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This is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date.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 Spanish'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
Spanish 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
- MayorKaren Von Pickartz
- Deputy MayorSandra Trudel
- CouncillorMary-Louise Zarichney
- CouncillorDebra Joncas
- CouncillorMelanie Talbot
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 Spanish?
What a resident can find online without asking, as of October 7, 2026.
- NoBudgets posted online
We did not find a 2026 budget, or any earlier budget, posted as its own document. The Treasury page links the 2025 and 2024 financial statements and a heading for 2024 tax rates. The 2025 budget figures can be read only as the unaudited budget column inside the 2025 statements. Source
- YesAudited financial statements
The 2025 and 2024 consolidated statements are posted. Both carry a clean opinion ("present fairly"). The auditors' reports are dated July 15, 2026 (for 2025) and November 19, 2025 (for 2024). Source
- NoCouncil pay and expenses (s. 284)
We did not find the yearly statement of remuneration and expenses on the pages we read. Source
- PartlyMeeting agendas and minutes
Agendas and minutes are listed as PDFs from January 2020 on one page. Of 28 minutes files we downloaded (June 25, 2025 to September 16, 2026), 24 are pictures of pages with no text in them, so they cannot be searched or read by software. The four readable ones are marked draft. Agenda files are two pages long and list the reports without including them. Source
- UnknownRegistry of declarations of pecuniary interest
We did not find a registry on the pages we read. Council meetings open with a call for declarations; the draft minutes we could read record none at three meetings in July and September 2026. Source
How to raise a concern
From the gentlest step to the most serious. Start at the top.
Integrity Commissioner
The Town posts an Integrity Commissioner protocol policy and a code of conduct on its by-laws and policies page. The agenda for the October 7, 2026 meeting lists a notice of retirement from the firm that provides Integrity Commissioner services. We did not find any Integrity Commissioner reports on the pages we read.
Compliance Audit Committee for the 2026 election
The draft minutes of the September 2, 2026 meeting show council passed a by-law to set up a Compliance Audit Committee for the 2026 municipal election.