Chief’s Message (Sept. 3)

In the past the LMG has been spending money we don’t have and this is one of the main reasons why the LMG is in its current deficit. After working for over a year with the Directors and the staff to balance the budgets of the LMG to allow for financial stability and to ensure that the LMG is capable of providing the most effective services possible moving forward we cut the deficit by approximately three million.

Last month Council approved a post-secondary budget without understanding the ramifications of such a vote. This is going to have an impact on the programs and services of the LMG for the budget this year, along with the next few years.

However, as elected officials we need to look out for the best interest for our community as a whole and work within our means. This being said we will be working diligently to ensure that this decision has as little impact on the community as possible. It is my hope that we can work through this with the directorates, to ensure the continuation of partially funded programs and continue working to reduce costs and adhere to the budgets that are in place.

I would like to thank the directors who have worked diligently to reduce costs and maintain budgets.