Residents in Renfrew now know just how much will be added on to their tax bill for 2023.
Renfrew Treasurer Erin Broome and Town Council went over their final pass of the 2023 Town Budget at their Tuesday meeting.
The original draft called for an 3.99% tax levy increase, or an average increase of $73, but some additional dips into the Town’s approximate $14 million in reserve funds were made during committee-level revisions to bring the average increase to $49.
Even with the additional use of reserve funding, the financial forecast suggests that Renfrew should still have extra money in waiting for when another capital project presents itself.
Chief Administrative Officer Rob Tremblay, who notes that’s he has worked with municipalities that have had far less set aside, says projects like the ones that were identified during the committee-level revisions to the budget these past two weeks are why towns save up.
One major project that got another look was the Ma-te-Way Expansion and the expected debtenture of around $12 million listed in this year’s budget.
Broome told Council that it will ultimately be up to them how the Town charts out the repayment process once the project wraps up in June.
This year was the first that Town Council had opened up the opportunity for residents to present questions and concerns at their meeting, but Tremblay noted that nobody had taken them up on the offer.
A by-law to approve all the related 2023 Budget documents is expected to come at the next meeting on Tuesday April 25th.
(written by Kasey Egan)
