Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

St Thomas is run by an elected council of 9 people. They set the budget, approve big purchases and hire the senior staff who run the city day to day.

Current council

• MayorJoe Preston
• CouncillorEarl Taylor
• CouncillorGary Clarke
• CouncillorJim Herbert
• CouncillorJeff Kohler
• CouncillorJoan Rymal
• CouncillorLori Baldwin-Sands
• CouncillorRose Gibson
• CouncillorSteve Wookey

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

• Yes
  Budgets posted online

  The 2026 Budget Book and the 2025, 2024 and earlier approved or draft budgets are posted as PDFs on one page. We did not find the date Council adopted the 2026 budget in the book. Source

• Yes
  Audited financial statements

  The 2025 consolidated statements (audit report dated August 10, 2026) and the 2024 statements (dated September 2, 2025) are posted, with earlier years also listed. Both opinions say the statements "present fairly", with no qualification. Source

• Unknown
  Council pay and expenses (s. 284)

  We did not find a yearly statement of council remuneration and expenses on the finance, budget, council or plans-and-reports pages. It may be elsewhere on the site, so we have not filled in a council pay table. Source

• Unknown
  Meeting agendas and minutes

  The Council page points to an "Agendas and Minutes" page and a City events calendar. We did not open the agendas or minutes, so we cannot say whether minutes are up to date. The City says meetings are streamed live. Source

• Unknown
  Integrity Commissioner and closed meeting reports

  The budget book has a $5,000 line for an Integrity Commissioner / Investigator. We did not find any reports from one. Source

• Keeping Track: Council Highlights

  The City says it posts a short PDF summary of key decisions from each Council meeting the day after, listed on its Council Highlights page. Meetings are also streamed live, as the City's Council Meetings page says.

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

• Cost estimate and financing plan for the Dalewood Water Reclamation Facility and the new development area

  Note 20 gives about $440,000,000 to finish servicing (the 2024 note gave $245,000,000) and about $167,000,000 of expected long-term financing. The report that supports the estimate, and the financing plan, would show what changed. Related question: Why did the City's estimate to finish servicing its new development area grow from $245,000,000 to $440,000,000 in one year?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the most recent staff reports to Council and the cost estimate and financing plan for the Dalewood Water Reclamation Facility and the servicing of the new development area, including any estimate that supports the figures in Note 20 of the 2025 consolidated financial statements and the earlier estimate in Note 18 of the 2024 statements.

  Copy the wording

• Agreements and amounts for land conveyed or sold in the new development area

  Note 20 says the project costs are shown net of $379,000,000 of land costs conveyed or sold, and the 2024 statements show a $26,587,210 loss on disposal. Related question: What became of the $379,000,000 of land the City says it conveyed or sold, and what was the $26,587,210 loss on disposals in 2024?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request a list of the land conveyed or sold by the City in 2024 and 2025 in connection with the new development area, showing for each parcel the date, the buyer or recipient, the cost to the City, the price or other consideration received, and the staff report or Council resolution authorizing it, together with the accounting entry for the loss on disposal of $26,587,210 in the 2024 statements.

  Copy the wording

• Police legal fees, by matter type, 2023 to 2025

  The police legal fees and expenses line was $43,543 in 2023 and $77,468 in 2024, against a budget of $5,000 each year. Related question: Why were police legal fees many times their $5,000 budget in 2023 and 2024, and why is the budget still $5,000?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request a summary of the amounts charged to the St. Thomas Police Service account "Legal Fees & Expenses" in 2023, 2024 and 2025, showing the date, the amount and the general type of matter (for example labour relations, claims or oversight), without any privileged or personal details.

  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. Integrity Commissioner / Investigator (budget line only)

   The 2026 budget book carries a $5,000 line called "Integrity Commissioner / Investigator" under City Council, with no spending shown for 2023, 2024 or the 2025 year to date. We did not find any Integrity Commissioner or closed meeting investigator reports on the pages we read.

2. Freedom of information

   The City posts a request form and says the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act applies; appeals go to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.