Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

Quinte West is run by an elected council of 13 people. They set the budget, approve big purchases and hire the senior staff who run the city day to day.

Current council

• MayorJim Harrisonmayor@quintewest.ca
• Councillor, Ward 1 (Trenton)Duncan Armstrongduncan.armstrong@quintewest.ca
• Councillor, Ward 1 (Trenton)Zack Cardzack.card@quintewest.ca
• Councillor, Ward 1 (Trenton)Leslie Rosebladeleslie.roseblade@quintewest.ca
• Councillor, Ward 1 (Trenton)Michael Kotsovosmichael.kotsovos@quintewest.ca
• Councillor, Ward 1 (Trenton)David O’Neildavid.oneil@quintewest.ca
• Councillor, Ward 2 (Sidney)Egerton Boyceegerton.boyce@quintewest.ca
• Councillor, Ward 2 (Sidney)Don Kuntzedon.kuntze@quintewest.ca
• Councillor, Ward 2 (Sidney)Karen Sharpekaren.sharpe@quintewest.ca
• Councillor, Ward 2 (Sidney)Shelley Stedallshelley.stedall@quintewest.ca
• Councillor, Ward 3 (Murray)Jim Alyeajim.alyea@quintewest.ca
• Councillor, Ward 3 (Murray)David McCuedavid.mccue@quintewest.ca
• Councillor, Ward 4 (Frankford)Lynda Reidlynda.reid@quintewest.ca

Names and official email addresses from the city'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 city to city; the note below says what this city’s statement includes. Some members take the city’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 city's statement. From the yearly staff reports to council under the Municipal Act, s. 284 (the 2025 report was received on March 4, 2026). “pay” is the salary column. “other” is everything else on the line: travel and mileage, seminar, meeting and conference fees, and the Lower Trent and Quinte conservation, police or OPP detachment board payments (for example $3,438.09 each to two councillors in 2025). The statements print first names in short forms (“James”, “William”); we use the names on the City’s council page. The Deputy Mayor extra pay was removed from January 1, 2023 (By-law 23-004), and the position has rotated among members, so no one is shown as Deputy Mayor. Councillor Sally Freeman is on the 2025 statement for part of the year; the Ward 1 vacancy was filled by the appointment of Leslie Roseblade in November 2025. The Mayor’s pay is normally 2.5 times a councillor’s (2022 and 2023). Printed pay was lower than that in 2024 and higher in 2025; the statements do not say why. We did not use the 2022 statement because it covers two councils.

• Yes
  Budgets posted online

  The 2024, 2025 and 2026 budget books (and separate water and wastewater books) are posted, with department tables, capital project sheets, reserves and debt. The 2025 book won a budget award from the Government Finance Officers Association. The City says budgets before 2023 are available on request. Source

• Yes
  Budget process explained

  The 2026 book says the Mayor must table the budget under Ontario’s strong mayor rules, that council shortened its 30-day amendment period to 7 days by resolution (December 4 to 11, 2025), and that the Mayor did not use a veto. Draft budgets are posted before the special budget meetings. Source

• Yes
  Meeting agendas and minutes

  Full agenda packages and approved minutes for council and committees are on the CivicWeb portal back to 2015. Council minutes were up to July 15, 2026 and the September 23 agenda was posted when we looked. The August 12, 2026 minutes are listed as adopted but their link returned “not found” on October 1, 2026. Minutes for March 5 and April 2, 2025 are scanned images with no searchable text. Source

• Yes
  Meeting videos posted

  All 14 regular council meetings from January 21 to September 23, 2026 are on the City’s YouTube channel, plus December 3 and 17, 2025. We could list only the newest 100 uploads, which reach back to December 3, 2025, so we do not know how far back the videos go. Source

• Yes
  Council pay and expenses

  A staff report with every member’s salary, travel, seminar and board pay goes to council each March, as the law asks. We found 2022 to 2025 in the agenda packages and in local news; we did not find a link to them on the City’s website. Source

• No
  Conflicts of interest registry online

  The City’s page says the registry of declarations is open for public inspection at the Legislative Services Office in City Hall, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. We did not find an online copy. The minutes list each declaration, but since May 2024 not what it is about. Source

• Partly
  Closed meetings reported in public

  Every closed item is listed on the agenda and in the minutes with its staff report number, the department and the legal reason. Closed minutes are approved at the next open meeting. The open minutes do not say what was decided, and the closed minutes are not published. Source

• Partly
  Audited financial statements

  The 2025 statements (auditor’s report June 23, 2026, clean opinion) and 2017 to 2023 are posted. The 2024 statements are not in the list, although council approved the 2024 draft on May 21, 2025. The City’s page says past statements are available by request. Source

• Yes
  Tenders and contract awards

  Bids of $100,000 or more are posted on the City’s bids and tenders site. Each quarter a staff report lists the formal bids and, with supplier name, amount, date and reason, every single or sole-source purchase. For 2025 it reports over 40 formal projects and about $69 million awarded across formal and informal purchases. Source

• Yes
  Budget-to-actual reports

  Quarterly operating and capital updates go to council in open session, department by department, with the reasons for large differences. The fourth-quarter 2025 update was on the March 4, 2026 agenda. Source

• Unknown
  2022 election candidate financial statements

  We did not find the 2022 candidates’ statements online. The City’s election site says candidates file them with the clerk. We did not ask the clerk. Source

• Council and committee portal (CivicWeb)

  Agendas, minutes, the document library and the meeting calendar for council and its committees. The City’s council page links to it.

• YouTube: City of Quinte West

  Council and committee meetings are posted here, usually the next day. Every regular council meeting from January 21 to September 23, 2026 was up when we looked. The City’s council page links to this channel.

• News and notices

  Official news, legislative notices and council highlights, on the City’s website.

• Get Involved Quinte West

  The City’s engagement site, used for budget surveys and questions to staff.

• Quinte West Votes

  The City’s site for the October 26, 2026 election: voting, candidates and dates.

• Facebook

  The City’s Facebook page, linked from its website.

• Instagram

  The City’s Instagram account, linked from its website.

• X (Twitter)

  The City’s account, linked from its website.

• LinkedIn

  The City’s LinkedIn page, linked from its website.

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

• Every payment the City 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 City of Quinte West 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 is in the cost of running the City’s offices

  The Province’s return shows the cost of general government rising 70% from 2019 to 2025. The budget shows net amounts by department. These records would show what the gross cost is made of and what is charged out to other departments. Related question: Why did the cost of running the city office grow 70% in 6 years?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: For each year 2019 to 2025, for the departments reported as general government (Council and CAO, Finance, Human Resources, Corporate Services and other corporate or program support costs): the general ledger totals by account (salaries and benefits, contracted services, grants and transfers, materials), the year-end number of full-time equivalent positions, the internal shared costs charged to other departments and to water and wastewater, and a list of the grants and transfers paid in 2024 and 2025 with payee and amount.

  Copy the wording

• Lawsuits and legal fees

  The audited statements record $1,341,822 for lawsuits at the end of 2025, up from $600,192. A general list of claims and the fees paid is not legal advice, so it can usually be released even when the advice itself cannot. Related question: What lawsuits is Quinte West defending, and why did the money set aside for them more than double in 2025?.

  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: (1) the total paid in each year to each law firm or other professional charged to legal fees, with the general type of work; (2) a list of lawsuits and claims against the City, showing for each the year it began, the general type (for example roads and sidewalks, planning, employment, contract), the amount claimed and whether insurance has accepted it; (3) the working paper showing how the litigation accrual of $1,341,822 at December 31, 2025 and $600,192 at December 31, 2024 was calculated. I am not asking for the content of any legal advice or solicitor-client communication.

  Copy the wording

• The Integrity Commissioner’s 2023 investigation

  The Integrity Commissioner recommended a public apology and a 15-day pay suspension in a report received in January 2024. The minutes do not record the cost or whether these were carried out. Related question: Was the Integrity Commissioner’s recommended penalty for the Mayor carried out, and what did the investigation cost?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Records about the Integrity Commissioner’s Code of Conduct complaint report dated December 6, 2023: the invoices paid to the Integrity Commissioner for that investigation; any record of the public apology recommended in the report; and the payroll records showing the dates and amount of the suspension of the Mayor’s pay.

  Copy the wording

• The registry of declarations of interest

  The minutes list who declared a conflict but, since May 2024, not what it was about. The City says the registry is kept at City Hall. Related question: Why do council minutes no longer say what a declared conflict of interest is about?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: A copy of the registry of declarations of interest kept under section 6.1 of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act from January 1, 2024 to the date of this request, including each written statement filed under section 5.1 and each declaration recorded under section 6, with the general nature of each interest.

  Copy the wording

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

1. Speak to council

   Anyone can speak in the public input period at a council meeting, in person or online, or register as a delegation (noon, one week before; three delegations of 10 minutes each per meeting). Written comments go to the clerk by 8 a.m. on the day.

2. Ask for the records

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

3. Integrity Commissioner

   An outside lawyer who looks into complaints that a council member broke the Code of Conduct or the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. The City’s page says to ask the clerk’s office. That page was last updated years ago, and council passed a by-law appointing an Integrity Commissioner on April 16, 2025 (By-law 25-027), so ask the clerk who holds the role now. Reports are made public at council.

4. Closed meeting investigator

   Anyone can ask for an investigation into whether a closed meeting was allowed. The City has appointed Local Authority Services (LAS) as its investigator.

5. Ontario Ombudsman

   Looks into complaints about how Ontario municipalities run their affairs, once local options are used up. Free.