Ottawa mayor, city manager face off over tax freeze

The city of Ottawa's top politician and its top bureaucrat drew battle lines Wednesday, offeringcontrastingopinions onwhatthe mayor'spromised zero per cent tax freeze would mean next year.

As city manager Kent Kirkpatrick distributed an ominous draft of the 2008 budget to city council Wednesday, he slammed a report distributed by Mayor Larry O'Brien thatpromised a far rosier scenario through "smart management."

"The analysis was based on personal conjecture, or in a few cases stated anecdotal evidence, and it's been constructed to support a pre-determined conclusion," Kirkpatrick said. "And I'm prepared to show that."

Kirkpatrick insisted Ottawa already has smart management, butdespite that hisdraft budget projected libraries, community centres and ice rinks would need to close and bus routes and other services must be cut to maintain a zero per cent property tax increase that the mayor has promised. It predicted some services would have to slashed even under even a modest tax increase of 3.4 per cent or around $75 per household.

It's a completely different vision than the one in O'Brien's report, prepared by consultant Gordon Hunter and distributed the day before the budget presentation.

That report projects that the city could save $100 million next year alone and $240 million by 2010 through:

• Administrative efficiencies.
• New sources of revenue.
• A thorough review of services provided by the city.

To help illustrate his point, O'Brien distributed another document that listed more than 1,600 administrative jobs, including a handful in Kirkpatrick's own office. The mayor said the city could do without manyof them.

After Kirkpatrick spoke, O'Brien called the budget debate a contest between "competing philosophies."

"On one side you have a mindset, you have a focus on continuously growing the ring of management and management support around the decision makers," he said.

O'Brien has proposed atwo-per-cent infrastructure tax levy and an increase to the city's police budget, but wants no increase in regular property taxes. During his 2006 election campaign, he promised to freezeproperty taxes for four years.

The city is seeking public feedback about the budget options at meetings across the city from Nov. 15 to 30 at City Hall between Dec. 3 and 6.

Councillors are scheduled to consider and approve the budget between Dec. 10 and 14.