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The City of Ottawa will table its 2017 draft budget Wednesday, proposing billions in spending for programs and infrastructure.
Whether there’s more money or not, the 2017 budget will draw attention to the city’s support for the less fortunate. It’s one of the major themes going into this budget cycle as social service agencies ask for help from city hall.
Council committees will be in charge of testing departmental budgets until council meets Dec. 14 for the final budget vote.
There are several reasons why you would want to pay attention to the city’s budget.
If you care about the city’s poor
Agencies want the city to earmark an extra $500,000 to help Ottawa’s poor. The buzz at city hall is that the money is available; it’s just a question of political will to put the money in the budget. Social service organizations say they need the extra help from city hall and university researchers suggest city spending in social services has lagged behind population growth. It’s hard to imagine the city ignoring them.
If you worry about transit affordability
There will be a proposal to include a low-income transit pass, but supporters are still anxious to know what the discount would look like. Mayor Jim Watson was eager to announce the plan in October but didn’t have the details on how much the pass would cost the city or where the money would come from. There isn’t the same mystery around the rest of the fares in 2017. OC Transpo has already announced a new fare table to begin Jan. 1 and it should include inflationary increases.
There will be a proposal to include a low-income transit pass but supporters are eager to know specifics about the discount.
If you’re concerned about the city’s debt
The city has been borrowing millions of dollars in recent years to pay for infrastructure projects. The rationale is, if there’s a time to pile on the debt and take care of some capital upkeep, you might as well do it when interest rates are low. Sometimes the city has little choice since water pipes and sewers need critical repairs. At the same time, the city’s net long-term debt has gone from $521 million in 2006 to $1.69 billion at the end of 2015. The city has guidelines limiting how much in interest and principal it can carry on the books. Spending is below the maximum, but will council keep racking up the debt or be more critical about the amount of money it’s spending that’s not already in the bank?
If you wonder how much the party will cost next year
It has been an ongoing theme since the city went all in on 2017: Ottawa wants to be party central in Canada’s 150th birthday year. The budget implications, however, are still murky. Ottawa Public Health knows it will need to do more event inspections but it doesn’t know how it will pay for the work. The bylaw department knows it could receive more calls. Maybe paramedics, too. And there will certainly be policing implications. Police have said there could be up to 1,200 events and 25 major events in 2017. If sponsorship money doesn’t cover the costs, city taxpayers could be the last resort.
It remains to be seen if the 150th birthday party will take a bite out of taxpayers’ pocketbooks.
If you pay a city bill
Residents will pay more money to the city in some way, either through property taxes, water bills or user fees. The garbage fee on tax bills has been the same price for four years, and you have to wonder when that will change. Departments have already received their marching orders to bring in a budget that keeps property-tax increases at two per cent next year, so expect to pay more on taxes alone. It will hurt even more if your property assessment is going up. Water and sewer bills are expected to jump five per cent. Other program fees are ripe for inflationary increases.
jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling
查看原文...
Whether there’s more money or not, the 2017 budget will draw attention to the city’s support for the less fortunate. It’s one of the major themes going into this budget cycle as social service agencies ask for help from city hall.
Council committees will be in charge of testing departmental budgets until council meets Dec. 14 for the final budget vote.
There are several reasons why you would want to pay attention to the city’s budget.
If you care about the city’s poor
Agencies want the city to earmark an extra $500,000 to help Ottawa’s poor. The buzz at city hall is that the money is available; it’s just a question of political will to put the money in the budget. Social service organizations say they need the extra help from city hall and university researchers suggest city spending in social services has lagged behind population growth. It’s hard to imagine the city ignoring them.
If you worry about transit affordability
There will be a proposal to include a low-income transit pass, but supporters are still anxious to know what the discount would look like. Mayor Jim Watson was eager to announce the plan in October but didn’t have the details on how much the pass would cost the city or where the money would come from. There isn’t the same mystery around the rest of the fares in 2017. OC Transpo has already announced a new fare table to begin Jan. 1 and it should include inflationary increases.
There will be a proposal to include a low-income transit pass but supporters are eager to know specifics about the discount.
If you’re concerned about the city’s debt
The city has been borrowing millions of dollars in recent years to pay for infrastructure projects. The rationale is, if there’s a time to pile on the debt and take care of some capital upkeep, you might as well do it when interest rates are low. Sometimes the city has little choice since water pipes and sewers need critical repairs. At the same time, the city’s net long-term debt has gone from $521 million in 2006 to $1.69 billion at the end of 2015. The city has guidelines limiting how much in interest and principal it can carry on the books. Spending is below the maximum, but will council keep racking up the debt or be more critical about the amount of money it’s spending that’s not already in the bank?
If you wonder how much the party will cost next year
It has been an ongoing theme since the city went all in on 2017: Ottawa wants to be party central in Canada’s 150th birthday year. The budget implications, however, are still murky. Ottawa Public Health knows it will need to do more event inspections but it doesn’t know how it will pay for the work. The bylaw department knows it could receive more calls. Maybe paramedics, too. And there will certainly be policing implications. Police have said there could be up to 1,200 events and 25 major events in 2017. If sponsorship money doesn’t cover the costs, city taxpayers could be the last resort.
It remains to be seen if the 150th birthday party will take a bite out of taxpayers’ pocketbooks.
If you pay a city bill
Residents will pay more money to the city in some way, either through property taxes, water bills or user fees. The garbage fee on tax bills has been the same price for four years, and you have to wonder when that will change. Departments have already received their marching orders to bring in a budget that keeps property-tax increases at two per cent next year, so expect to pay more on taxes alone. It will hurt even more if your property assessment is going up. Water and sewer bills are expected to jump five per cent. Other program fees are ripe for inflationary increases.
jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling
查看原文...
