Here's what your council got up to this week
It appears some of our councillors are already making plans for their November 2025 getaway to Calgary, according to the latest expense reports. Councillors Clarke and Elliott both expensed $825.88 each for accommodation at the 2025 Alberta Municipalities Convention. Councillor Clarke also put down $685.00 for registration, while Councillor Elliott covered $348.00 for "Food and Incidentals."
Honestly though, it’s not exactly a surprise that the Alberta Municipalities Convention is a draw. It's held in Calgary next year, which I suppose is a nice change of scenery. It’s a good opportunity to see how the other half lives, even if that other half is just slightly south on the QEII. I imagine the delegates spend most of the time complaining about potholes and then realizing they're all complaining about the same potholes, just in different jurisdictions.
Speaking of jurisdictions, it seems BILD Edmonton has been rather generous. Councillor Knack received $390 from BILD Edmonton on February 18, 2026, and Councillor Stevenson received $397 from BILD Edmonton metro on March 11, 2026, as noted in the gifts to council members registry. These aren't exactly the kind of figures that buy a new Zamboni for Rogers Place, but it's worth noting who's providing gifts.
Here’s a quick rundown of some other notable tidbits:
* **Agenda Review Committee Meetings:** On July 28, 2026, the committee adopted its agenda and approved minutes, both carried 2 to 0, with Councillors Knack and Stevenson voting yes on all counts. * **Public and Private:** The Agenda Review Committee also voted 2 to 0 to meet both in public *and* in private, the latter pursuant to section 29 of the *Access to Information Act* for "advice from officials." * **Top 311 Calls:** "General Information" leads the 311 service request issues with 160,623 requests, followed by "Routes and Schedules" at 112,470. I suppose people just like to know things. Or they're lost. Hard to say.
What this all means is that while some of our representatives are planning their conference trips, others are quietly guiding the flow of information through City Hall. We'll be watching to see what exactly that "advice from officials" entails when it comes to light. Edmonton doesn't need your approval. Never did.
Darren Fedoruk.
You can hear me rambling about this and more with the crew every morning at mornings.live.