A comment from Mayor Jenkins

September 22, 2015

For the first time in all the years that I have attended conferences I feel the need to mention the obvious.
Like many conferences, the four main conferences attended by Bancroft Council and Staff: Rural Ontario Municipal Assoc.(ROMA), Ontario Small Urban Municipalities (OSUM), Association of Municipalities of Ontario(AMO) and Ontario East Municipal Conference(OEMC) have trade shows. All four have sponsors to help offset the costs.
At OEMC the large sponsors were as follows: Infrastructure Ontario, TransCanada Pipelines, Cambium Inc., Hydro One Networks, Foodland Ontario, Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA), Templeman Menniga LLP and Templeman Consulting Group, FarmBoy and Xplornet. This list is complete to the best of my memory only. If you are interested in seeing all the trades involved, there is a list at the office.
Sept. 16 to 18 some Council and Staff attended OEMC, held in Kingston. There were some plenary sessions and a number of concurrent sessions to choose from, along with many opportunities for networking with councillors from all over eastern Ontario. In fact, the networking is possibly the most important part. Other than County Day, this is the best opportunity to hear how other municipalities handle their similar issues.
Most meals were provided. Breakfast, lunch and breaks: most were sponsored by one of the large Sponsors. Wednesday evening there was a reception sponsored by Cambium Inc that included food and music. Thursday evening dinner was sponsored by OCWA. All registrants were given a $35.00 coupon that could be redeemed at many restaurants in Kingston under the heading “Taste of the Town”. Some choose to go singly, some choose to go in a group with colleagues and friends.
When we attend a conference; Your councillors and staff leave their home and family for two or three days. Reasonable expenses are covered. There is no additional pay from the Town of Bancroft. We car pool when possible. It is a valuable opportunity to learn from the experts and our colleagues. Most councillors attend one conference per year. The Mayor attends when possible, sometimes representing the County(County Expense), sometimes representing the Town(Town Expense).
Respectfully,

Submitted by Mayor Bernice Jenkins,
Town of Bancroft