Recap: Council Meeting - November 26
- Marian
- Nov 20
- 3 min read
Updated: 14 hours ago
Council Meeting Wednesday November 26 2025 at 9:30am
Meeting Agenda: Revised Meeting Agenda
Watch Council Meeting: Meeting Video
Recap:
All agenda items were approved by Council.
Added to the agenda was a presentation by Metrolinx regarding an Update on the Yonge North Subway Extension (YNSE).
The staff report regarding Traffic Regulation Changes also recommended parking restrictions on Arnold Crescent and Highgrove Crescent. These were removed from the restrictions approved due to concerns raised by residents at the meeting.
Agenda Items Include:
City staff are recommending that Richmond Hill end “Member of Council” events (individual councillor-hosted events) and replace the existing policy with a new Council Member Fundraising and Event Policy. The change would allow the City to focus more on City-led and community-led events instead.
Why this is being done
For over 10 years, councillors have hosted their own events, funded by sponsorships.
A recent Festivals and Events Strategy review showed councillors prefer that resources go toward broader, City-run events instead of individual ones.
Council-led events take up staff time, pose risks of conflicts of interest through sponsorships, and may cause confusion about the use of City resources.
What will change
The current policy (from 2021) allowing councillors to hold events will be repealed.
Starting January 1, 2027, councillors will:
No longer host or fundraise for their own events.
Not direct staff to help organize personal events.
Instead, direct potential fundraising or event partnerships to City staff.
Councillors can still attend, co-host, or MC community organization events, as long as those groups handle all planning and fundraising themselves.
City staff reviewed how councillors spend their annual budgets under the Member of Council Expense Policy.The review was requested by Council in 2023 to make sure the rules are transparent, fair, and align with public expectations.
The report finds that overall, councillors’ expenses follow the rules, stay within budget, and are similar to what other GTA municipalities allow. However, staff recommend several updates to strengthen accountability and clarity.
Key recommendations
To improve clarity, fairness, and accountability, staff recommend that the revised policy should:
Set a spending cap for business meals and hospitality to ensure reasonable costs.
Clarify what’s allowed under community expenses — for example, remove “table prize tickets” from eligible expenses to avoid confusion.
Simplify meal per diems — keep the $75/day maximum but remove separate limits for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Stop using personal credit cards or cheques — all expenses should go through City-issued payment tools for better tracking.
Improve transparency — standardize monthly reports and explore an online searchable dashboard like Toronto’s.
Ban expenses tied to councillor-hosted events, to align with the new Council Member Event and Fundraising Policy (which ends Member-led events in 2027).
Define consequences for non-compliance, such as public disclosure, investigation, or referral to the Integrity Commissioner.
City staff are recommending changes to speed limits, parking rules, and stop sign controls on several Richmond Hill streets to improve traffic safety and flow.
These changes are based on resident requests and technical assessments following provincial and City guidelines.
Speed limit changes
The default speed limit in Richmond Hill is 50 km/h. After reviewing safety data and community input, staff recommend reducing speed limits to 40 km/h on several local roads to improve safety for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians.
Parking changes
Parking restrictions will be adjusted on several streets to improve visibility, emergency access, and pedestrian safety.
Public Comments:
The public may submit written correspondence regarding agenda items by email to clerks@richmondhill.ca. Written correspondence must be submitted by 12 p.m. (noon) one business day before the meeting. Comments submitted will be provided to all Members of Council, are considered as public information and will be included on the public agenda posted to the City’s website.
Delegations:
Any person who wishes to speak to Council on agenda items must pre-register with the Office of the Clerk by 12 p.m. (noon) one business day before the meeting. Applications to appear as a delegation can be submitted by email to clerks@richmondhill.ca or by using the on-line application form. Delegations can be in person, or electronically by video conference or telephone. The Office of the Clerk will provide instructions on appearing as a delegation.
