The town of Gananoque, Ont., swore in its new town council at its inaugural meeting Tuesday night.
There are a number of new faces around the horseshoe with five out of seven council members elected for the first time.
“It is a learning curve but apart from the two returning councillors we also have experience in a different manner … I was a treasurer for a village here in Westport and so I come in from a staff point of view,” ” first-time councillor Anne-Marie Koiner told Global News.
Leading a majority of newcomers at the helm is Mayor John Beddows, a newbie himself, but he says he isn’t daunted by the task.
“First off after 30 years in the military I am used to building teams and I am used to bringing people together,” Mayor John Beddows said.
After the swearing-in ceremony the new council got down to business discussing a number of motions on the agenda.
Within the hour and a half-long inaugural meeting, council passed a motion to amend a procedural bylaw extending the deputy mayor position to a four-year term at a future meeting and approved a limit of $2,000 for council to attend conferences ahead of the Royal Ontario Municipal Association conference.
While disagreements were kept short at the first meeting, Beddows says he is prepared to keep the mostly new council on track going forward.
“Yes there will be debates but they will be debates and it’s going to be about how do we achieve the best outcome, not about personalities,” said Beddows.
With a four-year term ahead of them, there’s plenty of time to shake off those growing pains.