CBRM councillors divided over how to cover $1.6-million deficit
Cape Breton Regional Municipality council rejected immediate options to address a $1.6-million deficit from the 2025-26 fiscal year, with councillors clashing over whether to use reserve funds and what caused public works overruns.
Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) councillors are at odds over how to cover a $1.6-million deficit from the last fiscal year. Chief financial officer Nancy Dove presented the March 31 year-end results for 2025-26 at a special meeting on Tuesday.
Dove offered council four options: covering the deficit from past reserve funds, starting this year with a deficit, allocating the shortfall over the next two or three years, or having staff find savings within this year's budget. Council voted down using the reserve account and rejected asking staff to absorb the loss within this year’s budget.
According to figures in Dove's presentation, transit revenue was down nearly $2 million. Public works ran nearly $7 million over budget, driven partly by recycling facility shutdown costs and heavy garbage collection. Centre 200 and arena facilities also ran over budget by more than $1 million.
Coun. Earlene MacMullin argued that with $12.5 million in the operating reserve account, the choice to pay the bill should be straightforward. Coun. Steve Parsons opposed tapping the reserve, arguing savings should be kept strictly for emergencies and that this deficit does not qualify. Because municipalities are not allowed to carry deficits, Parsons acknowledged council will likely have to tap reserve funds in the end.
The two councillors also disagreed over the causes of the public works overrun. Parsons blamed part of it on moving garbage collection in-house, calling the new service too expensive. However, the change to move garbage collection in-house did not take effect until April 1, after the fiscal year ended. MacMullin disagreed that garbage collection was part of the problem, citing an ongoing large transition.
Parsons stated that only two or three departments went over budget while most managers kept spending under control.
Staff have been directed to report on what went wrong and how to prevent future overruns. Council is expected to make a final decision next Tuesday.