Council

Image of the 7 members of Port Hope Council

The current term of Council is 2022-2026. Our ward system is divided by the rural area (two council representatives), and the urban area (four council representatives). Find Council contact information below:

Olena Hankivsky - Mayor

Town Hall 905-885-4544
Email

Les Andrews

Ward 1 Councillor
Portfolio Chair of Finance

Corporate Cell 905-376-9050
Email

Todd Attridge

Ward 1 Councillor
Portfolio Chair of Planning and Development

Corporate Cell 905-376-4615
Email

Claire Holloway Wadhwani - Deputy Mayor

Deputy Mayor
Portfolio Chair of Works and Engineering

Corporate Cell 905-376-3648
Email

Adam Pearson

Ward 1 Councillor
Portfolio Chair of Parks, Recreation, and Culture

Corporate Cell 905-376-3241
Email

Vicki Mink

Ward 2 Councillor
Portfolio Chair of Corporate Services

Corporate Cell 905-376-3274
Email

Darrell Toms

Ward 2 Councillor
Portfolio Chair of Protective Services

Corporate Cell 905-376-5837
Email

The Municipality has a Code of Conduct for Members of Council and Local Boards that outlines the rules, roles, and responsibilities of the members to promote accountability and transparency in municipal governance.

The role of elected officials

The role of Council

In Ontario, a council is required to have a minimum of five members, one of whom is the Head of Council. The role of council is outlined in section 224 of the Municipal Act:

To represent the public and to consider the well-being and interests of the municipality;
To develop and evaluate the policies and programs of the municipality;
To determine which services the municipality provides;
To ensure that administrative policies, practices and procedures and controllership policies, practices and procedures are in place to implement the decisions of council;
To ensure the accountability and transparency of the operations of the municipality, including the activities of the senior management of the municipality;
To maintain the financial integrity of the municipality; and
To carry out the duties of council under this or any other Act.

In other words, the key responsibilities as a Councillor are to support the municipality and its operations while ensuring that the public and municipality’s well-being and interests are maintained.

Municipal councils have a broad range of responsibilities and may choose to organize their work using committee structures. At the Municipality of Port Hope, we use a Committee of the Whole structure as well as advisory committees made up of a mix of councillors and members of the public. These committees carry out the work of council and then report back to council with recommendations. Visit our Boards and Committees page for more information.

A committee of council is often subject to similar legislative requirements as council under the Act, such as having open meetings.

The role of Mayor

The Municipal Act, 2001, Section 225, identifies the Mayor’s responsibilities as follows:

To be head of the municipal council and to act as Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation.
To preside over council meetings.
To provide leadership to council.
To represent the municipality at official functions.
To carry out the duties of the Head of Council under this or any other Act.
To perform duties of a member of council as outlined in the Municipal Act, 2001, Section 224.

The Mayor also serves as a member of Northumberland County Council and is required to attend all regular and special meetings of County Council as well as any standing committees to which the Mayor is appointed.

In all decision-making the Mayor has, like all the other members of Council, one vote.

The role of Deputy Mayor

“Deputy Mayor” means the Member of Council appointed from amongst the Members of Council to act in the absence of the Mayor in accordance with the Deputy Mayor appointment schedule.

Deputy Mayor schedule for 2022 - 2026 term

As per the Procedural By-law, the Deputy Mayor is appointed on a rotating basis. The appointment schedule is determined alphabetically by the last name of the Member of Council. For the 2022-2026 term, both Councillors Andrews and Collins have requested to remove their names from consideration under the rotating appointment schedule. As such, the appointment schedule for Deputy Mayor in the 2022-2026 term of Council is:

Todd Attridge – Appointed as Deputy Mayor for 2023
Claire Holloway Wadhwani – Appointed as Deputy Mayor for 2024
Vicki Mink – Appointed as Deputy Mayor for 2025
Adam Pearson – Appointed as Deputy Mayor for 2026

Agendas and Minutes

Review upcoming and previous council meetings and their primary topics by reviewing the agenda and meeting minutes.

Go to Agendas and Minutes

Council Videos

Watch live and archived Council meetings, Committee of the Whole meetings and Special Council Meetings on our YouTube channel.

Watch our YouTube Channel

Connecting with Council

The public has the right to participate in the decision-making process. We are interested in what you have to say! Learn how you can have your voice heard by Council.

Connect with Council

Council eNewsletter

After each Council meeting, we issue an eNewsletter, highlighting the decisions and municipal business. Read the latest council eNewsletter .

Subscribe to council eNews

Mayor's Corner

Weekly updates from the Mayor's office highlighting important municipal business taking place each week.

View the Mayor's Corner

Council Announcements

Find the latest Council announcements and media releases happening in Port Hope.

Read the Council Announcements

2024 Council eNewsletter Archives

November

November 5 Council Meeting

October

October 15 Council Meeting

September

September 24 Council Meeting

September 3 Council Meeting

August

No regular Council Meetings in August due to summer break.

July

July 9 Council Meeting

June

June 18 Council Meeting was cancelled.

May

May 21 Council Meeting

May 7 Council Meeting

April

April 16 Council Meeting

March

March 26 Council Meeting

March 5 Council Meeting

February

February 13 Council Meeting

January

January 23 Council Meeting

Council meetings

Starting in 2024, Council has implemented a new Procedural By-law and will be implementing several changes to how business is considered. Council and Committee of the Whole meetings will be held on separate evenings, and there will be additional opportunities for public participation, including the ability to make a deputation to Council on a matter that is on that Council agenda. For more information on how to engage with Council, please see the Connecting with Council page.

Statutory Public meetings, as required, will take place on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. Council Meetings and Committee of the Whole Meetings will take place on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The 2024 Council and Committee of the Whole Calendar is also available for review.

The intent of Committee of the Whole is to discuss and deliberate Staff Reports, with final disposition and/or approval occurring at Council meetings. Presentations and deputations will also be heard at Council meetings.

These meetings are open to the public. Previous Council and Committee of the Whole meetings beginning March 1, 2016, may be viewed at our Municipality of Port Hope YouTube channel.

The Municipal Act, 2001 allows the Municipality to hold a Closed Meeting when the subject matter relates to certain specific topics. For these meetings, the public are not allowed to attend and they are not broadcast.

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