Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

Minden Hills 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

• MayorBob Carter
• Deputy MayorLisa Schell
• Councillor at LargeTammy McKelvey
• Councillor, Ward 1Ivan Ingram
• Councillor, Ward 1Shirley Johannessen
• Councillor, Ward 2Pam Sayne
• Councillor, Ward 3Bob Sisson

Names and official email addresses from the town's council page. None of the members lists a public social media account there.

• Yes
  Budgets posted online

  A 2026 budget presentation (the mayor's proposed budget), 2025 and 2024 tax-supported budget summaries, and older budget books are posted. We did not find a posted 2026 budget as finally adopted after the mayor's vetoes. Source

• Partly
  Audited financial statements

  Auditor's reports with statements are posted for 2018 to 2023. We did not find 2024 or 2025 statements on the page we read on October 5, 2026. Source

• Unknown
  Council pay and expenses (s. 284)

  We did not find a yearly statement of council pay and expenses on the Township's website. It may be in a council agenda, which we could not read. Source

• Unknown
  Meeting agendas and minutes

  Agendas and minutes are on a CivicWeb portal. That site's robots.txt asks all automated visitors to stay out of every page, so we read none of them. Source

• No
  Conflict-of-interest registry online

  The Township says the registry is available for viewing at the Township Office. Source

• Unknown
  Integrity Commissioner and closed meeting reports

  The Integrity Commissioner page names the office and links the Code of Conduct and complaint forms. We found no reports. Source

• Council meeting live-stream (CivicWeb portal)

  The Township's own notices say people can watch council meetings by a live-stream link at the top of each agenda on its CivicWeb portal. We could not open the portal (see the notes), so we did not check whether recordings are kept.

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

• Result of the January 29, 2026 special meeting on the mayoral vetoes

  The Township gave notice that council would consider overrides of eight vetoes. We could not read the minutes and did not find the outcome. Related question: What was the outcome of the eight 2026 budget changes the mayor vetoed, and did council override them?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the minutes and recorded votes of the special council meeting of January 29, 2026 on the proposed overrides of the mayoral veto decisions dated January 16, 2026, and the 2026 tax levy by-law with the final levy and tax increase.

  Copy the wording

• Engineering reports and cost estimates for the Scotch Line landfill

  The 2023 statements say the cost of the leachate seeps could not be estimated. Later budgets list landfill and transfer station projects. Related question: What will the leachate seeps at the Scotch Line landfill cost, and how is the Township paying for them?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request any engineering or consultant reports, cost estimates and council reports from 2023 to date about the leachate seeps at the Scotch Line landfill site, and the project budgets for the Scotch Line landfill and transfer station projects.

  Copy the wording

• Audited financial statements for 2024 and 2025

  The latest statements posted on the website are for 2023. Related question: Why are the Township's audited statements signed so long after year end, and where are 2024 and 2025?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the audited consolidated financial statements and auditor's reports for the years ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2025, with the date council received each.

  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 Township says Council appointed Aird & Berlis LLP as its Integrity Commissioner, who gives advice, investigates Code of Conduct complaints and can recommend penalties. We did not find any Integrity Commissioner reports on the Township's pages.

2. Registry of declarations of pecuniary interest

   The Township says the registry required by the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act can be viewed at the Township Office, in the Clerk's Office. It does not say it is online.