Ottawa city councillors voted on Monday in favour of an operating budget that fulfils Mayor Larry O'Brien's promise of a zero per cent property tax increase with no service cuts.
But Ottawa residents will still be paying more this year, thanks to increases in user fees and taxes allocated for police.
'When I made those commitments during the campaign, perhaps it's fair to say I didn't have three months of work under my belt at city hall.'— Mayor Larry O'Brien
The budget passed unanimously before 11 a.m. after less than an hour of debate.
It was put together late last week by a group of seven councillors and uses all of last year's $23-million surplus as well as $6 million in reserve funds — long-term savings that the city sets aside to help it get through difficult budget years. The plan also cuts some unfilled staff positions at city hall, as proposed earlier by O'Brien.
The budget includes funding for:
- Repairs to public housing.
- A multi-year arts and festivals plan.
- Museums.
- A discounted transit pass for people with disabilities.
- Francophone day-care spaces.
- A reforestation program.
It also calls for a transit fare hike of two per cent, instead of the 7.5 per cent proposed earlier.
But it also includes hikes in:
- Water and sewer rates, up nine per cent a year for the next four years.
- Transit fares, up two per cent (instead of 7.5 per cent proposed earlier).
- Taxes that fund police, up about $15 per household.
- Most licence fees and user fees.
O'Brien said he didn't foresee the increases when he promised "zero means zero" during the election campaign, but he considers the freeze on property taxes for services other than police is a good start.
'The mayor gets his zero and other members of council, such as myself, get some of the things that we feel are important for the future of the city of Ottawa.'— Coun. Georges Bédard
"When I made those commitments during the campaign, perhaps it's fair to say I didn't have three months of work under my belt at city hall," he said. "We will get there and I'm just delighted that the team came together this far."
Plan called good compromise
Coun. Georges Bédard, who helped craft the budget that passed, argued prior to the meeting that it is a good compromise.
"The mayor gets his zero," he said, "and other members of council, such as myself, get some of the things that we feel are important for the future of the city of Ottawa."
Bédard and other councillors who drafted the plan gained the mayor's endorsement and spent the weekend lobbying for the support of councillors such as Rick Chiarelli, who was initially opposed to using reserve funds.
Chiarelli said that tactic is not sustainable, but told CBC on Sunday that he was willing to support the plan if council vowed to be more fiscally responsible over the next decade.
"As long as there's a recognition that there's an elephant in the room, that we're going to have to deal with that elephant … then I'd be prepared to go along with this right now."
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