The Blue Mountains Mayor Andrea Matrosovs will be attending the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Cities Initiative conference in a few weeks.
At a special meeting on May 17, council unanimously approved a request from Matrosovs to attend the three-day conference in Chicago from June 6 - 9. Registration, accommodation and travel for the conference will cost $2,635.
The request came directly to council because the mayor will be attending the maximum of two conferences in 2023 allowed by council’s conferences/seminars policy. As a county councillor, Matrosovs can also attend two additional conferences.
In 2023, Matrosovs has attended the Rural Municipalities of Ontario conference, the Ontario Good Roads Association conference and the Ontario Small Urban Municipalities conference. She will also be attending the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference in August.
Although council’s policy allows members to attend a maximum of two conferences per year (plus two more for the mayor and deputy mayor as county councillors), earlier this year council approved a staff report that opens up $30,000 in funding from the council reserve fund to allow attendance at more events with approval.
The mayor’s permission is required for a member of council to access the additional funds to attend an extra conference. In this case, with the mayor making the request, CAO Shawn Everitt brought a report directly to council for consideration.
Matrosovs declared a conflict on the matter and did not participate in the discussion. Deputy Mayor Peter Bordignon noted that the mayor had been selected a regional co-chair for the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Cities Initiative. Everitt also noted that leadership of The Blue Mountains has been active in the initiative since its inception in 2003.
Council granted speedy approval of the request.
“It’s very important to support (the) mayor,” said Coun. Paula Hope. “She’s taken on a leadership role in this particular area.”
