Councillors' support cools on tax freeze

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

Article I just read on the Ottawa Citizen's website.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/...00f59b&k=56902

Councillors' support cools on tax freeze

Jake Rupert, Ottawa Citizen
Published: Friday, November 09, 2007
Mayor Larry O'Brien will need to perform some magic if he wants to keep his tax-freeze promise.

This is because 16 of 17 city councillors surveyed yesterday, including many who want to support the mayor, said they won't if it means gutting city services, and, currently, it's the only way to reach his goal.

Several of the councillors not reached yesterday voted against even contemplating a tax freeze last month. So with a total of 24 votes on council, as things stand, the mayor's goal seems doomed.

Mr. O'Brien still maintains he will deliver a practical way to freeze taxes, but he says he won't say how until the budget debates start in mid-December.

Despite this, many say it's too late and there's nothing the mayor can do to save his election-winning promise of four years of tax freezes without cuts to core services.

"It's too late - even if he has a plan," Barrhaven Councillor Jan Harder said yesterday. "If we had started talking about his plan in, say, June, we might be ready for it. But time has run out for 2008. It's over."

Ms. Harder and other councillors spoke yesterday after it became clear that city bureaucrats weren't kidding a month ago when they said freezing taxes would require massive cuts to reach a savings of $63 million.

Information leaked to the media shows city staff are contemplating closing day cares, community centres, arenas, wading pools, library branches, and seniors programs and reducing snowplowing, road salting, litter pick up, grass cutting, funding for arts and culture groups, and transit expansion as ways of chopping the money.

The news touched off an outcry yesterday among supporters of the threatened programs and services, and they were happy to hear there isn't much support for the cuts on council.

"If this is the only way to get to zero, I won't support it, and it won't be achieved," Orléans Councillor Bob Monette said. "The public won't stand for it, nor should they."

Mr. Monette is part of a group of councillors who have helped keep the possibility of a tax freeze alive through various votes. He said he still has faith Mr. O'Brien will find a way, but others from the group say it's time to face reality.

Innes Councillor Rainer Bloess said he's willing to listen to any ideas and won't shy away from making tough decisions on program cuts and funding, but that the mountain seems too high to climb.

"I think (a tax freeze) is beyond our reach," he said. "I don't think there's much desire to get there this way. It would just be unacceptable to citizens."

He said Mr. O'Brien has built up huge expectations by repeatedly saying he will freeze taxes and has a plan to do so, even though he has yet to reveal that plan.

"He's got a problem right now. He's painted himself into a corner."

Cumberland Councillor Rob Jellett said he, too, won't support across-the-board "slashing and burning" of city programs and services. He said if Mr. O'Brien has a plan, he has to go public with it now because people will need time to figure out if they are good ideas or not.

Mr. Jellett said he will go through each line of the budget and make the tough decisions needed to save money, including chopping some programs and services, but at the end of the day, he thinks the tax freeze goal isn't achievable.

"I think we'll have to bite the bullet and raise taxes, because we aren't going to freeze them by taking away things people want," he said. "It's just not going to happen."

Councillors Eli El-Chantiry and Marianne Wilkinson, both of whom also voted to keep Mr. O'Brien's tax freeze a possibility, agreed with Mr. Jellett, Mr. Bloess and Mr. Monette.

Only Stittsville Councillor Shad Qadri said he's willing to cut the programs and services city staff suggest in order to freeze taxes.

However, he said he would only do so if it was done equitably across the city.

"We couldn't pick and choose," he said.

City staff are scheduled to table the draft 2008 budget with options for a tax freeze and rate hikes as high as 4.8 per cent on Wednesday. City manager Kent Kirkpatrick has said even a five-per-cent increase will require serious cuts to services, program deferrals and delaying capital projects.