RESPONSE TO DEPUTY MAYOR BEATTY
October 13, 2026
Deputy Mayor Beatty put out a press release that says I misrepresented the timeline. I did not. My October 12 statement said that my motion and the special meeting I called explained the timing of the Board’s Sunday release. I never said they started the review.
The real question is simpler. Deputy Mayor Beatty and Councillor Bureau have represented Council on the Police Service Board since December 2022. The Board’s financial review began only after the previous senior administration had left and a new Chief recommended it, a full three years after they were sworn in to serve on the Cobourg Police Service Board.
The facts follow, line by line.
Lucas Cleveland
Mayor of Cobourg
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Statement by Deputy Mayor Nicole Beatty, posted October 13, 2026, shown indented in italics in full.
Mayor Cleveland’s claim that his recent motion prompted the Cobourg Police Service Board’s (CPSB) financial review grossly misrepresents the sequence of events.
I made no such claim. My October 12 statement said that my motion and special meeting were the reason for the timing of the Board’s press release. The timing. Not the review.
The Board’s release came out Sunday, October 11. Thanksgiving. Two days before Council met.
When he brought a motion forward on August 26, he knew the Board had already started that review. No one seconded his motion.
August 26: I asked for an independent, line-by-line review of police spending.
September 9: the Board’s first public word of any review. Fourteen days later.
Two members of Council sat on the Police Service Board that night: Deputy Mayor Beatty and Councillor Bureau. Either could have seconded. Either could have told Council a review was underway. No seconder means no debate. Residents heard nothing.
As a member of the Cobourg Police Service Board, I stand firmly behind the decision to refer financial concerns for independent review. I am accountable for asking hard questions, demanding reliable financial information and ensuring concerns are acted on.
Since October 2025, the Board and its Finance Committee repeatedly requested financial reports from the previous senior administration. Those reports were not provided.
What the Board has done while its own financial reports were missing:
October 2025: approved a 20.5% ($1.6 million) increase.
November 2025: Council sent it back. The Board returned it unchanged.
December 2025: the Board Chair called my budget proposal “financial illiteracy and mismanagement.” He did so at a time when, he now admits, he could not even get the numbers from the staff of the very board he was chairing. So what did that board use to project a 20.5% increase if the Chair couldn’t get them?
Not once did the Board tell Council it could not get its own numbers. The Board is the employer. The “previous senior administration” reported to this Board. The Board carries the ultimate responsibility.
Board members, including myself, kept pressing for answers.
At our new Chief’s recommendation, the Board initiated a detailed budget review in July with the Financial Manager who started in May 2025.
December 2022: Beatty and Bureau appointed to the Board.
28 months pass and the CFO takes a new job.
May 2025: New Financial Manager starts.October 2025: reports requested, not provided.
December 2025: previous senior administration begins to leave.
June 1, 2026: Chief Leather starts.
July 2026: review begins more then three and a half years after their appointment to the Board.
Fourteen months after the Financial Manager arrived. Nine months after the reports went missing. More than three and a half years into their Board terms.
Nothing moved until the old administration was gone and a new Chief asked. The credit belongs to Chief Leather.
The outcome of that review identified discrepancies and reporting concerns. The Board then referred the report, following Board procedures, to the Inspectorate of Policing. It was also provided to the Town Treasurer for a peer review and the OPP was consulted.
The Board publicly announced the financial review on September 9, confirming it had directed it in July. The Board’s press release from September 9 read:
The Cobourg Police Service Board (CPSB) will provide a public update on the financial position of the Cobourg Police Service at the Finance Committee Meeting on September 16, 2026.
In July 2026, the CPSB directed the Finance Committee and senior staff to conduct a detailed review of the Service’s current financial position, including expenditures, revenues, contractual obligations, and projected year-end costs. The review is intended to clarify factors affecting the Service’s current financial position and identify appropriate measures to strengthen financial oversight and manage expenditures through the remainder of the year.
On September 14, the Board publicly advised that the Finance Committee meeting was being postponed to allow the review to be completed. On October 9, before any Special Council meeting was announced, the Board received a report from the Chief of Police. The Board then passed a motion approving the recommendations in the report.
This is not time for speculation or allegations. The mayor knows there are no public reports yet because of the ongoing investigation, and both the September 9 and 14 media references show that the CPSB clearly communicated that a review was underway. Again, this further shows the mayor was kept up to date on these findings.
The September 9 text Ms. Beatty quotes does not mention discrepancies, missing reports, the Inspectorate of Policing or the OPP. The September 14 release just postponed a meeting.
I, the town of Cobourg tax payers, the rest of Council and the Town Treasurer learned of the Inspectorate referral and the OPP from the Board’s October 11 release.
Her own words: “there are no public reports yet.” Right, however, no one can be kept up to date on findings that were never shared until this Saturday or Sunday depending on what press release you want to go with.
When I joined the Board, I introduced measures to strengthen transparency and public oversight. We moved Board meetings into Council Chambers for livestreaming and recording, and brought citizens onto the Finance Committee.
Cameras record what is on the agenda. The reports, numbers and rationale were missing from October 2025, and yet Deputy Mayor Beatty and Councillor Bureau approved a 20.5% increase anyway. Transparency is telling Council when you cannot see the books, or that there is a problem, at any time before the week before an election.
That commitment to accountability includes scrutiny of the Board’s own decisions.
It is disappointing that the incumbent Mayor has chosen to mischaracterize this transparent, ongoing process for political gain.
Ms. Beatty is running for Mayor. I asked for a line-by-line review on August 26. Before any review was public. Before the Inspectorate. Before the OPP. The police budget is more than $1.5 million over this year, heading toward $2 million. That is not politics. That is the record.
The Police Service Board needs time to complete its due diligence, and these documented actions demonstrate our commitment to financial scrutiny.
Our local institutions function best when we rely on facts and established procedures rather than theatrical grandstanding. I remain fully committed to supporting the regulatory and law enforcement bodies currently handling this review.
I will not minimize these concerns or make excuses. As a Board member, I am accountable for my oversight role.
Agreed. Here is the oversight record:
• Nearly four years on the Board as a Council representative.
• Seconded Councillor Bureau’s nomination as Chair, January 2025.
• Sat on the Board that sent a 20.5% increase to Council, twice, while its own financial reports were missing.
• Did not raise the missing reports with Council. Not once. Not ever.
• Did not second the August 26 motion that would have allowed Council to learn about the problems.
• The review began only after a new Chief arrived, more than three years after her appointment to the Cobourg Police Service Board, and nine months after the problem became apparent in October 2025.
Accountability starts there.
Taxpayers deserve clear answers, and I will keep pressing for those answers and the changes needed to address the findings.
Deputy Mayor Beatty and Counsellor Bureau have had four years on that Board to address the issues, the fact that they are now just looking into them is more than concerning. It may constitute a lack of fiduciary duty its too bad that we will have to wait until after the Election to know.
Sources
Board appointments, Dec 19, 2022 (Town of Cobourg eSCRIBE): https://bm-public-cobourg.escribemeetings.com/BoardDetails/BoardInformation/13
Bureau elected Chair, Jan 2025 (Today’s Northumberland): https://todaysnorthumberland.ca/2025/01/21/opinion-new-dawn-and-brighter-future-for-the-cobourg-police-services-board/
Board approves 20.5% increase, Oct 2025 (Today’s Northumberland): https://todaysnorthumberland.ca/2025/10/31/statement-from-cobourg-police-chief-regarding-2026-operational-budget-estimates/
Board returns budget unchanged, Nov 2025 (Today’s Northumberland): https://todaysnorthumberland.ca/2025/11/27/cobourg-mayor-sends-letter-to-todays-northumberland-making-sure-community-has-all-the-information/
Board Chair statement on Mayor’s budget, Dec 2025 (Today’s Northumberland): https://todaysnorthumberland.ca/2025/12/13/breaking-news-cobourg-police-services-board-condemns-mayors-budget-citing-reckless-proposals/amp/
Chief Leather starts June 1, 2026 (KawarthaNOW): https://kawarthanow.com/2026/05/20/rcmp-veteran-chris-leather-named-new-chief-of-cobourg-police-service/
Aug 26 motion, no seconder (Today’s Northumberland): https://todaysnorthumberland.ca/?p=145476
Board release, Oct 11, 2026 (inQuinte): https://www.inquinte.ca/2026/10/cobourg-police-service-board-reaffirms-commitment-to-financial-accountability-and-transparency/
Mayor’s statement, Oct 12, 2026 (Town of Cobourg): https://media-001-ca.cdn.govstack.com/cobourg-008-ca/media/mbqlwpvz/statement-from-mayor-cleveland-monday-october-12-2026.pdf
Beatty statement coverage, Oct 13, 2026 (Today’s Northumberland): https://todaysnorthumberland.ca/2026/10/13/video-beatty-accuses-cleveland-of-misrepresenting-police-boards-financial-review-for-political-gain/