(Renfrew Public Library/Facebook)
The plea to protect funding for the Renfrew Public Library was met with conflicting reactions.
Board Chair Hayley Heaslip received a standing ovation from residents in attendance for her fighting back against over $120,000 in proposed budget cuts, which she feels was met with a chilly response and a few confusing claims from some town councillors.
Despite the opposing responses, Heaslip is encouraged that the emotion shown by the audience will be enough to sway the council away from such a drastic drop in funding.
Heaslip notes that the library has been compliant in making cuts when necessary in previous years as the town continues to find ways to alleviate the growing tax burdens on the town, while calling a notion mentioned by councilors at the meeting that they have been excluded from those requests in the past false.
She was also concerned that the council seemingly disregarded parts of their budget report that aligned with the goal of lowering the tax levy, even though the library’s total impact would come to less than half of a percent if passed as originally submitted.
A motion presented at the meeting to alter the library’s 2026 spending was rejected on a tie vote, which means the original plan will continue as part of the town’s overall budget, but Heaslip says their board will be meeting with the chief librarian and library director to find more ways to trim costs ahead of the mayor making his final review starting January 2nd.
In the meantime, Heaslip is encouraging councillors to participate in some of the library’s programming to get a better idea of how important what they offer on a daily basis is to the community.
(written by Kasey Egan)
