Increased spending for road maintenance in 2018 draft budget
Posted Nov 8, 2017 11:01:46 AM.
Last Updated Nov 8, 2017 11:24:41 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – The City of Ottawa 2018 draft budget includes more money for road maintenance.
Property taxes are set to rise two per cent, meaning the average urban homeowner will pay an extra $74 for property taxes, while the average rural homeowner will pay an extra $60.
The total budget for maintenance of roads and sidewalks would increase by $12.6 million, or 13 per cent. The road resurfacing budget would increase 17 per cent with 70 km of rural roads set to be resurfaced and repaved.
Residents will also see a 2.5 per cent increase to the transit levy and rate increases to water and sewage services:
-four per cent for water
-five per cent for sewage
-five per cent for stormwater
The draft also includes money for 14 new paramedics to help improve response in rural areas.
The draft includes $16.1 million for upgrading and renovating recreation centres, as well as $5.25 million for park facilities upgrades.
The fiscal blueprint also includes $18.4 million for 17 new double-decker buses and would see various routes extended, frequency increased and new routes introduced.
The draft budget also contains an additional $675,000 for social services, with Mayor Jim Watson saying now is not the right time for cuts to the most vulnerable. In what Watson calls a ‘historic’ investment, the draft budget contains an additional $1.7 million for housing and homelessness initiatives.
The draft budget also proposes funding to cover added staffing costs from the minimum wage increase proposed by provincial government.
