Highlights from the March 6 Council Meeting

Woodstock – Thursday’s Council meeting got underway at 1:30 p.m. with presentations from the Woodstock Art Gallery Advisory Board, Woodstock Public Library Board and Woodstock Police Services Board. These presentations provided highlights from recent activities as well as details of their 2025 operating or revenue budgets as part of the City’s annual budget consideration. Final budget approval is scheduled as part of the March 20 Council meeting agenda. All budget meeting recordings are available on the City’s YouTube channel and the proposed budget details can be found at www.cityofwoodstock.ca/budget

Annual Status Report on the City’s Multi-Year Accessibility Plan

Council approved the 2024 Annual Status Report, which outlines the progress the City has made on its 2023-2027 Multi-Year Accessibility Plan to remove barriers for people living with disabilities. Under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), the City must maintain a five-year accessibility plan and report annually on progress towards the goals and actions identified in the five-year plan. Some of the recent activities the City has completed include:

• the new Finkle Street playground and splash pad
• renovation of the multi-purpose room at the Cowan Park Sportsplex
• the addition of an elevator and motion activated faucets in the washroom at the Market Centre
• a new accessible community garden at Donald Thompson Park
• a basketball court at Homer Brown Park
• accessible bleachers at Southside Park’s Tip O’Neal baseball diamond and
• additional accessible parking and front entrance modifications at Cowan Park Sportsplex

You can find the 2024 Annual Status Report and 2023-2027 Multi-Year Accessibility Plan at www.cityofwoodstock.ca/accessibility

New Deputy Mayor Position

Council passed a motion to convert one of the two City-County Councillor roles to a Deputy Mayor role starting with the 2026 municipal election. Currently, City Council appoints an acting mayor, typically on an annual basis, who will fill in for the Mayor when they are unavailable. Effective the next term of Council, the public will choose a deputy mayor who will fulfil the role of Mayor in their absence. This means on Oct. 26, 2026, Woodstock voters will elect a:

• Mayor
• Deputy Mayor-County Councillor
• City-Council Councillor and
• four City Councillors.

There are no additional costs associated with the change and the size of Woodstock Council remains the same.  

Details about all the agenda items and topics discussed during the council meeting can be found at www.cityofwoodstock.ca/agendasandminutes. Council meetings are live streamed on the City’s YouTube channel and recordings of the meetings are posted online following the meetings.

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