Budget week at Ottawa City Hall as city faces 'unprecedented' pressures
Ottawa residents will learn about how the city of Ottawa intends to spend their tax dollars this week, as the 2023 draft budgets are presented at Ottawa City Hall.
Ottawa Public Health, the Ottawa Public Library Board and the Ottawa Police Services Board will table their draft budgets, before city staff table the full 2023 city of Ottawa draft budget on Wednesday.
Council voted to direct staff to draft the city budget with a 2 to 2.5 per cent property tax hike, and directed the library, public health, police and transit commission to develop draft budgets with a maximum 2.5 per cent increase.
If approved, a 2.5 per cent property tax hike would increase property taxes for the average urban homeowner by $104 this year, including the police and transit levies.
Ottawa Public Health
Ottawa Public Health will be the first city of Ottawa external board to present its 2023 budget when staff unveil the budget during tonight's Ottawa Board of Health meeting.
Board chair Catherine Kitts is already raising concerns about capping the budget envelope at a 2.5 per cent hike for Ottawa Public Health.
"OPH is still experiencing increased demands on their workforce, and I think the pandemic uncovered some of the ways in which OPH work can grow within the community, especially with respect to community wellness hubs," Kitts told Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron.
The Ontario government covers 70 per cent of the OPH budget, with the city covering the remaining 30 per cent.
Kitts says that while Ottawa Public Health still focuses on COVID-19, it must address other needs in the community.
"There is some catch up work to do now, with that shifting of priorities - dental screening, childhood vaccination program above and beyond COVID-19 vaccines, and now what we're anticipating is the burden of infectious disease continues at a high level beyond just COVID and that will continue as well," Kitts said.
"We have to account for that with funding, and also account for the population growth and the inflationary pressures that everybody's feeling."
Kitts says she would like to see the Ontario government increase funding to help OPH respond to the needs of the community.
"We need more public health and not less at this time," Kitts said. "We know that demand for mental health resources is incredibly high, we're facing the opioid crisis. We recognize that during the pandemic that shift to sort of community wellness hubs that provided care, resources right in communities … worked really well."
A 2.5 per cent increase would result in an additional $1.24 million for Ottawa Public Health this year.
Kitts says the Ontario government has committed to covering "extraordinary costs" related to the COVID-19 response into 2023.
The 2022 Ottawa Public Health budget was $123 million, including $95 million from the province, $26 million from the city of Ottawa and $1.1 million from other sources of revenue.
City of Ottawa facing challenges
The 2023 city of Ottawa budget to be presented on Wednesday will include a one-year transit freeze and a 10 per cent reduction in some youth recreation fees, after council passed motions last month.
Acting City Manager Wendy Stephanson has warned the city is facing "unprecedented inflationary pressures" due to external economic conditions and supply chain pressures, and council will need to consider efficiencies and spending deferrals to stay within the 2 to 2.5 per cent budget increase.
"Significant increases on fuel, construction indices, parts and supplies will have a significant impact to the 2023 Budget pressures," the report said. "Staff will also include a list of efficiencies and opportunities as part of the tabled 2023 Budget."
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has called for a line-by-line spending review to find $35 million in efficiencies at Ottawa City Hall.
Here is the schedule for the 2023 budget releases
Ottawa Board of Health - 5 p.m. Monday
Ottawa Public Library Board - 5 p.m. Tuesday
Ottawa Police Services Board - 8:30 a.m. Wednesday
Ottawa City Council - 10 a.m. Wednesday
Council will finalize the 2023 city of Ottawa budget on March 1.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.