How council uses its power · Fire department · Town money, debt and taxes

How Mayor Grantham used the powers of office

Full title: Colin Grantham Use of Office & Code of Conduct · Written by John Farrugia

First publishedOctober 16, 2026

Last updatedOctober 27, 2026

Records checked up toOctober 17, 2026

Full report49 pages, with every source

This report compares what Mayor Colin Grantham did during his 2022-2026 term with council's rules about how members may use the power of their office.

What happened

The Mayor said at a council meeting that he alone approved an extra $125 toward the housing payment for the town's top staff member, said it should have come to Council, and apologized.
Two weeks later he used his special strong-mayor powers to order an outside audit of that same housing arrangement, and while chairing he rejected a councillor's argument that he should not lead it.
He has said in public that his daughter is a volunteer firefighter, and in 2024 he declared a conflict on firefighter pay on the Integrity Commissioner's advice.
His 2026 budget set a larger total for station firefighter pay with no declaration recorded, but the record does not show that any firefighter's rate of pay went up.
The record also shows the other side: he handed most strong-mayor powers back, used no vetoes, declared interests at times, and often stepped out of the chair before arguing for his own motions.

Why it matters to you

Residents expect the mayor to follow council's rules, especially when family or personal interests are involved. The report says this is fair material for holding an elected official to account, but it is not proof of wrongdoing.

Words with a dotted underline: tap them to see what they mean.

What the evidence shows

Shown in recordsTown documents, minutes or other official records show this.Reported, not provenSaid in the news, by a person, or claimed in court. Not proven by records.Still unansweredA question the records do not answer yet.

Shown in recordsThe October 6, 2025 minutes record him saying the extra $125 toward the interim CAO's housing was his own decision and should have come to Council; he apologized and no motion followed. page 5
Shown in recordsOn October 20, 2025 he issued Mayoral Decision 2025-06 to have staff hire MNP to audit the CAO's housing expenses; no one has decided whether his earlier role created a conflict. page 5
Shown in recordsIn December 2024 he moved to hire a consultant without other bids while saying the purchasing rules did not allow it; the committee passed it, and the record does not show a rule was broken. page 10
Shown in recordsHe moved to send a parking issue on Riverview Drive, the street where he said he lives, to a committee; the minutes record no declaration of interest. page 10
Reported, not provenTwice he described closed-door matters in public, including telling myFM in 2026 that Council's legal advice was 'you're going to lose'; whether this broke the rules is not decided. page 8
Reported, not provenHe said in public at a March 2025 Police Service Board meeting that his daughter is a volunteer firefighter. page 14
Shown in recordsHis 2026 budget set station firefighter pay at $770,000 in total, 17% above the reduced 2025 budget and about 9% above 2024 spending, with no declaration recorded; it is not shown to be a raise in pay rates. page 14
Shown in recordsOn July 7, 2025 he handed most strong-mayor powers to Council or the CAO, and no vetoes are recorded. page 12
Shown in recordsNo Integrity Commissioner report, penalty, court application under the conflict law, or Ombudsman report about him was found. page 4
Still unansweredWhether preparing the 2026 budget broke the conflict law's strong-mayor rule (section 5.3) is a legal question no one has tested. page 17

Still unanswered

Whether the 2026 budget was a matter where he had a money interest under Ontario's conflict law; no one has tested this, and a judge or the Integrity Commissioner could decide it.
Whether any firefighter's pay actually went up, because the town does not publish the dollar value of a pay point.
When the $125 decision was made, and whether strong-mayor powers gave him any authority to make it.
The results of the outside audit of the CAO's housing costs, and when the interim CAO signed his agreement.

What's in the full report

Publication details page 1
Correction notice page 1
What the record shows page 2
What the record also shows page 2
Summary of the public record page 3
Official findings page 4
Scope page 4
The CAO: housing payment, audit and appointments page 5
Closed-door meetings and confidential information page 8
Chairing and meeting rules page 9
Spending, purchasing and interests page 10
Strong-mayor powers page 12
Firefighter pay and the 2026 budget page 14
The ethical question page 16
What the law asks, and what is not established page 17
Public statements page 18
Words explained page 19
Discussion timeline page 21
What the record shows, rule by rule page 24
Claims checked and not supported page 25
How this review was done, and its limits page 26
Recording coverage page 28
References - clickable links page 42
Updates and corrections page 46

Words used in this report

CAO (Chief Administrative Officer): The town's top staff member.
Strong-mayor powers: Extra powers the province gave some mayors, including Strathroy-Caradoc's from May 1, 2025, such as preparing the budget and giving staff written orders.
Mayoral Decision: A written order the mayor issues using strong-mayor powers; it must be published.
Integrity Commissioner: An independent officer who gives council members ethics advice and looks into complaints about them.
Money interest (pecuniary interest): A financial stake in how a decision turns out; under the law a child's money interest counts as the member's own if the member knows of it.
Declaration of interest: A member saying at a meeting that they have a conflict on an item.
Sole-source: Hiring a supplier directly, without asking others to bid.
Closed session (in-camera): A part of a meeting the public cannot attend, allowed only for certain topics like legal advice or personnel.
Recorded vote and voice vote: In a recorded vote the minutes list each member's vote; in a voice vote members answer aloud and the minutes do not show who voted which way.
Veto: The power to block a decision; Council can overrule a strong-mayor budget veto with a two-thirds vote.

Updates and corrections

Every change to this report is listed here. An Update adds new information. A Correction fixes a mistake. A Minor change is wording, layout or branding only.

Minor change October 27, 2026
The contact email for questions and corrections is now StrathroyCouncilWatch@gmail.com. Nothing else changed.
Minor change October 19, 2026
The publication logo was replaced with the new approved Council Watch logo; no text, findings or sources changed.
Update October 18, 2026
Added his February 19, 2025 and March 31, 2025 radio statements about when the interim CAO's agreement was signed, side by side; the record does not show that either statement was inaccurate.
Minor change October 18, 2026
Council Watch branding, an 'About this review' box, clickable citations and fuller recording references were added; findings and the research cutoff did not change.
Correction October 18, 2026
A recording time range for the February 17, 2026 meeting was corrected because the quoted reply fell outside the printed range.
Correction October 18, 2026
Wording about the dropped full-time firefighter plan was corrected: it was dropped in a 6% budget trim moved by Councillor Brennan, seconded by Deputy Mayor McGuire and carried without a recorded vote, so the Mayor's own position is not known.
Update October 17, 2026
Added an About box and a 'What the record also shows' list on the front page; those points were already in the body of the report.
Correction October 17, 2026
The share of new calls that were medical was qualified: a 2022 county chart counts calls differently, so the exact share is uncertain.
Update October 17, 2026
Added the 2023-2024 medical-call decisions, call and pay patterns by station, the dropped 2023 plan for full-time firefighters, the Fire Chief's comments on keeping volunteers, and the by-law saying Council sets volunteer pay.
Update October 17, 2026
Added firefighter pay figures for several years, including a March 2024 plan that projected 2026 pay within 1% of the budgeted $770,000, and the rise in fire calls.
Minor change October 16, 2026
The report was rewritten in plain language with a 'Words explained' list; no figures, quotations, sources or findings changed. (dated October 16-17, 2026 in the report)
Update October 16, 2026
Added that the value of a pay point is not published and that Council gets briefings the minutes do not record; a privately supplied account added that evening was removed because it is not in the public record.
Correction October 16, 2026
The report had said his 2026 budget raised station firefighter pay 17%; it now says the 17% is the rise in the total pay pool over the reduced 2025 budget, and the record does not show any firefighter's rate rose. The conflict question stays open.
Original publication October 16, 2026
First public link posted on Facebook on October 16, 2026, at about 4:17 PM.

This page is a short guide to the full report. If they ever seem to differ, the full report is the record. Questions or corrections: StrathroyCouncilWatch@gmail.com.