DRYDEN -- As Greg Wilson was sworn in to become Dryden’s mayor on Monday night, the ground under his City Council remains unstable.
The city’s manager and treasurer John Cummings has tendered his resignation after only nine months in the administration’s top position.
He follows two-term Coun. Ken Moss, who gave up his seat on Oct. 21.
“It’s like a fireman trying to fight the fire and get help at the same time,” Wilson said on his first official day in office.
“You’re trying to do two things at once. And they’re actually both positive but you can’t so you have to improvise."
Council appointed Wilson to the mayor’s seat for garnering the second most votes in the May 2015 election. He lost to Craig Nuttall, who resigned in September to take a position with the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation.
In turn, council appointed former Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce director Darryl Skinner to fill Moss’ seat. Skinner came in seventh for the six council seats in the election, running on a platform of making Dryden a "debt-free community."
The debt will be Wilson and his council's next challenge. On top of adapting to personnel changes, Dryden is juggling a $26-million debt and it's about to embark on formulating a new strategic plan.
“It really love to see us get to the point where they have the finances, they have the tools, to not just put band-aids on the problems -- on wounds -- but to have a long-term strategic plan they can follow,” Wilson said.
