The City of Portage la Prairie council has unanimously adopted a new policy that sets clear budgets and guidelines for council members attending professional development conferences and meetings.

The “Council Conference Professional Development and Meetings Policy” was approved at the Dec. 8 council meeting, marking the first formal policy of its kind for the city.

Councillor Joe Masi, the finance chair, said the goal is to improve transparency and provide a clear framework for professional development spending.

“We had no policy [previously], but we also want to be very open and transparent with the public of what conferences do we go to, how much money do we spend at those, what does it cost,” Masi said.

Under the new guidelines, each council member will be allocated a budget to att

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