M.D. will hold budget to public scrutiny with three open houses in November

The M.D. of Bonnyville will be getting in front of residents when deciding on the upcoming budget.

M.D. council scheduled three meetings this November during budget talks to get public input on where the municipality’s priorities should lie.

M.D. general managers and council will visit Glendon on Nov. 5 (subject to change), Ardmore on Nov. 7, and La Corey on Nov. 18.

“Council along with administration feel it’s important to go out and engage the public,” said Reeve Greg Sawchuk on the Morning After.

“We’ve done that through surveys, but the budget is a huge item. So in this case, the M.D. is going back to getting out there and presenting it to the public, allowing for some questions and answers, and getting feedback from those residents who are in the area.”

The locations will rove year by year for future budget discussions, said Sawchuk.

But after doing few public feedbacks sessions in the past couple of years, Sawchuk said this is a step in the right direction.

“They are meant as informational sessions with a question and answer session available. There will be booths where each of the GMs will be set-up with their information being displayed and then we’ll get into a session where people can ask questions to council and the general managers.”

M.D. council set dates for budget discussions in October, with the intention to approve the 2020 budget on Dec. 11.