2022 - Year in Review: A Message from Our President

What a year this has been! We were thrilled to return to in-person events once again this year. We are proud to support excellence in municipal finance. MFOA has kept itself relevant and important while adapting to changes in the municipal environment.

Below outlines just a handful of our successes:

• Housing advocacy - MFOA advocated on behalf of municipalities on provincial initiatives to solve Ontario's housing crisis. MFOA advocated on changes to development charges, community benefits charges, strong mayors powers, and municipal budgeting practices
• Asset retirement obligation case studies - we released new case studies on identifying AROs in municipalities. This is one of many resources we have developed for implementing PS 3280
• Virtual library - a new look and new resources! Our one-stop shop has had a makeover and we continue to add new resources to help our members find same policies, by-laws, and more
• Record year for Annual Conference attendees – over 360 in-person and 520 live stream registrants with very high satisfaction ratings. “93% of respondents rated the overall conference as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’” and “96% of respondents indicated the conference had either ‘matched expectations’ or was ‘better than expected”
• Delivered a full complement of training offerings - we continue to offer a live stream format for the majority of our training to meet the demand to attend training online versus in person.
• Record year for MFOA municipal memberships - 401 Municipalities are members of MFOA. 100% of Municipalities with a population of 10,000 or more are members of MFOA. MFOA represents 99.72% of Ontario's municipal population.
• MFOA Messenger - MFOA's Monthly Newsletter was revamped in 2022 with a more succinct format. Featured article, quick links to policy projects and training at a glance, "new" teachable moments section and more.
• MFOA and OECM joined together to reproduce short systemic videos in a generic format for use by all municipalities to "Talk Finance". Also, thanks to the City of London for their assistance with this project.
• MFOA through its Consultants and with funding provided by the Ministry of Infrastructure, launched the AMP It Up 3.0 program. More information available at https://mfoa-amp.ca/amp30/PDF/AmpItUp_3_Flyer.pdf

Our successes are only a result of your input, engagement and support, so thank you! We look forward to showcasing some highlights we have planned for 2023 in January!

All the best to you and your family throughout the holiday season!

Laura Barta, President MFOA Board