Wawa Mayor Touts Attendance at Recent ROMA Conference

Wawa's mayor is touting attendance at a recent conference.

A release from the Municipality notes Mayor Melanie Pilon attended last week's Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) conference in Toronto, taking part in "several learning sessions, delegations, and meetings with other mayors from across Northern Ontario" - and Mayor Pilon notes that included an in-person meeting to discuss a key issue for Wawa.

Wawa Council last year passed a resolution calling on ADSAB to review its apportionment calculation - as was recommended by outside firm Municipal Government Wayfinders in the 2021 municipal transformation report - the main concerns stemming from the way the formula considers the "power dam compensatory payment" that Wawa receives from the provincial government in lieu of property taxes from local hydro dams - which used to be taxable - as the payment is not indexed to inflation and the Municipality has continually noted uncertainty about the payment.

Mayor Pilon notes a meeting's also been set for later this month to discuss improving local broadband, but she has another highlight of the conference: a meeting of the Northern Ontario Women Mayor's Caucus.

Mayor Pilon encourages residents to keep an eye out for more details about that group in the future.