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Not the full picture. Built from public records, which leave things out.Read by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date. Check the sources, and tell us if you spot a mistake. What this site can't tell you
Read by hand. We read Pembroke's own documents for this site in October 2026; the Sources page lists which ones. The comparisons with other places still come from the Province's yearly reports.

Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

Pembroke is run by an elected council of 7 people. They set the budget, approve big purchases and hire the senior staff who run the city day to day.

Current council

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

How open is Pembroke?

What a resident can find online without asking, as of October 5, 2026.

  • Yes
    Budgets posted online

    The 2026 budget presentation (January 13, 2026), the 2025 detailed budget and presentation and a three-year detailed budget history are posted as PDFs on one page. The City posts the 2027 budget dates on its Engage Pembroke page. Source

  • Partly
    Audited financial statements

    Statements for 2020 to 2024 are posted, each with a clean opinion ("present fairly") for the two we read closely (2023 and 2024). The newest posted, for 2024, has an auditor's report dated December 16, 2025. We did not find 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 budget page, the council pages or the plans and reports page. We did not search the meeting portal, which we could not read. Source

  • Unknown
    Meeting agendas and minutes

    The City says agendas and minutes are on its meeting calendar site. That site returned a security block page to a plain script download, with no robots.txt to read, so we did not read any agendas or minutes. Source

  • Yes
    Integrity Commissioner reports

    Six reports and letters are posted, from March 24, 2023 to July 2, 2025. Source

Where the city speaks for itself

Pembroke's official channels, as linked from its own website. Council members may also post on their own pages; we link only to official municipal channels.

Ask for the records

Anyone can ask the city for its records under Ontario's Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). You do not have to say why. Here is how it works, and the wording for the records that would answer the questions on this site.

  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

  • Audit planning letters and timelines for 2022 to 2025

    The auditor's reports are dated October 17, 2023, January 7, 2025 and December 16, 2025. The auditor's planning letter and any audit committee or Council report shows when each audit was planned to finish. Related question: Why are the City's audited financial statements signed a full year after the year they cover, and later each year?.

    Show the request wordingHide the wording
    Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the external auditor's engagement or planning letters and any staff reports to Council on the timing of the audit of the City's consolidated financial statements for the years 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

  • Schedule of new debt planned for 2026 projects

    Slide 31 of the 2026 budget gives $7,832,958 of debt, and slide 40 gives interest rate and maturity as TBD for the new projects. Related question: How much will the City borrow for its 2026 projects, and why does the budget show debt at $9M while also planning $7.8M of new debt?.

    Show the request wordingHide the wording
    Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the City's schedule of debt planned for the 2026 capital budget by project, with amounts, expected terms and the Annual Repayment Limit calculation used in the 2026 budget.

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

How to raise a concern

From the gentlest step to the most serious. Start at the top.

  1. Integrity Commissioner

    The City names an Integrity Commissioner for Code of Conduct complaints and posts six reports and letters on one page, dated from March 24, 2023 to July 2, 2025. A formal complaint costs $150 to file, with a partial refund possible in some cases.

  2. Strong Mayor Powers

    The City says the Mayor has strong-mayor powers under the Municipal Act, 2001, including proposing the budget, and posts the Mayor's written decisions on one page.