Tax freeze may mean service cuts, Ottawa councillors told

Ottawa city councillors have been told they may have to take another look at service cuts they rejected as unacceptable in 2004 if they want to freeze taxes this year.

Councillors got their first look at the city's 2007 draft budget Wednesday. The document presents twoapproaches to the budget one with a tax increase in line with the rate of inflation, and one that delivers on Mayor Larry O'Brien's promise of a tax freeze.

The budget that would increase taxes at the rate of inflation was arrived at with relative ease. But a budget with no tax increaselooks more complicated.

To hold the line on taxes, city staff offered councillors two options.

The first option is to hold off on new spending for projects including:

• Ottawa Community Housing.
• Francophone day-care spaces.
• Cut-rate bus passes for people with disabilities.
• The "Snow-Go" snow-clearing program for seniors.

In the second option, city staff suggested councillors revisit a list of potential cuts considered unpalatable during the 2004 universal program review.

That list included cutting back:

• Fire stations.
• Wading pools.
• Park maintenance.
• Yard-waste collection.

Bay Ward Coun. Alex Cullen said Wednesday that would be going too far.

"I mean people have to realize there's no magic here. To get to zero means severe service cuts. The public's not going to stand for it. They're going to recognize that to have a sensible budget you're going to have to have an inflationary increase, and that's where I think council's going to end up at the end of the day."

The mayor insists that a tax freeze doesn't mean service reductions. His advisers pointed out that neither of the budget options presented Wednesday include some of the one-time funding options O'Brien has suggested in the past, such as dipping into last year's surplus.

But using the surplus could be a hard sell for Ottawa councillors who are convinced there will be more difficult budgets in the future.

Midway through Wednesday's draft budget presentation, O'Brien remained upbeat and optimistic that his tax-freeze target is still in sight.

"I think we came a long way today in terms of moving along," the mayor said. "This is the first act in probably a four- or five-act play that we're going to have to go through, and I'm delighted with what I saw today."