Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

Marmora and Lake 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

• MayorJan O’Neilljoneill@marmoraandlake.ca
• Deputy MayorMike Stevensmstevens@marmoraandlake.ca
• CouncillorEric Daoustedaoust@marmoraandlake.ca
• CouncillorRon Derryrderry@marmoraandlake.ca
• Councillor (appointed July 7, 2026, after Jane Lakatos resigned)Bernie Donaldsonbdonaldson@marmoraandlake.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. Typed by hand from the treasurer’s yearly Statement of Remuneration and Expenses for Council (Municipal Act s. 284), found in the council agenda packages. “Pay” is the Remuneration column. “Other” is everything else in each member’s total: the town’s employer costs and benefits, communication, conferences and training, mileage, and per diems paid by conservation authorities. The Mayor’s conference and training spending was higher than other members’ in 2022 to 2025 ($3,020 to $6,336 a year); no member’s total is unusual for a town this size. The 2022 statement covers two councils: Jason Carman and Bernie Donaldson sat to November 14, 2022; Eric Daoust and Jane Lakatos from November 15, 2022.

• Yes
  Agendas and minutes online

  The meeting portal (CivicWeb) has agendas, full agenda packages and minutes back to January 2021. Of the 113 council meetings held from November 15, 2022 to September 22, 2026, we found minutes for 109. Missing: a special meeting on January 26, 2026, and three September 2026 meetings that council has not yet approved minutes for. Source

• Partly
  Meeting videos

  Council meetings are streamed live on YouTube and the 15 most recent uploads (back to August 4, 2026) are there. We did not check how long older videos are kept. Source

• Yes
  Budgets posted online

  Draft and final budgets for 2022 to 2026 are posted, plus a 2026 Draft Budget Report written by the treasurer in plain language, and a 2025 Asset Management Plan. Source

• Yes
  Audited financial statements

  Statements for 2009 to 2024 are in a folder linked from the Finance page. The 2024 audit report is dated November 25, 2025, with a clean opinion. The 2025 statements are in draft in the October 6, 2026 council agenda. We did not find the 2025 yearly return to the Province in the Province’s data. Source

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

  The treasurer reports each member’s pay and expenses to council every March. We found the 2021 to 2025 statements inside the agenda packages. We did not find them as a separate page on the town’s website. Source

• Yes
  Conflict-of-interest declarations

  The town keeps the signed forms in a public folder: 26 forms from 2019 to August 2025 (22 of them since the 2022 election). Declarations are also in the minutes. Source

• Partly
  Closed meetings

  Minutes name the legal reason and a short topic for each closed session, and have a “Reporting out of closed” item. The usual public report is one line: staff follow the direction of Council made in closed session. Source

• Partly
  Tender and contract results

  Council awards tenders and proposals in public motions that name the winner and often the amount. The town’s Tenders + RFPs page said “No blog posts yet” when we looked, and we found no list of all contracts. Source

• Yes
  Election finances

  Scanned 2022 and 2018 candidate financial statements are posted. One 2022 candidate is listed as in default for not filing. Source

• Yes
  Freedom-of-information requests

  The town explains how to file a request: a form, a $5 application fee, and a 30-day answer time. Source

• Council meetings, live on YouTube

  The town streams council meetings live and posts them (Part 1 and Part 2 for long meetings).

• Facebook: Municipality of Marmora and Lake

  Notices, road work and events, run by the town.

• Mayor’s Report

  A short written report on the Mayor’s meetings after most council meetings.

• Town news and email updates

  Announcements, planning notices and a sign-up for email updates.

• LinkedIn: Municipality of Marmora and Lake

  Job postings and announcements.

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 yearly reports give totals by service, not who was paid. A list of payments shows 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 Marmora and Lake 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

• What the legal fees were for

  The 2024 budget set aside $100,000 for legal costs about the union, and the statements mention several lawsuits. Who was paid, and for what general type of work, is not legal advice, so it can usually be released even when the advice cannot. Related question: What are the town’s lawsuits and union talks, and what do they cost?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: For 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 to the date of this request, the total paid by the Municipality of Marmora and Lake in each year to each law firm or other professional whose fees were charged to legal or professional fees, and for each the general type of work (for example labour relations, planning, claims against the municipality, by-law enforcement or general advice). I am not asking for the content of any legal advice or solicitor-client communication.

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• What the CAO searches and interim arrangements cost

  The CAO position has been filled by interim or acting people in 2024 and again from August 2026. The costs of search firms, severance-type payments and interim contracts are not in the budget notes. Related question: Why has the town changed its top administrator so often since 2024?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: For January 1, 2024 to the date of this request, the amounts paid by the Municipality of Marmora and Lake for executive search or recruitment services for the Chief Administrative Officer position, for any interim or acting Chief Administrative Officer (including any contract fees), and the contract with the executive search firm. Personal information about individual employees can be removed.

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• Road costs by account, 2019 to 2025

  The Province’s numbers lump roads, snow and transit together. The ledger shows which accounts grew. Related question: Why did the cost of roads and snow grow 49% in 5 years?.

  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, the budget and actual amounts for each general ledger account in the Transportation Services department of the Municipality of Marmora and Lake (for example wages, fuel, gravel, equipment repairs, contracted services, debt payments and transfers to reserves), and a list of road resurfacing and rebuilding projects completed in each year with their final costs.

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• How industrial land is priced

  Four acres of the industrial park sold for $200,000 in August 2025. The price basis is not in the public package. Related question: How was the price set for the town’s industrial land, when a councillor owns land in the same park?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Any appraisal, valuation, staff report, offer or comparable-sales information used to set the price of $50,000 per acre in By-law 2025-49 (sale of 4.0 acres of industrial land to EMCON Services Inc.), and any policy the Municipality uses to price land in the Marmora Industrial Park.

  Copy the wording

• Council expense claims

  The yearly statements give one total per member for conferences, training and mileage. The claims show what the money was spent on.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Copies of the expense claims and supporting receipts for conferences, training, mileage, out-of-town meetings and any other reimbursements paid to members of Marmora and Lake council in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Personal information such as home addresses or banking details can be removed.

  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

   An outside lawyer appointed in June 2025 for four years. Anyone can file a written, signed complaint about a council member’s conduct with the Clerk. The town’s page lists no past reports.

2. Closed meeting investigator

   AMO Local Authority Services (with a law firm) investigates complaints that council met in private when it should not have. The town’s page lists no past reports.

3. Code of Conduct for Members of Council

   The rules the Integrity Commissioner applies.

4. Declarations of pecuniary interest

   Signed forms from council members who stepped out of a decision because of a personal money interest.