BARRHAVEN INDEPENDENT
The IndependentCOMMUNITY
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2019 Page 3
It’s time to find new solutions to old budget problems
I want to thank everyone who came out to my very first Community Corn Roast and Family fun day on Saturday, September 21st. Two hundred and fifty residents attended over the course of the event, and it was especially nice to see people from all communities of Ward 22. The corn, from Miller’s, got rave reviews. The jumpy castle, face painting and firetruck were also bit hits. Big thanks to all my volunteers. We’re into the Budget process at City Hall and I need your input. What needs more funding or less? Let me and City Staff know. I’m co-hosting a Budget Consultation meeting with Councillors Harder and Egli Oct. 28th, 5:30 to 7:00 pm at the Walter Baker Sports Center. I encourage you to attend.
GLOUCESTERSOUTH NEPEAN
WARD REPORT by Carol Anne Meehan
In my last column, I tried to highlight a few of the fiscal pressures facing the City and its taxpayers and what tax and fee increases residents can expect in 2020. With LRT Stage 1 up and running and Stage 2 construction beginning, Ottawa is facing severe budget pressures, both internal and external. What is crucial for me is protecting core public
services while keeping tax increases reasonable. Staff need to be challenged to ensure public tax dollars are spent efficiently on programs and services we need. There is no silver bullet to fix our budget woes; instead, it will require new ideas, determination to do what is right and the commitment of the public and politicians to carry it through. I speak for myself when I say the budget process is complicated. However it needs to be understood in order to know how services are funding and to identity efficiencies. Let’s use 2019 as an ex-
ample. In 2019, the City of Ottawa’s is estimated to spend $3.6 billion for services and programs. Property owners contribute $1.6 billion of that through property taxes, just under half of what Council needs to fund our services. Transit fares, recreational fees and other pay per use services account for $849 million, and although we have heard a great deal about provincial funding cuts, in 2019, Queen’s Park was estimated to turn over $621 million to the City of Ottawa or roughly 17% of the City’s budget. We also receives money from the Federal Government, fines
and investment income. Before the budget is approved, most of the money is already spoken for, and this is the difficulty facing decision-makers at City Hall. To see more or better services, Council needs to find ways to save money within the budget so it can be reinvested. The City also needs to review how it funds growth-related infrastructure projects, such as road widening. Ottawa’s policy that growth must pay for growth makes sense; however, how we collect that money (DC’s) does not. Currently, Development Charges are received late
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in the growth process, leading to residential development being built first, and needed infrastructure, like roads being built last. That’s why we’re in our current mess. Council needs to press for changes that will lead to better planning. Changing how we collect development charges could help do that. Taxes are increasing, debt is rising, and Ottawa is feeling the squeeze. It’s time to shake the tree and find new and better solutions to fix old problems. Carol Anne Meehan is the Councillor for Gloucester- South Nepean
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