Council

Council members and their role

The Council for the Township of Algonquin Highlands is comprised of the Mayor and four Councillors representing three Wards, one of whom is elected by Council to serve as Deputy Mayor. 

The role of Council is noted at the bottom of this page. 

Please feel free to contact your member of Council any time. The 2022-2026 elected officials for Algonquin Highlands are:

	Mayor Liz Danielsen 705-754-5962 ldanielsen@algonquinhighlands.ca Committee of Adjustment, Community Policing Advisory Committee, Haliburton County Library Board
	Deputy Mayor Jennifer Dailloux Councillor Ward 3 McClintock, Livingstone, Lawrence & Nightingale 705-927-1273 jdailloux@algonquinhighlands.ca Cultural Plan Working Group, Haliburton County Library Board, Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority, Haliburton County Library Board
	Councillor Julia Shortreed   Ward 1, Sherborne 705-766-9990 jshortreed@algonquinhighlands.ca Algonquin Highlands Recreation Committee, Dorset Heritage Museum Committee, Dorset Community Partnership, Dorset Health Hub, Lake of Bays Economic Development Committee
	Councillor Lisa Barry Ward 2, Stanhope 705-754-0758 lbarry@algonquinhighlands.ca Cultural Plan Working Group, Dorset Heritage Museum Committee, Stanhope Heritage Museum Committee
	Councillor Sabrina Richards Ward 2, Stanhope 705-489-2429  srichards@algonquinhighlands.ca Algonquin Highlands Recreation Committee, Committee of Adjustment, Stanhope Heritage Museum Committee, Muskoka Watershed Council, Upper Trent Water Management Partnership Council

The role of Council

The role of Council is to represent the public and to consider the well-being and best interests of the Municipality as a whole, for the long term. 

Council is responsible for developing and evaluating policies and programs for the municipality; evaluating the services which the Municipality provides; and ensuring the maintainance of the financial integrity of the municipality.

Councillors are governors, not managers. They have no involvement in day-to-day operations and don't direct staff. They do, however, make decisions at Council meetings that provide direction to staff through the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), who is the manager of the corporation. Council ensures the administrative policies, practices and procedures of the corporation provide for accountability and transparency.

Councillors make decisons as a group in scheduled, public Council meetings. While the Mayor has additional duties under the Municipal Act, provides leadership, and acts as the Chair of Council meetings, he or she has only one of the votes at the Council table.

The Mayor is elected by voters across the entire municipality. The Deputy Mayor is elected from among Councillors at the first meeting. There are three Wards in Algonquin Highlands: Ward 1 represents Dorset; Ward 2 represents Stanhope and Ward 3 represents McClintock, Livingstone, Lawrence & Nightingale.

Members of Council are appointed to various committees and boards in Algonquin Highlands. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are Algonquin Highlands' representatives on Haliburton County Council and are appointed to committees and boards at that table.

Councillors liaise with community members on a regular basis. Feel free to reach out to your Councillors any time.