More than 200 city employees will lose their jobs and several programs will be cut, according to the city's $2.5 billion draft budget for 2009.
City staff is suggesting 230 job cuts, with the possibility of slashing another 170 positions, in order to help trim $35 million from the budget and keep proposed property tax increases in the capital at 4.9 per cent.
"We have recommended there's a number of reductions in transit and there's a number of service areas. The major one is there's a $4 million reduction recommended for programming for arts, culture and heritage," said city treasurer Marian Similuk.
Recommendations also include a 51 per cent hike for renting ice time for minor hockey. Ice time for adult hockey faces a possible 10 per cent rise in fees. Staff is also proposing increasing rental fees for all city-run swimming pools, halls and gyms.
"We should be looking at increasing user fees to recover more of the costs to providing those services and shift those costs away from general property taxpayers onto users," said city manager Kent Kirkpatrick.
The effort to keep property tax hikes low in the capital will also slash many existing programs the city currently offers free of charge.
"So, here again, it's a lot on the backs of the poorer people in the city . . . what is that all about? said Coun. Diane Holmes.
Transit users will also be faced with reduced service on some bus routes. Councillors, though, say that's not the way to go.
"Virtually all kinds of cutbacks in transit, which is the backbone of a city, that costs us less and is greener," said Coun. Clive Doucet.
Although the budget includes cuts to many areas, the city's mayor says in order to stay afloat, council must cutback on spending.
"For every dollar that we don't cut that's been recommended by staff, we're going to have to find some other cuts. So, I don't think there's any easy choices here," said Mayor Larry O'Brien.
One per cent of the proposed increase to property taxes next year is set to go to the Ottawa police service.
"As a taxpayer, we all have a real difficulty with taxes going up. I do understand that, but at the same time it's not cheaper to provide the service every year. It costs us more even to provide the same service. If we are going to have any enhancements, then we end up costing more money as well," Ottawa police chief Vern White told CTV Ottawa.
Public consultations on the budget will be scheduled over the next month. City council's final vote on the issue is expected Dec. 5.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Vanessa Lee
