Dryden Finances Again Centre Stage

The revamped 2012 Dryden budget has survived its final vote.
Council approved the financial document and accompanying 10% tax increase last night.
However, the vote didn’t come without plently of lively debate on the state of the City’s finances.
Councilor Sid Wintle says if he didn’t come in mid-term, he wouldn’t have supported the budget.
He says he has no choice at this point.
Wintle says the City can’t keep approving capital work by relying on debentures.
He stresses that’s how Dryden got in this predicament from the start.
Wintle has called on staff to come back to Council when capital projects begin to ensure that the City isn’t adding on to its debt load.
He also questioned some of the numbers in the fiscal document, claiming some numbers have been moved around or based on assumption.
Mel Fisher says Dryden is headed in the right direction and that negativity is only dragging us down.
Fisher stresses Council has to get on board and start getting positive and supportive.
Fisher believes staff members have taken strides to improve the situation.