Consulting Firm Holds First Meeting With Council

The consulting firm hired to conduct a service level and operational review has promised to pull no punches.
Sudbury based KPMG addressed Council for the first time Thursday night and stressed everyone will be looked at with a fine tooth comb.
Mayor Craig Nuttall is welcoming the review.
Nuttall says KPMG has a great reputation and believes they will help get the City back on track.
There are several questions regarding the role the business community will have in the review.
The consulting firm says they will meet with individual groups one-on-one as well as hold 1 or 2 public consultations.
However KPMG stresses they will have the final say in recommendations to council.
Norm Bush is leading the newly formed Dryden Business group and he says he was happy with the presentation.
Bush says the group seems committed to helping turn things around.
He says it appears that everyone will have an opportunity to get involved in the review.
The meeting was the first of four with Dryden Council.
KPMG gave a final report on the City’s past, promising to never bring back decisions made in the past.
The report indicated that Dryden’s troubles started in 2009.
The firm pointed to roughly $9 million in losses at DMTS, with the bleeding of red ink at a rate of $1.5 million to $2.5 million a year, before it was sold off last year.
The consultant added there had been opportunities to put money away in reserves when times were good, but Council didn’t take that opportunity.
The group stresses that Dryden has one of the highest tax rates in northern Ontario.
KPMG notes the City is doing several things right.
The firm says Dryden has one of the best ball complex’s in all of northern Ontario and the Arena runs on a cost recovery basis.
They add that the Child Care program is second to none and is one of the few in the province to record a profit.