Community groups release alternative budget ahead of 2025 City of Ottawa budget debate

Ottawa City Hall (File photo)

A coalition of community groups is calling on Ottawa City Council to raise property taxes "to a level that sustains existing services and infrastructure," increase parking fees, and invest in transit, community services and climate action in its 2025 budget.

City staff will table the draft 2025 City of Ottawa budget on Wednesday, outlining the city's spending plan for the coming year.

Council directed staff to draft the 2025 budget with a 2.9 per cent property tax hike to cover city services and the policy levy, but that does not include funding to address a $120 million shortfall in the OC Transpo budget. Staff have said that unless the federal and Ontario governments provide $140 million a year over three years for transit, the city will have to look at raising fares, hiking the transit levy or other levers to keep transit moving.

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On Tuesday, 11 community groups, including Horizon Ottawa, Ottawa Transit Riders, Bike Ottawa, 613-819 Black Hub, Ecology Ottawa and the City for All Women Initiatives, proposed an alternative budget framework that "reimagines the city's financial priorities to reflect a commitment to community-driven solutions."

"Current spending does not reflect either the depth of our challenges or the scope of our ambitions," says the coalition of community groups.

"Instead, significant public funds continue to be directed toward projects like road widening, the redevelopment of Lansdowne Park, and increasing the policing budget."

The groups call on the city to investigate and implement new revenue-raising tools, including advocating for the implementation of a "progressive property tax that raises the tax rate" on higher-value properties; make affordable housing a priority, including expanding funding in the budget for affordable housing to $40 million; "invest in transit as a vital community service" including making transit fares free and cancelling road-widening projects to fund public transit; invest in community services, including a call to redirect funding from the Ottawa Police Service to "community-based solutions" that address root causes of harm and support mental health and invest in harm reduction programs; and invest in climate action, including retrofitting municipal buildings and incentivizing residential energy retrofits.

The Ottawa Coalition for a Peoples' Budget says the 2.5 per cent tax increase in 2024 and the proposed 2.9 per cent tax increase in 2025, "will continue to impact the city over time."

"By keeping the overall property tax rate artificially low as a political tool at the expense of sustaining services."

The groups are calling on Council to increase development charges on detached homes and advocate for more funding from the federal and provincial governments.

Transit funding

While staff have been directed to draft the 2025 budget with a 2.9 per cent tax increase, there are many questions about how the city will fund public transit.

OC Transpo is projecting a $120 million shortfall in 2025. If the federal and Ontario governments do not provide new funding, staff outlined several options to fund the shortfall, including:

• A Transit Levy increase of between 2.9 and 37 per cent
• Fare increase between 2.5 per cent and 75 per cent
• Fare discount adjustments
• Operating efficiencies and service reductions between $0 and 120 million
• Capital investment deferrals
• "Identify any other levers for consideration" during budget talks

A 75 per cent increase in transit fares would see a single ride increase to $6.60, while an adult monthly pass would cost over $220 a month. Staff have said a 37 per cent hike in the transit levy would be the equivalent of a seven per cent hike in property taxes.

A 2.9 per cent tax hike would add $125 to the average urban property tax bill.

Council will approve the 2025 City of Ottawa budget on Dec. 11.