Ottawa residents are dealing with a 3.9 per cent property tax improve and a 5 per cent hike in transit fares, as the town of Ottawa “makes use of quite a lot of duct tape” to fill a $120 million gap within the 2025 OC Transpo finances.
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says the $5 billion 2025 Metropolis of Ottawa finances features a 2.9 per cent property tax hike for “most metropolis companies,” whereas the transit levy will improve eight per cent, which equals a further one per cent tax hike for most householders.
“We should strike the proper steadiness. This finances is a balanced strategy to our residents’ wants,” Sutcliffe advised reporters.
“It invests within the core priorities that matter most to our residents: public security, public transit, roads and sidewalks, housing and supporting essentially the most susceptible.”
A 3.9 per cent property tax improve would increase the typical city property tax invoice by $168 in 2025.
The finances was tabled three months after Sutcliffe launched his “Marketing campaign for Equity,” calling on the federal and Ontario governments to supply $140 million a 12 months over three years to assist handle a income shortfall at OC Transpo.
Sutcliffe says the 2025 finances features a “historic funding” in public transit, with OC Transpo’s finances growing $88 million to $856 million. Town plans to open each the Trillium Line and the jap extension of the Confederation Line over the following 12 months.
With no funding confirmed from the higher ranges of presidency, the town is pulling a number of levers to handle a $120 million shortfall within the 2025 OC Transpo finances. Sutcliffe says “robust choices on fund transit” needed to be made, together with transit fare hikes and discovering extra efficiencies.
“Whereas we await extra sustainable funding options, we will should do quite a lot of patchwork and use quite a lot of duct tape to get by way of every finances 12 months,” Sutcliffe stated. “These options aren’t all the time supreme; a lot of them are one-time solutions that may assist us solely in 2025, however within the present local weather that is what we have to do.”
The mayor says the 2025 finances will improve the transit levy by eight per cent, which equals a further one-per-cent tax improve. OC Transpo fares will improve 5 per cent, and changes can be made to discounted fares for college students and seniors to “convey them according to these in different cities.”
The 2025 OC Transpo finances proposes growing the price of a single grownup journey by 5 per cent. If accepted, a single-ride grownup fare paid by card would improve $0.20 to $4, whereas a money fare will increase $0.20 to $4.05.
Different fare will increase:
An grownup month-to-month go will increase $6.25 to $135. A senior month-to-month go will improve 120 per cent from $49 to $108. A U-Move will improve $11.45 to $240.52 a semester.
OC Transpo is scrapping discounted youth fares for 13 to 18 year-olds and eliminating free fares for 11 and 12 year-olds. Youth might want to pay the grownup month-to-month go payment.
The transit finances contains $21.3 million in capital efficiencies and deferrals and $12.4 million in working efficiencies. OC Transpo ridership is projected to be 80 per cent of pre-pandemic ranges in 2025.
“No service reductions at the moment,” the mayor stated.
Sutcliffe says a $36 million placeholder is within the finances for attainable funding from the higher ranges of presidency for public transit.
Comparability chart of transit fares throughout the nation. The 2025 OC Transpo finances proposes growing the price of a single grownup journey by 5 per cent. If accepted, a single-ride grownup fare paid by card would improve $0.20 to $4.
Different investments in 2025 finances
The finances contains $1.68 billion in capital spending and a $4.98 billion working spending plan for 2025.
Sutcliffe says the 2025 Metropolis of Ottawa finances will embrace funding to rent 100 new emergency responders, together with 50 workers for the Ottawa Police Service, 23 new paramedics to extend service and scale back the affect of offload delays, 22 new firefighters and 10 new bylaw officers.
The mayor says the 2025 finances will make investments $104 million to enhance roads and sidewalks, together with $89.6 million to restore and resurface roads and $14 million for brand spanking new and current sidewalks. Town may also spend $20.5 million over the following two years to scale back the backlog of labor to put in site visitors indicators.
In a media launch, the town stated the 2025 finances additionally included $200 million for built-in rehabilitation tasks on street infrastructure. Different spending contains:
$4.2 million improve for social housing $550,000 working finances improve for Ottawa Neighborhood Housing Security Companies $4.4 million improve for shelter operations and diversion $150,000 funding for anti-hate initiatives $30 million allotted to greater than 100 non-profit companies to handle poverty and social companies Funding for reasonably priced housing initiatives to assist the $176 million from the Housing Accelerator Fund $279,000 base working improve in parks upkeep $350,000 capital challenge for minor park repairs $400,000 to improve park facilities $1.45 million to assist facility upkeep for transitional housing $375 million for local weather motion and environmental resilience $2.3 million to assist lowering landfill use $887,000 for tree alternative and upkeep to broaden the city tree cover
Councillors may have a $12,500 improve in funding for site visitors calming measures, bringing the annual finances to $85,000. Town will spend $1.5 million for city-wide everlasting site visitors calming measures.
Capital spending in 2025 contains $10.9 million for the Greenbank Street widening and realignment from Chapman Mills to Barnsdale, $10.4 million for the Carp Street widening and $6 million for detailed design work for Mer Bleue widening and Renaud Street realignment alongside the Brian Coburn extension.
Some neighborhood teams have urged the town to think about different income elevating instruments, together with elevating property taxes and parking charges. The teams are looking for expanded funding for public transit and reasonably priced housing.
Different Canadian cities have confronted vital tax hikes in 2024, together with Toronto: 9.5 per cent, Vancouver: 7.5 per cent, Edmonton: 8.9 per cent and Calgary: 7.8 per cent.
The mayor says $54 million in financial savings have been discovered within the 2025 finances, and a hiring pause and a discretionary spending freeze stay in place.
“We have made robust choices about how we spend cash on the metropolis,” Sutcliffe stated. “We have discovered $208 million in financial savings and efficiencies because the begin of this time period of council, that is lower than two years in the past.”
The mayor says $208 million in financial savings is the equal of a ten.5 per cent tax improve, and people financial savings have been invested into the town’s priorities.
Councillors will focus on and debate the draft finances on Wednesday and through committee conferences over the following three weeks earlier than its last approval on Dec. 11.
Ottawa Police Service finances
The Ottawa Police Service plans to rent 22 new officers and proceed specializing in the brand new district policing mannequin with elevated staffing for neighbourhood useful resource groups, site visitors and neighborhood policing as a part of its 2025 finances.
With the assistance of funding from the federal and Ontario governments, the service may also create a brand new Parliamentary District and an Different Psychological Well being Assist Undertaking. There are additionally plans to launch a brand new Mounted Unit to assist with policing demonstrations and occasions and patrolling the ByWard Market within the 2025 finances.
The Ottawa Police Companies Board tabled the $447.5 million gross working finances for 2025 on Wednesday, with a $16.3 million improve in funding. If accepted, the typical city property taxpayer pays an additional $20 for policing companies subsequent 12 months.
“This Draft Finances is designed to fulfill Ottawa’s key public security wants and can help us in serving the residents and companies of our neighborhood higher,” Chief Eric Stubbs stated in an announcement. “It’s designed to handle gaps in our service and focuses on constructing public belief whereas advancing the strategic priorities set by the Ottawa Police Companies Board.”
The finances requires Ottawa police to rent 50 new workers in 2025, together with 28 civilian positions and 22 sworn-officer positions. The service is trying to rent 145 new sworn members in 2024, 2025 and 2026 to broaden the ranks and account for attrition.
The 2025 finances contains discovering $9 million in efficiencies.
Stubbs and workers warn a threat to the finances is upcoming contract talks in 2025 with the Ottawa Police Affiliation and the Senior Officers Affiliation.
