Not the full picture. Built from public records, which leave things out.Read by hand, Oct 2026Details
This is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date.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 youRead by hand. We read Russell'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
Russell 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
- MayorMike Tarnowskimiketarnowski@
russell.ca - CouncillorCharles Armstrongcharlesarmstrong@
russell.ca - CouncillorLisa Deaconlisadeacon@
russell.ca - CouncillorMarc Lalondemarclalonde@
russell.ca - CouncillorJamie Laurinjlaurin@
russell.ca
Names and official email addresses from the town's council page. None of the members lists a public social media account there.
How open is Russell?
What a resident can find online without asking, as of October 5, 2026.
- YesBudgets posted online
The 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 budget documents are posted as PDFs on the Budget and Finances page. The page also gives dates for the 2027 budget. Source
- YesAudited financial statements
The 2024 and 2025 consolidated statements are posted. Both carry a clean opinion ("present fairly") from chartered professional accountants in Hawkesbury, dated May 26, 2025 and May 25, 2026. Source
- UnknownCouncil pay and expenses (s. 284)
We did not find the yearly statement of council remuneration and expenses on the Township’s site pages, its sitemap or its site search. It may be in a council agenda that we could not read. Source
- UnknownMeeting agendas and minutes
Agendas and minutes are on the Township’s CivicWeb portal. That site’s robots.txt asks scripts not to read it, so we did not open it and we read no agendas or minutes. The Township says agendas are published the Wednesday before regular meetings. Source
- UnknownConflict of interest declarations
The Integrity Commissioner page says declarations of pecuniary interest can be found on the Council page. The council page we read lists members and contact details only. We did not see declarations. Source
Where the town speaks for itself
Russell'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.
- Township of Russell on Facebook
Linked from the footer of the Township’s website. We did not read it.
- Township of Russell on YouTube
Linked from the footer of the Township’s website. The council page says approved questions are read in the live broadcast and the official public recording of the meeting. We did not check where the recordings are posted.
- Township of Russell on Instagram
Linked from the footer of the Township’s website. We did not read it.
How to raise a concern
From the gentlest step to the most serious. Start at the top.
Integrity Commissioner
The Township says it has an independent Integrity Commissioner who handles Code of Conduct complaints about members of Council and reports to Council. We did not find any Integrity Commissioner reports on the page. The 2026 budget book’s Clerk statistics list one Integrity Commissioner complaint received in each of 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 (the 2025 count covers January to September).
Code of Conduct for Members of Council
The Township posts its Code of Conduct as a by-law.