Renfrew Town Councillor Kyle Cybulski
After discovering some glaring errors this week, budget talks in Renfrew have already gotten off to a rough start.
Town CAO Gloria Raybone warned councillors ahead of Monday’s budget committee meeting that she found three mistakes in the 2025 budget, including for the town’s policing budget, the annual gas tax payout for the Sunshine Coach, and a double-counting for revenues from arena floor fees, that have left a 7.8% tax levy shortfall to cover in 2026.
While there’s work to be done, Raybone says there is a silver lining in that the budget committee will have extra time to square away a solution to the problem before Mayor Tom Sidney returns from a leave of absence.
Council was disappointed to hear about the shortfall, with representative Kyle Cybulski asking staff for any potential ways to ease the pain on taxpayers while also noting that the added burden spoils what he felt was shaping up to be a responsible 2026 budget.
Raybone would point out that there is a temporary means to spread the sudden tax increase out over a length of time but explained that it would either need a permanent way to fund it if the council would want to keep taxpayers from footing the bill.
The discovery of the errors has once again brought calls from council for accountability from those responsible. However, Reeve Peter Emon suggested that at least some of the blame should land at council’s feet, as they signed off on the budget, errors and all.
(written by Kasey Egan)
