The majority of Okotoks Town Council spent three days connecting with their peers and gaining knowledge at the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association Convention in November.

The conference held in Calgary brought together municipal leaders from across the province, as well as provincial government representatives.

Tanya Thorn, Okotoks Town councillor and member of AUMA, says it was a great opportunity to network with other municipalities.

"I consider it a great opportunity to connect with my peers and get the opportunity to learn what's going in their communities, and how they handle different situations. We all deal with lots of the same things, so it's a great opportunity to find solutions for problems we might be experiencing that have already been dealt with in another community."

Many provincial ministers and MLAs were also in attendance, Thorn says Okotoks Councillors had many chances to touch base with them.

She adds the timing of the convention couldn't have been better, as plenty of municipalities now have new councils after the 2017 election.

"Especially right after an election it's a great chance for new councillors to come and get education sessions on various different things, their roles and how to function. They can talk to their peers about how do you do this? how does this work? Those kinds of things, it gives you that peer relationship so you've always got those mentors to reach out to if you have questions."

A long with networking opportunities the AUMA Convention also offered numerous educational sessions for municipal leaders.

"There was a great session on cannabis, a good session on how to use social media that I attended that I thought was interesting. And some good governance sessions; how we should be operating and functioning as a council, so there's lots of great education opportunities."

The Alberta Urban Municipalities Association represents many municipalities, advocating the interests of members to the provincial and federal government and other stakeholders.

Questions, comments, or story ideas? Email us at news@okotoksonline.com