Increase My Taxes

The Citizen today has put forward a list of budget cuts that the city will looking at implement over the next year so they can achieve the mayor's incredibly ridiculous "Zero means zero" promise.

Three things are important to me in this city (the arts, efficient public transportation, and the environment) and those are three areas that are going to get hit up the most. I've posted the list below, placing in bold the cuts that irk me the most, although alot of the recreation and health services cuts are pretty bad too. I put some of my comments in italics.

As someone who will soon own property and will therefore be paying taxes to the city, all I have to say is that I want you to increase my taxes if it means keeping the things below.

Feel free to argue with me below.

Oh and on one last note, I voted for the other guy.


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Options Contained in the 2008 Draft Budget

User fee increases

- Adult ice time: $165.75 per hour to $210 per hour

- Children's ice time: $116.75 per hour to $210 per hour

- Transit fares increase by five per cent Always with the transit fare hikes. How long before it's cheaper to own a car?

- Playing field rental increase by 100 per cent

- Hike parking fees to $3 per hour Uh, never mind my car comment then.

- Charge for parking on weekends

- Charge for parking in Westboro, Old Ottawa South, Hintonburg, and Beechwood

- Extend paid parking hours to 9 p.m.


Program elimination and deferrals

- Eliminate business transformation project ($3 million)

- Defer arts investments ($400,000) sigh

- Defer museum investments ($680,000)

- Defer funding to community groups ($500,000)

- Cancel five new ambulances for rural areas ($275,000)

- Eliminate stepped up graffiti removal program ($1.5 million)

- Terminate use of biodiesel in city vehicles ($1.9 million)


-Eliminate tree care program ($970,000)

- Defer planned west end fire station

- Defer planned west end library

- Defer Kanata north recreation centre

- Defer new rink in Goulbourn ($460,000)

- Defer building new wading pools ($730,000)

- Cancel hiring eight public health nurses for schools ($660,000)

- Reduce bus service on eight routes ($1.3 million)

- Cancel transit improvements ($2.2 million) I thought transit was suppose to be a priority.

- Cancel resources for road and sidewalk maintenance in new areas ($2.35 million)

- Cancel resources for traffic and parking operations in new areas ($840,000)

- Chop the protocol office by 50 per cent ($220,000)

- Eliminate web-casting of council meetings ($55,000)

- Reduce arts, heritage and festival funding by $130,000 Surprise, surprise.

- Reduce funding to social agencies by $340,000

- Reduce community association funding by $570,000

- Close Vernon, Osgoode, Fitzroy Harbour, Vanier, North Gower, Blackburn Hamlet, Munster, Elmvale Acres, Centennial, and Rosemount library branches ($2.1 million)

- Close nine wading pools ($295,000)

- Close Terry Fox Athletic Facility ($125,000)

- Reduce outdoor rinks grants ($620,000)

- Close Corkstown and Katimavik outdoor pools ($135,000)

- Close indoor skate parks in Stittsville and downtown ($65,000)

- Close 23 community centres ($1.2 million)

- Reduce economic development programs ($210,000) I don't know what this is.

-Eliminate underperforming bus routes ($3.9 million)

- Reduce tree and shrub trimming and grass cutting ($2 million)

- Cancel spring and fall cleaning programs ($110,000) Are you kidding me?

- Reduce snow plowing on roads and sidewalks ($5.1 million) This will reduce mobility and probably cause more trouble than anything else once the storms start hitting.

- Eliminate road and sidewalk sweeping ($600,000) Have they seen the sidewalk on Montreal road? It needs to be swept every day.

- Reduce litter pickup ($550,000) There is also probably going to be a cancellation of the Green Box Program for compostable waste.