City of Ottawa draft budget 2025 is out. Here are the details.

Councillors gathered at Ottawa City Hall Wednesday morning to receive the proposed 2025 budget, which suggests a municipal tax increase of 2.9 per cent, but including an increase to transit, it raises the bottom line for taxpayers.

“The budget increases (OC Transpo) fares by 5 per cent and the transit levy by 8 per cent amounting to a 1 per cent additional increase on the property tax bill,” Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, said at the Nov. 13 council meeting.

This means property owners are facing a 3.9 per cent hike this year. Just including the 2.9 per cent hike, a report by Zoocasa notes that homeowners could see a cost of $5,978 in property taxes on a home assessed at $500,000, or an estimated $173 increase.

“These are not decisions that we took lightly, but if we’re going to protect an enhanced service, they are necessary,” Sutcliffe said.

The fare increase will rise 19 cents on an average ride. The mayor acknowledged that many residents are being financially impacted by the burden of the city’s transit system.

“I believe what we have found is the balanced, responsible way forward the impact of these additional measures will not just be felt in 2025 but beyond,” he said.

But the budget does not cover a $36 million “placeholder” for other levels of government to step in. Sutcliffe said there were no final commitments but he is saying progress is happening behind closed doors.

“Like our residents, we must manage our finances very carefully right now,” Sutcliffe said. “Every city in the country is facing tough budget decisions. The 2025 budget is the most complicated we’ve had in many years.”

The $120 million transit shortfall was the “most challenging” part of this year’s budget, the mayor noted.

The budget investments, city staff note, support the light rail transit system (LRT), Para Transpo and the bus system. The municipality is investing a further $88 million into the transit agency, an 11.4 per cent increase from 2024.

“We simply don’t have the resources to fund transit operations on our own,” he said.

To offset some increases, the budget does outline where the city was able to save $54.2 million through streamlining services and improvements.

The city’s proposed operating budget is $4.98 billion, with community and social services taking up the bulk, followed by transit, water and sewer and capital formation costs. The capital budget is $1.68 billion with transit at the top, followed by drinking water and stormwater services.

Further investments include the addition of 22 firefighters, 23 paramedics, 10 bylaw staff and improvement to vehicles and technology.

Over the next few weeks committees will look at the plans and discuss in a series of meetings prior to the finalized budget being voted on and adopted in December.

This year’s municipal tax is higher than in Ottawa’s 2024 Capital and Operating Budget, where residents saw a 2.5 per cent tax increase.

Sutcliffe noted that before the 2025 budget passes, city staff are already discussing the 2026 budget.