Under the Municipal Act, a member of a municipal council can take a leave of absence for a period of three months and still be able to retain their seat on Council.
So it is for Mayor Tom Sidney, who announced Thursday afternoon that he was taking just such a leave to attend to family matters. The leave takes effect after the mayor concludes his duties today, Friday October 10, and will extend to December 12, 2025.
“This decision was made after much thought, and while it was not an easy one, it is necessary for me to prioritize my family over the next couple of months,” said the mayor in a prepared statement and posted on the town’s website. “I am deeply grateful to Council, staff, and the community for their understanding and support as I focus on my family during this time.”
In the interim, the reeve, Peter Emon, will take on a leadership role assisted by the five councillors, and business will be conducted on this basis until the mayor returns in December, hopefully with those family matters resolved in a positive manner.
Reeve Emon offered the mayor his understanding and appreciation, also commenting via town’s information release.
“Increasingly, many in our community are called upon to fill the emotionally demanding, tiring, and all-consuming role of caregiver to declining family members. Municipal Councillors face the same demands as many of those we serve, and sometimes we forget that, as we expect them to fulfill both political and administrative roles. On behalf of Council, Town of Renfrew staff, our volunteers, and our community, I’d like to wish Mayor Sidney strength, compassion, and clarity of thought during his absence. His leadership and commitment to the Town of Renfrew are deeply valued, and we look forward to his return.”
As Council came out of a closed session Thursday, the reeve made additional commentary around how things may go moving forward over the course of the next three months.
“You have six very reasonable people sitting around this table on a regular basis making decisions that are the best for the community at the time with the information that we have and the resources at hand,” said the reeve. “Reach out to us at any time and we’ll try and get you an answer on any question.”
This, I suppose, is the kind of boilerplate thing that one would expect to hear from someone acting as the temporary Head of Council. But within the current context of affairs at Town Hall, communication with residents was an area of regular criticism, mostly owing to what seems like a cone of silence adopted by the mayor and members of the senior administrative staff.
So on this point I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
I do know that Tuesday, October 14, is the day for the town’s Structured Town Hall, where over the course of two available sessions, members of the community will have the opportunity to question councillors and staff regarding sidewalks and roads. Which is great and everything, except I’ll bet a lot of residents attending may not be terribly interested in sidewalks and roads, at least not in any benign way. They’re probably more interested in hearing anything about their increasing tax load, and if I’m right, it could make for an awkward meeting, especially if you’re the mayor.
And awkward may be a generous term.
I wish the mayor the very best as he attends to those family matters.
NEWSMAGRENFREW 