee meetings are streamed live and posted here, usually the next day or two. The Township's website links to this channel.

• News

  Township news and notices, on its website.

• Engage Loyalist

  The Township's public engagement site, used for the budget survey and other consultations.

• Community calendar

  The Township's calendar of events.

• W.J. Henderson renewal site

  The Township's site for the W.J. Henderson Community Centre project, linked from its home page.

• Newsletter

  Sign-up for the Township's e-newsletters.

• Facebook

  The Township's Facebook page, linked from its website.

• Instagram

  The Township's Instagram account, linked from its website.

• LinkedIn

  The Township's LinkedIn page, linked from its website.

• X (Twitter)

  The Township's 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 Township made

  The budget and the audited 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 Corporation of the Loyalist Township 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.

  Copy the wording

• The W.J. Henderson project: costs, changes and the disputed amount

  The March 2026 update explains the increase from $49,500,000 to $59,400,000 in tables. The records behind the tables would show each change, who approved it, and what the $1,450,000 of disputed costs is about. Related question: Why did the W.J. Henderson Community Centre project grow from $49,500,000 to $59,400,000, and what is still in dispute?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: For the W.J. Henderson Community Centre Renewal Project: (1) the monthly or quarterly project cost reports to the Township from the start of construction to the date of this request; (2) the list of change orders, owner-requested changes and unforeseen-condition items under the integrated project delivery contract, with the amount and the date each was approved; (3) the correspondence between the Township and the contract partners about the costs listed as "disputed project costs", and any report or opinion on how they will be settled; and (4) the final project cost and the latest cost-to-complete forecast. I am not asking for the content of any legal advice or solicitor-client communication.

  Copy the wording

• The $19,000,000 provincial loan and the industrial land

  The Township spent $22,631,000 on industrial land in 2022 and took a $19,000,000 interest-free loan from the Province. The published documents do not say how the loan will be repaid. Related question: How will the Township repay the $19,000,000 interest-free provincial loan it took after spending $22,631,000 on industrial land?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: For the $19,000,000 debenture from the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade (due July 2035) and the industrial land redevelopment financed in 2022 under By-law 2022-062: (1) the loan agreement with the Province and the repayment schedule; (2) any council report, financial plan or forecast showing how the repayments will be funded; and (3) a list of sales or leases of the land from 2022 to the date of this request, with the date, the buyer or tenant (business name), the area and the price.

  Copy the wording

• What the County pays for road work, and what snow costs

  The Township plows County roads. The Province's return shows the Township's total winter control cost, not what the County pays back. The records would show the net cost of snow to Township taxpayers. Related question: Why does Loyalist spend more than most similar towns on snow ploughing?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: For each year from 2019 to 2025: (1) the amount invoiced to or received from the County of Lennox and Addington under the Agreement for the Construction and Maintenance of County Roads and Bridges, by type of work (winter maintenance, summer maintenance, bridges and other); (2) the Township's total winter control cost on Township roads and on County roads, with the number of lane kilometres and routes; and (3) the winter maintenance reserve balance at December 31.

  Copy the wording

• Unpaid property taxes, by year and by taxing body

  Taxes receivable have risen from $2,630,170 in 2019 to $4,580,774 in 2025. The audited statements do not show how long the taxes have been owed or whose share they are. Related question: Why are so many property taxes unpaid?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: For December 31 of each year from 2019 to 2025: (1) the taxes receivable aged by the year the tax was levied (current year, one year, two years, three or more years); (2) the share belonging to the Township, the County of Lennox and Addington and the school boards; (3) the number of properties with taxes owing for three or more years; and (4) the total amount written off and the allowance for uncollectible taxes. I am not asking for the names of property owners.

  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

   Anyone can speak in the Open Forum on any item on the agenda (three minutes), or ask the Clerk at least seven days ahead to be a delegation (ten minutes). Agendas are published five days before a meeting.

2. Ask for the records

   Anyone can ask the Township for its records under freedom-of-information law, for a $5 application fee. The wording for useful requests is above.

3. Integrity Commissioner

   An outside lawyer (the firm Aird & Berlis) who looks into complaints that a council member broke the Code of Conduct or the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. The Township has a complaint form on its website and publishes the reports. The link on its page to the 2025 report did not work when we looked on October 1, 2026.

4. Closed meeting investigator

   Anyone can ask for an investigation into whether a closed meeting was allowed. The Township has named the Ontario Ombudsman as its investigator. The Ombudsman's September 2020 report on a July 8, 2019 closed meeting is on the same page.

5. Ontario Ombudsman

   Looks into complaints about how Ontario municipalities run their affairs. Free.