Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

Perry 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

• MayorNorm Hofstetter
• CouncillorJoe Lumley
• CouncillorJim Cushman
• CouncillorMargaret Ann MacPhail
• CouncillorPaul Sowrey

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

• Partly
  Budgets posted online

  The Finance page lists budget by-laws and budget presentations for 2022 to 2026. The 2026 budget by-law and the 2026 budget presentation are scans or have text that prints labels and numbers in separate blocks, so we used no figure from them. Source

• Yes
  Audited financial statements

  The Finance page lists consolidated statements for 2021 to 2025. The 2025 statements carry a clean opinion ("present fairly") from Doane Grant Thornton LLP, dated May 20, 2026. The 2024 statements carry the same kind of opinion, with a report date of June 4, 2025. Source

• Unknown
  Council pay and expenses (s. 284)

  We did not find a yearly statement of council pay and expenses on the Mayor & Council, Finance, By-laws or Policies pages. The minutes we opened show a by-law setting pay rates was passed in 2026, but we did not read it. Source

• Yes
  Meeting agendas and minutes

  Agendas and minutes are posted as PDFs on one page, from January 2024 on. When we looked, the agenda for October 7, 2026 was posted. Minutes are marked as draft until approved. We did not see meeting videos. Source

• Yes
  Conflict of interest registry

  The Mayor & Council page posts a registry of declarations for 2025 and 2026 and says to ask the Clerk-Administrator for 2019 to 2024. Source

• Yes
  Tender results

  The Bids and Tenders page posts results for 2024 and 2025 closed tenders, with who was awarded each one. It does not print amounts. Source

• Partly
  Closed meetings

  Of the 35 regular meetings from January 2025 to September 2026 whose minutes we opened, 11 went into closed session. The minutes name the reason under the Municipal Act and say when council came back. They give no detail of what was decided in private. Source

• Township of Perry on Facebook

  The Township links this page from its website. Its home page shows notices posted from it, such as council agenda reminders.

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

• Novar covered rink change orders

  To see the total cost of the rink, counting every change order.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Please send a list of every change order on Contract 2025-011 (Novar covered rink), with its number, date, reason and amount, and the current total contract value.

  Copy the wording

• Outstanding claim named in the 2024 statements

  To learn whether the $5,500,000 claim is still open.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Please say whether the claim of $5,500,000 named in Note 15 of the 2024 financial statements is still outstanding, and if it ended, how and at what cost to the Township.

  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 it has an Integrity Commissioner and links the Code of Conduct, the Integrity Commissioner protocol and the complaint forms. We did not find any Integrity Commissioner reports posted on the page.

2. Closed meeting investigator

   The Township's page says the Ontario Ombudsman is its closed meeting investigator and explains how to complain.