The Town of Renfrew has instituted a series of cost-saving measures, including hiring and spending freezes.
At a recent meeting, council approved a number of cost-containment measures, including:
- A hiring and discretionary spending freeze;
- The postponement to 2025 of several capital road projects, including the resurfacing of Seventh Street and Stevenson Crescent;
- Preparation of cost/benefit analyses for key facilities including 1 Innovation Drive, the public works garage, the fire hall, and the library; and
- Purchase of landfill excavator delayed.
Following a deep review and expert analysis over the past few years, the organization has now been stabilized, said CAO Robert Tremblay.
The freeze will give staff and council some breathing room ahead of working on the 2025 budget and allow staff to exercise due diligence on some major capital projects.
Officials say the cost-saving measures come with the proviso that levels of service are not impacted while ensuring health and safety, continued staff training and development, accountability and transparency, public engagement and accessibility.
Related to the hiring freeze, if a vacancy should come up or a change is needed, staff would need to provide a justification report to council.
In terms of the street resurfacing, the two projects are at 80 per cent design and that will be completed this year, said Tremblay. Because of time and delays incurred as engineering firms did their due diligence,
On Seventh Street there is a watermain that may need to get looped and on Stevenson there are some storm-related issues to be addressed, noted Tremblay.
Coun. Andrew Dick voiced some concerns regarding several of the measures, noting his frustration that the excavator purchase had been previously presented as a necessary purchase and approved by council, and that the roads projects were being postponed after several councillors had run on a platform of fixing roads.
Mayor Tom Sidney and Coun. Kyle Cybulski were absent from the meeting but Dick was joined by Coun. Clint McWhirter, Reeve Peter Emon and Coun. Jason Legris in praising staff’s work on the report.
Legris said he agrees with the measures.
The focus and work will have to continue, he said.
(Written by Sherry Haaima)
