Tax increase voted out

Ottawa city council has rejected a proposal to raise taxes next year as a means to meet the projected shortfall in its 2003 budget of $31 million.

Councillors turned down a proposal to consider a 1.5% increase in property taxes that was proposed by one of its own.

Mayor Bob Chiarelli was adamantly against the proposal.

"Tax increase is the easy way out. We are going to work hard between now and December when we finalize the budget and we are going to work hard at finding solutions," says Chiarelli. "Maybe, heaven forbid, we'll have to look at reducing the councillors and Mayor's budgets. There are a lot of options open to us and I think we have to consider them all within a budget direction that says no tax increases."

Councillor Dwight Eastman made the proposal, but said he usually doesn't support tax increases. He said council has its head in the sand when it comes to the discrepancy between the services it wants to provide and the money it needs to do it.