Steinbach's mayor is upbeat about the Association of Manitoba Municipalities' convention which wrapped up Thursday. Chris Goertzen says there was quite a bit of conversation on ways to get fair funding from the provincial and federal governments.

He explains, "There was a lot of discussion on how to deal with the deficit we have when it comes to some basic infrastructure as well as recreation infrastructure. There's been a fair amount of discussion on trying to find ways to make sure that things get funded appropriately by all levels of government."

Mayor Goertzen believes the senior levels of government are getting the message from municipalities about the need for more funding. He adds it's now a matter of wait and see to find out if that message will result in action.

The mayor also says he and Steinbach city councillors also did a lot of networking at the convention to pick up ideas on how to operate more efficiently.

Meanwhile, Mayor Goertzen says he and the city's Chief Administrative Officer, Jack Kehler, led a workshop at the convention regarding governance. He notes Steinbach operates differently than many other municipalities by having all councillors sit on one large committee which keeps them in the loop on all decisions. Other RM's have numerous committees made up of two or three councillors. He says other municipalities like what Steinbach is doing and some think it could work for them as well.