The deputy mayor of Lakeshore wants to limit the number of conferences administration can attend per year.
Kirk Walstedt presented a notice of motion during Tuesday's meeting directing that members of administration be limited to a maximum of two conferences per year, except if approved by the mayor and CAO to attend an additional conferences.
Walstedt says council has been limited to two conferences for years and years, and wants to ensure that administration be treated in the same manner.
His main concern was the cost of attending conferences. Currently, the budget only covers two conferences.
Lakeshore's 2026 budget removed a proposed increase to the training and conference budget in order to find savings.
Walstedt says there's a cost to attend conferences.
"I just wanted to ensure that members of administration be treated in the same manner as members of council. Conferences are expensive, and I think we need to be wary of the cost."
Councillor Kelsey Santarossa says there are positives to attending these conferences.
"As we start setting examples of what success can look like, and what progress can look like in a municipality... if we have staff that are invited to present at conferences, and that goes above and beyond the two that they've attended, I want to see us realize those opportunities so that we can go spread good news."
Councillor Ryan McNamara says there's concern that this could prohibit learning among council and administration.
"We did set the record for the amount of grant funding that we received this year, and that didn't happen in a vacuum... that is not only council doing our job of lobbying senior levels of government, but it's also our administration making contacts with ministerial staff, maintaining those relationships, and also getting feedback from failed grant applications to understand where we missed out, and where we can improve."
The motion passed, with only councillor McNamara opposed.