Thoughts On The 2013 Dryden Budget

There was lots of public input at last night’s meeting regarding the 2013 Dryden budget.
Majority of the comments were regarding a tax increase and how to reduce the 415 thousand dollar deficit.
Mayor Craig Nuttall says council is going to look at creating a balanced budget, and then seeing if a tax increase is appropriate.
However looking at the numbers, a likely figure would be a three percent increase.
Some ideas that council had come up with to trim the debt load include having minimum maintenance standards, re-pricing contract services and eliminating the Summer Student program.
City Manager Joe van Koeverden says that if the student program was eliminated, that would bring the deficit down to 315 thousand dollars.
As members of the public voiced their concerns, ranging from increasing taxes to job losses, one message that stuck was the ones from high school students.
One student approached council and talked about the importance that the youth centers have in the community, and how it would be devastating if they were cut.
Councilors Mary Trist and Shayne MacKinnon both agreed that youth are indeed the future, and that it is important to have services guide them in the right direction.
Council will continue to work on the budget, before it is finally adapted on February 18, 2013.