City of Ottawa budget to be finalized this week

Ottawa City Hall (CTV News Ottawa)

Ottawa city council will finalize the 2023 budget this week.

Councillors will vote on the final budget Wednesday after a month of committee meetings and public delegations on the multi-billion dollar spending plan that includes $4.5 billion in operational expenses and $1.06 billion in capital spending.

The City of Ottawa's 2023 operating budget at a glance. (Source: City of Ottawa)

Some final committee meetings are being held ahead of the budget vote on March 1, including the Ottawa Police Services Board and the Ottawa Board of Health on Monday and the Community Services Committee on Tuesday.

The police services board will finalize its $401.2 million budget Monday and hear from public delegations. Police are budgeting an extra $15.2 million in 2023, but there have been demands from the public to freeze police spending for the past couple of years. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe ran on a campaign that included increasing police spending and hiring more police officers.

• RELATED: Six ways the city of Ottawa's 2023 budget will affect your wallet

Also of note is nearly $54 million in "efficiencies" included in the draft budget, $47 million of which come from the transit file. Documents presented to the transit commission earlier this month show $4.4 million in savings under bus and Para operations, including a projected savings of $1.5 million in overtime expenditures and $2.9 million in materials and services, defined further as a reduction in bus fleet size to match current service levels. The other $42.7 million that makes up the $47 million in transit efficiencies comes from a reduction in contributions to the capital reserve.

The city says it is getting rid of 117 buses that are no longer roadworthy or are too costly to maintain and several infrastructure projects are being delayed until 2024 in order to find savings this year.

The transit budget is increasing by $11 million over 2022 levels, while projecting a lower ridership estimate than last year.

This year's budget does include a $39-million hole in transit that staff are expecting will be filled by provincial and/or federal funding, as the other levels of government have done throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff admit, however, that funding from upper levels of government has yet to be confirmed.

The overall budget includes a 2.5 per cent increase to property taxes and a 4.2 per cent overall increase to urban water bills. It would see the annual tax bill rise by $104 for an urban home assessed at $415,000 or $85 for a rural home. The urban water bill is going up $38 for urban residents and $10 for rural residents.

The approximate growth in the average property tax bill in 2023 (* Does not reflect any impact from tax policy or reassessment). (Source: City of Ottawa)

Average impact to water bills for average users in 2023. (Source: City of Ottawa)

Sutcliffe described the 2023 budget as "tight" and said the "savings and efficiencies" found in the budget would mean services would not have to be cut. The budget also includes a one-year fare freeze for OC Transpo and a 10 per cent reduction in youth activity fees.

However, Sutcliffe said the city would need help from other orders of government to balance future budgets.

"Without the appropriate level of support from our provincial and federal governments, we will have significant pressures on our finances next year and beyond, particularly on transit and infrastructure," he said.

The COVID-19 pandemic is still factoring into the city's spending plans. Ottawa Public Health's 2023 budget, to be finalized Monday, includes $51 million in pandemic-related spending alongside $77 million in base program funding. The province has confirmed that it would cover extra COVID-related costs in 2023.

Medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches expects COVID-19 will continue to cause illness and death through 2023. An average of three people have died of COVID-19 in Ottawa every week since the start of the year.

BUDGET MEETINGS THIS WEEK

Ottawa Police Services Board: Monday, 4 p.m.

Board of Health: Monday, 5 p.m.

Community Services Committee: Tuesday, 9:30 a.m.

City Council: Wednesday, 10 a.m.