Councillors shouldn’t attend conferences on taxpayer dime in election year: motion

September 24, 2026 · 0 Comments

Council members should not be able to attend conferences on the taxpayer’s dime in an election year, according to a motion from Ward 3 Councillor Wendy Gaertner.

Councillor Gaertner’s motion, which was reviewed by local lawmakers at the Committee level earlier this month, is set to be discussed by Council this week.

While the Councillor says that conferences “provide valuable education for future political work” and provide “future benefit to the residents,” elected members should not be able to fund their attendance through municipal coffers in an election year.

Should the Councillor’s motion be approved by Council this week, municipal staff will be tasked with reviewing existing policies and report back to the Council set to be elected on October 26 with their recommendations on “ensuring the appropriate use of taxpayers’ money.”

Ward 2 Councillor Rachel Gilliland, who is not seeking re-election in Aurora this fall, offered a different perspective. She said, in her view, attending these conferences is part of a Council member’s job, and whether or not they are seeking re-election, they have a job to do until their term comes to an end.

“Conferences are an essential part of growth for the Town in general,” said Gilliland at this month’s Committee of the Whole meeting, adding that not only is the value of conferences reflected in Councillor Gaertner’s motion, elected members need to commit their attendance months in advance when their decision whether or not to run may not be made.

“I know, Councillor Gaertner, you haven’t attended any of these conferences at least in the eight years I have sat beside you, but it’s not unusual at all for Council members to have organized delegations with Members of Parliament, Members of Provincial Parliament, in order to facilitate conversations and advocate for the Town for current things that are happening. So, while I understand the motion, and in light of the motion, at the end of the day you are still a member of Council doing work for the Town that you are representing.”

Other Council members said they appreciated Councillor Gaertner’s perspective, but said there were other angles to consider.

“I think over the years we’ve heard questions about the fact that the policy doesn’t speak to how many Councillors can go at one time to a conference. There’s been questions raised about whether the amount should be allocated per Councillor or should it stay being that pool of funds that everybody can draw from,” said Ward 4 Councillor Michael Thompson. “There’s different questions and aspects that have been brought up for years, so if you’re going to make recommendations for the next Council, I would say, just take a look at the policy in whole and make whatever changes or suggestions you want to do.”

Councillor Gaertner said she agreed with that, and similar sentiments were offered by Ward 6 Councillor Harold Kim.

“I understand that some constituents may consider that in the last year of a term there may be Councillors who attend conferences and decide not to run again. The optics of that is, ‘Well, why are we spending money on someone who may not run again?’ If that’s the intention or one of the ‘loopholes,’ then one of the suggestions I might add is perhaps have the Councillor pay for the conference and if that person runs, after the result of the elections, regardless of what the result is, the Town either reimburses or the Town pays for it – and if the Councillor does not run again, then reimburses at the end,” said Councillor Kim. “I think that would solve some of the concerns that some constituents may have, but I think all of these come into play. I’m happy with deferring this to staff and having an all-encompassing review of this, but I think that’s one of the options that I can foresee when a report comes out.”

Although Councillor Gilliland said she did not attend this summer’s AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario) Conference, she said the value of the event was clear.

“If you are registering for something in February and you’re doing something for the greater good of the Town because you are educating yourself, and you are going and you’re delegating on behalf of your community to advocate for something, you’re still doing your job as a Councillor. You are still elected to do your job within the year that you’re doing. It doesn’t mean you just drop everything.

“Maybe there’s some people who believe that conferences just aren’t as valuable as they are, but the reality is they’re very valuable. For me personally, I’ve taken away a lot of great information, I’ve handed over to staff, I try to be educational about it. Now we’re doing reports. But if this is something for the next Council, they want to review the policy by all means, but I feel like there’s a little bit of tit for tat going on right now, and I’m not going to get involved or dragged into this. I really do believe that conferences are a very educational piece, not just on a provincial level, but also on the federal level, from my own experience. I never regret any of the ones that I’ve done, because they’ve all been very resourceful.”

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter